The report covers the period from April to July and represents the onset of main agricultural activities in the West African region. The main crops planted during this period predominantly include cereal crops (maize, sorghum, millet, and rice) and tuber crops (cassava and yams). In the southern bimodal rainfall areas of the region, seasonal rains had a timely onset. The agroclimatic indicators of the MPZ show that the accumulated rainfall was below average (RAIN - 8%). This was also expressed by the regional severity of drought from the thematic map. The regional temperature was above average (TEMP +1%) while radiation (RADPAR -2%) and biomass production (BIOMASS -5%) were below average. The cropped arable land (CALF -2%) was reduced and the resulting crop production index (CPI = 0.93) indicated an unfavorable crop production condition which could be attributed to the reduced rainfall. At country level, reduced rainfall was observed in Ghana (RAIN -26%), Côte d'Ivoire (RAIN -23%), Equatoria Guinea (RAIN -21%), Togo (RAIN -19%), Nigeria (RAIN -14%), Liberia (RAIN -13%) while rainfall was above average in Guinea Bissau (RAIN +59%), Burkina Faso (RAIN +24%), Sierra Leone (RAIN +9%) and Guinea (RAIN +8%). Most of the countries in the MPZ had temperatures above average varying from Guinea Bissau (TEMP +0.3°C) to Ghana (TEMP +1.3°C) however the solar radiation was below average in most countries such as Sierra Leone (RADPAR -9%), Liberia (RADPAR -8%), Guinea (RADPAR -3%) while for Burkina Faso (RADPAR 0%), Equatorial Guinea (RADPAR 0%) and Nigeria (RADPAR 0%)  it was normal. The countries in the MPZ with reduced biomass production due to reduced rainfall included Ghana (BIOMSS -11%), Côte d'Ivoire (BIOMSS -9%) and Nigeria (BIOMSS -8%). Based on the VCIx map as an indication of vegetation cover, the region experienced high vegetative cover (VCIx >0.8) while the vegetation health index (VHI) map also depicts a spatial and temporal pattern affected by moderate to severe drought conditions. The drought affected zones will require average to above average rainfall in the coming weeks to  ensure an adequate soil moisture supply for the growth of the main season crops, which are key to food security in the region.

Figure B: Spatial distribution of rainfall profiles

Figure C: Spatial distribution of temperature profiles

Figure D: Cropped and uncropped arable land

Figure E: Potential biomass departure from 5YA

Figure F: Maximum VCI

Figure G: VHI Minimum