The report covers the period from January to April which represents the dry season in the MPZ and marks the end of the harvest of the main season crops. Cropping activities are mainly limited to the coastal areas. Northern areas were uncropped. The harvested cereal crops include main crop maize, sorghum, millet and rainfed rice. The crops grown in the coastal region include maize, yam and rice.  For Nigeria, the harvesting activities of cereals were finalized by the end of January.

For this region, the climatic indicators showed general decrease in annual rainfall (112mm, -13%) with the highest rainfall observed in Equitorial Guinea (882 mm, -24%), Gabon (837 mm, 24%) and Liberia (393 mm, -1%) while the rest of the region representing 82.9% experienced negative rainfall departures.  Based on the vegetative health index (VHI), Nigeria experienced severe drought in both coastal and northern areas of the country. The temperature profiles show that the regional average temperature was 27.1ºC with negligible departure (-0.1ºC). The estimated regional radiation potential was 1331 MJ/m2 (+1%) resulting in observed potential biomass production of 617 gDM/m2 (-5%), located predominantly in the cropped coastal areas of the region. The climatic indicators are indicative of a dry season with reduced agricultural activities as shown by the CALF and rainfall profiles.

Figures: West Africa MPZ: Agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, January to April 2022

Figure A: Spatial distribution of rainfall profiles

Figure B: Spatial distribution of temperature profiles

Figure C: Cropped and uncropped arable land

Figure D: Potential biomass departure from 15YA

Figure E: Maximum VCI

Figure F: VHI Minimum