Crops in Brazil were slightly below average from January to April. Wheat is currently not growing and summer crops are being harvested. Rainfall was 7% below average; together with average temperature and radiation this results in 5% below average BIOMSS. National NDVI profiles show that crop condition was slightly below average for the whole season but the NDVI peak in February 2016 is above that of 2015. Spatial patterns and profiles of NDVI departure present above average crop condition in Parana and Minas Gerais States. The VCIx map also shows high values (>0.8) in those regions compared with other regions. Low rainfall in Mato Grosso Do Sul and Sao Paulo (refer to Section 2.4 and table A.5 in Annex A) resulted in below average crop condition (VCIx < 0.5). Sufficient rainfall in Rio Grande Do Sul (35% above average) benefited rice and other crops. Overall, rice production is at 13.2 million tons, 12% above 2015 while maize production dropped 1% and soybean production increased by 2%.

Figure 3.8. Brazil crop condition, January-April2016

(a)Crop condition development graph based on NDVI                               (b)Maximum VCI

(c)Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA                               (d)NDVI profiles