An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission visited Ethiopia from 31 October to 26 November 2011 to estimate the 2011 main meher season cereal and pulse production; review the 2011 secondary belg season harvests; forecast the 2012 belg season production; assess food security trends in 2011; and project food assistance requirements for the 2012 marketing year (January/December). Accompanied by experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD),...

The GIEWS Updates are issued by FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) from mid-2004. The updates focus on developing anomalous conditions aimed at providing early warnings, as well as latest and more elaborate information than other GIEWS regular reports on the food security situation of countries, at both national and sub-national levels.

In September and October 2011 Cambodia was affected by one of the worst floods since 2000. According to Government reports, heavy monsoon rains and the consequent overflowing of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers resulted in widespread flooding, affecting over 1.5 million people, displacing 214 000, as well as causing the loss of 247 lives. The floods also had a significant impact on the agricultural sector, damaging over 400 000...

Continued civil unrest in the Syrian Arab Republic since midMarch 2011 has raised serious concern over the state of food security, particularly for vulnerable groups. Following the unrest, a contraction is forecast in the 2011 real GDP and the downturn is expected to continue in 2012. Economic and trading sanctions together with the strong depreciation of the local currency (Syrian pound) are expected to negatively affect the country’s commercial import capacity,...

FAO’s first forecast for world wheat production in 2012 stands at 690 million tonnes, 10 million tonnes less than last year’s record high, but still the second largest crop. Plantings remain high in response to favourable price prospects but yields are assumed to return to average after bumper levels last year in some countries. International prices of cereals firmed in recent weeks with tightening wheat supplies and concerns over the impact...

The FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance System (CCBS) is a database of annual supply and utilization balances for main cereals, covering all countries of the world. It has been maintained by FAO/GIEWS since 1980 and is updated on a continual basis. This statistical report, which is a subset of CCBS data, presents the current-year cereal supply and demand balances for all sub-Saharan African countries, highlighting cereal import and food aid requirements...

An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) visited South Sudan from 16 October to 10 November 2011 to estimate cereal production and assess the overall food-security situation. The mission was requested following the findings of the Rapid Crop Assessment (RCA) conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in August in collaboration with FAO, WFP, FEWSNet and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA). Based on the RCA scenario analysis, cereal...