Reference Date: 30-September-2026

Concerns for 2026 main season crops due to dry weather conditions

Planting of the 2026 main season crops (wheat, barley, sorghum, maize, teff and pulses), for harvest from November 2026, was completed last July in central and western Anseba, Debub, Maekel and Gash Barka regions.

The 2026 Kiremti rainy season, which normally extends from late June to September, has been characterized by a poor performance, associated with the ongoing El Niño event. In Anseba, Debub, Maekel and Gash Barka regions, cumulative rainfall amounts between June and September 2026 were 20 to 40 percent below average. As indicated by remote sensing imagery, the rainfall deficits significantly affected vegetation conditions in several cropping areas, including Gash Barka Region, the main crop producing area of the country (VHI map), and significant crop production shortfalls are, therefore, expected.

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This brief was prepared using the following data/tools:
FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance Sheet (CCBS) https://www.fao.org/giews/data-tools/en/ .

FAO/GIEWS Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Tool https://fpma.fao.org/ .

FAO/GIEWS Earth Observation for Crop Monitoring https://www.fao.org/giews/earthobservation/ .

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) https://www.ipcinfo.org/ .