FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 09/98 - GUINEA-BISSAU (15
Following the ceasefire agreement signed on July 26 and the start of peace talks in late August, most of the 350 000 people who fled Bissau and other towns should be able to return to their homes.
Satellite imagery indicates that abundant and widespread rains covered the entire country in August and early September. Hopefully, the ceasefire in late July permitted farmers to undertake replanting of rice, but availability of seeds and delays in the preparation of rice seedbeds are likely to have severely limited planted areas.
The overall food supply situation has deteriorated following the fighting which displaced a large number of people and disrupted marketing activities. The situation is expected to remain tight in 1998/99. In late August, an emergency assistance operation was approved by FAO and WFP for a total of 37 000 tonnes of relief food to address for six months the needs of 350 000 internally displaced persons who are located mainly around Bafeta.
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