| Area: | 72 000 sq.km |
| Climate: | Mostly tropical wet-dry; extreme south tropical wet; one rainy season: March-October |
| Population: | 4.4 million (1995 estimate) with more than 160 000 Sierra Leoneon refugees located in neighbouring countries; G.N.P. per caput: U.S.$ 140 (1993) |
| Specific characteristics of the country: | Low-income food-deficit country; coastal country |
| Logistics: | Roads inadequate |
| Major foodcrops: | Rice, roots and tubers |
| Marketing year: | January/December; Lean season: July-August |
| Share of cereals in total calorie intake: | 57 percent |
CURRENT SITUATION
The food supply situation remains critical in the centre of the country, in the Bo region. Displaced persons continue to arrive and deliveries of food aid to this area are still insufficient, notably in the Gondama refugee camp where more than 70 000 people are living. Three other refugee camps have been set up in the Bo region. Many people have died from starvation and more than 3 000 people are reported to have died from cholera between July and September in this region.
The food situation is also very tight in the south-east, notably in the Kenema region where food assistance operations have been hampered by insecurity. Repeated ambushes on the truck routes are seriously disrupting trade activities and the transport of food aid.
Following widespread rains in September, precipitation was abundant in October and early November but rice and cassava fields have been abandoned in most parts. Cereal production in 1996 is anticipated to be well below last year’s level. The 1995 cereal import requirement is estimated at 206 000 tons, including 81 000 tons of food aid.
CEREAL SUPPLY/DEMAND BALANCE FOR THE 1995 MARKETING YEAR (in thousand tons)
| Wheat | Rice | Coarse grains | Total | |
| Normal production | - | 306 | 58 | 364 |
| Normal imports (incl. re-exports) | 37 | 120 | 3 | 160 |
| of which: Structural food aid | 15 | 15 | 3 | 33 |
| 1995 Domestic availability | - | 253 | 60 | 313 |
| 1994 Production | - | 243 | 60 | 303 |
| Possible stock drawdown | - | 10 | - | 10 |
| 1995 Utilization | 40 | 413 | 66 | 519 |
| Food use | 39 | 393 | 56 | 488 |
| of which: local purchase requirement | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Non-food use | 1 | 20 | 10 | 31 |
| 1995 Import Requirement | 40 | 160 | 6 | 206 |
| Anticipated commercial imports | 25 | 100 | - | 125 |
| Food aid needs | 15 | 60 | 6 | 81 |
| Current Aid Position | ||||
| Food aid pledges | 16 | 8 | 5 | 29 |
| of which: Delivered | 15 | 6 | 5 | 26 |
| Donor-financed local purchases | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Estimated per caput consumption (kg/year) | 9 | 90 | 13 | 112 |
| Indexes | ||||
| 1994 production as % of normal: | 83 | |||
| 1995 import requirement as % of normal: | 129 | |||
| 1995 food aid requirement as % of normal (including refugee needs): | 246 | |||