April to July in West Africa covers the main rainy season with farming activities associated with sowing of main cereals (maize, sorghum, millet, and rice) in the region. Cassava and yams are important crops across the Guinean zone, i.e. the tropical moist forest area along the coast of West Africa, especially in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire; they  are still in the fields and contribute to the mapped cropped arable land.

The MPZ recorded 548 mm of rainfall over croplands,  a decrease of 9% below average. The highest rainfall was recorded in Equatorial Guinea (1429 mm, +6%), Sierra Leone (1056 mm, -6%) and Liberia (941 mm, -2%). Low rainfall and negative departures were observed in Guinea Bissau (241 mm, -40%) and Burkina Faso (90 mm, -23%).

The region experienced average temperature (27.3°C, +0.1°C above average) and sunshine (RADPAR 1196 MJ/m2, +1%) resulting in a slight increase of the biomass production potential (BIOMSS of 759 gDM/m2, +2%). The cropped arable land fraction (CALF) at 89% was down -1% compared with the average of the recent 5 years. This is also supported by the VCIx map with values larger than 0.8 in coastal to central regions and lower values in the Northern. The agronomic indicators show that Nigeria had a good share of cropped arable land in the region. Persisting civil insecurity in Northern Nigeria continues to affect agriculture production and limits access to food for vulnerable households.

Based on VHI, there is some evidence of moderate to severe drought across the region especially the north. However, the rainy season starts around June in the northern part of the MPZ.  While some areas had favorable BIOMSS departures (e.g. the north-west of Nigeria, northern Ghana and northern Guinea) the final outcome season in those areas will depend on July and later rain.

Figure A: Spatial distribution of rainfall profiles

Figure B: Spatial distribution of temperature profiles

Figure C: Potential biomass departure from 5YA

Figure D: Maximum VCI

Figure E: VHI Minimum