ReliefWeb

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

• Dry weather conditions sharply reduced the 2012 spring season cereal crops

• Prices of imported rice stable while those of maize decline in some markets

• Food security remains difficult

Dry weather conditions sharply reduced the 2012 spring season cereal crops

Harvesting of the 2012 spring season’s cereal crops, which normally accounts for about half of the annual maize output and approximately 30 percent for rice, is underway. Dry weather conditions during the growing period in May and early June had a negative impact on yields, particularly maize, which is mainly rainfed and the output is anticipated to be well below the good level of the same season in 2011.

Planting of the main season rice crop is ongoing in the central Artibonite irrigated plains. Water supplies are estimated adequate, but high prices of fertilizers and low availability of agricultural inputs may reduce plantings.

The 2012 aggregate maize production (spring and summer crops) is expected at 280 000 tonnes, 20 percent below the high level of 2011, while rice production is tentatively forecast at 120 000 tonnes, similar to last year’s level.