ERITREA* (11 February)
An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Assessment Mission that visited Eritrea late last year found that the 2003 agricultural season was characterized by erratic rainfall (started late and stopped too early with long dry spells, occasional torrential rains and hailstorms), although the total seasonal kremti rainfall was about average in most areas. The Mission estimated the 2003 cereal harvest at about 106 000 tonnes, which is almost double the 2002 crop, but still only 57 percent of the annual average amount of cereal harvested during the past 11 years.
The cereal import requirement for 2004 has thus been estimated at 478 000 tonnes, setting the estimated domestic availability of 136 000 tonnes against the estimated total utilization requirement of 614 000 tonnes. Given the precarious foreign exchange situation, it is anticipated that only 30 000 tonnes of cereals can be commercially imported for consumption in 2004. With about 31 000 tonnes of cereals in stock or in pipelines as food aid, the uncovered cereal deficit – for which international assistance is needed – amounts to 417 000 tonnes. An estimated 1.9 million people are currently in need of food assistance.
The Mission observed that the condition of the livestock was good but livestock diseases – particularly CBPP (Contagious Bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia), lumpy skin disease and SRR (Small Ruminant Rinderpest) – were spreading. The government is taking steps to combat these diseases, but much more needs to be done to successfully protect livestock.