Shortages encouraged farmers to divert land from cotton to winter cereals. The area sown to winter wheat is reported to be even larger than last year. Current expectations point to further increase in wheat production in 1997, given favourable weather conditions. However, insufficient land rotation coupled with the absence of significant progress in land privatization and additional investment in or availability of inputs, the country is likely to remain dependent on imports and food aid to meet minimum consumption requirements. Despite the favourable harvest of 400 000 tons in 1996, the cereal import requirement in 1996/97, estimated at about 370 000 tons, remains high. Commercial imports and food aid allocations are estimated to have amounted to only two thirds of this amount so that actual imports will remain well short of estimated needs.
Some 705 000 particularly vulnerable people continue to need targeted humanitarian assistance. These include populations displaced as a result of civil strife, elderly pensioners, war-widows with children, large single-parent families, orphans and the disabled/invalids. WFP provides emergency assistance to 485 000 vulnerable persons while other agencies assist 220 000. Some 15 000 persons also received WFP assistance under food-for-work programmes. For 1997, WFP estimates the relief food requirement for its operations at over 46 580 tons, valued at some U.S.$ 22 million. The contributions for 1997, including carryover stocks, will permit WFP to cover the entire 1997 requirement.