FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
Preliminary estimates for 2014 harvest point to an above-average cereal production
Cereal prices are on decline, reflecting adequate supplies
Humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in northern parts, as a result of continuing civil conflict
Adequate rains in 2014 resulted in good cereal production
Harvesting of the 2014 cereal crops was completed in January 2015. Favourable rains benefited crop development in the major producing states of the country. Although civil insecurity led to significant population displacement, disrupting farming activities in Borno, Yobe and part of Adamawa State, preliminary estimates point to an above-average 2014 cereal production. FAO tentatively forecasts the country’s cereal output in 2014 at about 24.4 million tonnes, 12 percent above the previous five-year average.
An above average production was already gathered in 2013. The 2013 aggregate cereal production was estimated at some 23 million tonnes, an increase of 10 percent over the 2012 floods-affected output. Good supplies from the new 2014 harvest have resulted in significant price declines for coarse grains. In the main northern Kano market, maize prices dropped by 20 percent between September and December 2014.
