A FAO/WFP Crop, Food Security Assessment Mission visited Iraq from 5 June to 14 July 2003 to assess the current food security situation - following the recent military and political upheaval – to estimate the 2003 cereal harvest and to forecast the cereal import requirements, including food aid, in the marketing year 2003/2004 (July/June). The Mission was able to visit all 18 governorates during the assessment. The Mission’s findings are...

Prospects for world cereal output in 2003 have deteriorated since the previous report in June, following a widespread drought and heat-wave in Europe. As a result, the FAO forecast for world cereal production in 2003 has been reduced sharply, indicating that the amount of global cereal carryover stocks that could be drawn down in 2003/04 will be much larger than expected earlier, and the overall global supply-and-demand situation will be much...

An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission visited Afghanistan from 15 June to 8 July 2003, to review estimates of the 2003 cereal harvest and forecast cereal import requirements for the 2003/04 (July/June) marketing year. The Mission relied heavily on data generated by the Nationwide Crop Output Assessment (NCOA) carried out by Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (MAAH) together with FAO and with the support of the Ministry...

An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission visited Angola from 15 May to 10 June, 2003. The mission’s objective was to assess the 2003 crop production and the cereal import requirements, including food aid, for the 2003/04 marketing year (April-March). The mission was briefed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER), Ministry of Social Assistance and Reintegration (MINARS), and by the FAO and WFP country teams. Field...

Subsidies maintain cotton production at otherwise unprofitable levels in industrialized countries Excess supply induced by domestic subsidies has a depressing effect on the world market price Subsidy reductions will reduce poverty in developing producing countries Estimates of the magnitude of the impact of subsidies on the global pattern of cotton production, world market prices and cotton trade vary due to the range of assumptions...

An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission visited Mozambique from 27 April–24 May 2003 to estimate food crop production of for the 2002/03 production season, assess the overall food supply situation, forecast cereal import requirements and possible exports in 2003/04 and determine likely food aid needs. The Mission was accompanied by observers from the European Union (EU), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Southern Africa Development...

Zimbabwe was hit by an erratic rainfall pattern during 2002/03 cereal growing season, following on the heels of a severe drought and the collapse of cereal production the previous year. It is against this backdrop that an FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission visited the country from 21 April to 10 May 2003 to estimate the 2002/03 production of the main cereals and pulse crops, forecast the 2003/04 winter...