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Dear All,
We are pleased to share the latest issue of the
Crop Prospect and Food Situation
quarterly report that focuses on developments affecting the food situation of developing countries and Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries
(LIFDCs). The report also includes an overview of global cereal production prospects and a table highlighting countries that require external assistance for food, identifying the primary causes of the local food crises.
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Crop Prospects and Food Situation |
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2 March 2017 HIGHLIGHTS
FAO’s first forecast of global wheat production in 2017 points to an above-average output, but down from the record high of 2016, mostly reflecting expectations of reduced
crops in North America.
COUNTRIES IN NEED OF EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE: FAO estimates that 37 countries,
including 28 in Africa, are in need of external assistance for food. Conflicts and weather-related shocks are the main drivers of food insecurity. The food security situation is of grave concern in northern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, where over
20 million people are facing severe food insecurity due to the protracted conflicts compounded by droughts in some cases. Famine was already officially declared in South Sudan.
AFRICA: Dry weather-reduced outputs in North and Southern Africa
drove the 2016 regional output downwards to a below-average level; however production in these subregions are expected to recover in 2017 due to overall beneficial weather. Conflicts in parts of Central, East and West Africa continue to severely stress food
security conditions and undermine the agriculture sector, while drought in parts of East African has also intensified food insecurity.
ASIA: Early prospects for the 2017 winter wheat crop are generally
favourable, following an above-average regional cereal output in 2016. Conflicts continue to acutely impact agriculture, livelihoods and food security in the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen and Iraq, resulting in low harvests and increased humanitarian needs. LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN:
A record cereal crop in Mexico and production recoveries elsewhere in Central America, after last year’s drought-reduced harvests, resulted in a bumper 2016 cereal output in the subregion. Prospects for the 2017 maize harvest in South America are overall favourable,
mainly reflecting price‑induced
expansion in plantings in the main producing countries Argentina and Brazil. |
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Enquiries may be directed to: Global Information and Early Warning
System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) Trade and Markets Division (EST)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy |
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