The monitoring period covers the harvesting season of the secondrice crop for the southern region of the country, as well as harvests ofcotton, second maize, and sweet potato. In addition, the period included sowingseasons for cassava (south region), maize (main, south), and yams. Rainfall(RAIN) and radiation (RADPAR) were about average, while temperature (TEMP) waswell below (-4°C). The period experienced a poor vegetation condition index(VCIx: 0.69), as well as a reduction in both the biomass production potential(BIOMSS, -10%) and the fraction of cropped arable land fraction (CALF, -24percentage points) compared to the five-year averages for the same period forthese indicators.

Nationwide, crop development based on NDVI was always below boththe average of the previous five years and last year’s values. Favorable cropcondition development, compared to average, was observed for Borno, Gygawa, andSokoto in the northern region of the country, and in some areas of south Kogiin the south. Unfavorable crop condition occurred in the central region of thecountry, corresponding to Massarawa, Niger, and Kaduna.

Figure3.22. Nigeria crop condition, January-April2017