Following a period of unfavourable rainfall distribution in December and January, particularly in the eastern and central parts of country, the Government of Zimbabwe requested a FAO and WFP independent evaluation. In response, a joint FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) visited the country between 14-18 June 2010, to conduct a condensed assessment of the 2009/10 cereal production and evaluate the overall food security situation to determine the...

As this report goes to print, concerns over macroeconomic prospects and global financial markets are once more gaining the headlines. Changes in the economic environment, including continuing fluctuations in exchange rates and high unpredictability have a strong influence on agricultural commodity markets. From the supply side, however, the 2008-2009 price boom spurred plantings and production of many food crops, resulting in a recovery in inventories and boosting stocks-to-use ratios, a...

FAO’s first forecast for world cereal production in 2010 is 2 286 million tonnes, 1.5 percent up from last year and similar to the record level of 2008. However, with some major crops yet to be planted, much will depend on climatic conditions in the coming months. In Low-Income Food-Deficit countries, early prospects for the 2010 crops are mixed. In Southern Africa, smaller maize outputs are anticipated in several countries....

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 visited Ethiopia from 9 November to 4 December 2009 to estimate the 2009 main meher season cereal and pulse production; review the 2009 secondary belg season harvests; forecast the 2010 belg season production; and assess the overall food supply situation for the 2010 marketing year (January/December). Accompanied by experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD), the Central Statistics Authority...

La Misión conjunta FAO/PMA de Evaluación de Cosecha y Seguridad Alimentaría (CFSAM) visitó Guatemala desde el 3 hasta el 23 de noviembre de 2009. La Misión tuvo como objetivo la evaluación de la producción de los granos básicos (maíz, fríjol y arroz), localmente afectados por eventos climáticos adversos en las áreas denominadas del corredor seco sobre todo en la Región Oriente del país.

An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) visited Southern Sudan from 19 October to 14 November 2009 to estimate cereal production and assess the overall food-security situation. The Mission included representatives from the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF), the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), FEWSNet, FAO and WFP.

Latest information confirms a further improvement in global cereal supply situation in the current 2009/10 marketing year. Another aboveaverage production in 2009 should exceed consumption by a significant margin and total cereal inventories are forecast to climb to an 8-year high. In several Sahelian and Eastern Africa countries, however, cereal and pasture production declined sharply and a difficult food security situation is anticipated this year in parts of Niger, Chad...