Slightly below last year crop production in the Highlands of Ethiopia
During the month of October, above average rainfalls have been observed in Southern Ethiopia. A negative anomaly of rainfall is also assessed by the MSGTAMSAT model in the western part of Amhara and Tigray, along the Sudanese border. The Vegetation Condition Index map of October shows below normal conditions in mainly the agriculture areas of Amhara and Tigray regions, potentially the result of the low rainfall observed in August and September. On the contrary, the October VCI indicates a certain recovery of the vegetation in the region of Somali. Following the field assessment of October (p. 3), the observation of the rainfall patterns and the Vegetation profiles, this year should be considered at national level as an average year for cereals production, with nevertheless a below last year production between 10 and 20 percent. These average conditions should not hide some specific regions of concern: Tigray, Amhara as well as Afar.