Heavy rains in July and early August in southern Upper Nile and Gonglei States resulted in floods and damage to crops and food stocks as well as housing. Worst affected areas include Pochalla, near the Ethiopian border, where some 15 000 people were stranded in the floods. Relief food aid is being distributed in the areas. Elsewhere in the country, rains in July, following below normal precipitation in June in most growing areas, except in the South, improved soil conditions for the recently planted 1996 coarse grains crop. However, more rains are still needed in parts to avoid a reduction in yields. In irrigated areas the outlook for crops is promising reflecting above average levels in the Blue Nile and Atbera rivers. The pest situation is considered to be stable.
The latest estimate of the 1996 wheat crop, which was harvested up to last May, indicates an output of 527 000 tons, lower than anticipated but still 18 percent above the poor crop of last year. Output of 1995 coarse grains has been revised down to 2.8 million tons, 39 percent below the bumper crop of the previous year.
The price of cereals has increased steady in the past two months. The food supply situation has deteriorated, particularly in the depressed eastern states of North and West Kordofan and North Darfur, where the 1996 cereal output was sharply reduced by adverse weather and pest infestation. While farmers� stocks have been depleted, a deterioration in the terms of trade between livestock and cereals has eroded the purchasing power of the affected population. Large numbers of people are reported to be migrating in search of food and food assistance is urgently needed in these areas. The food situation has also been aggravated in Southern states, affected by a prolonged war, as a result of a sharp decline in food aid deliveries due to Government restrictions of distribution operations. WFP reports that at least 700 000 people face starvation in Southern Sudan. The worst affected area is Bahr El Ghazal where, however, the Government has allowed the increase of airlifting capacity.