In the West Africa MPZ, the planting of maize occurs from March or April in the south, but in May or later in the north and in the west,where countries are located at higher latitudes. Rice is a major crop in the west of the MPZ. Seasons may vary from very long to bimodal in the south,depending mostly on elevation. For the reporting period, rainfall was average in the region as a whole, resulting from above average rainfall in the west(Guinea Bissau, RAIN, +25%; Sierra Leone, +14%; and Guinea, +27%), average precipitation in Ghana and Nigeria, and a relative shortfall in Liberia (-18%),Côte d'Ivoire and Togo (both -19%), and Benin (-13%). As far as rainfall distribution over time is concerned, in April the MPZ experienced below average rainfall from southern Guinea to eastern Nigeria across the center of all the countries in-between, thus leaving mostly the west (Guinea Bissau, SierraLeone, west Liberia, and west Guinea) as well as coastal areas and the north with average conditions. A second dry spell occurred mid-June throughout the area, but it is unlikely to have affected the global water balancesignificantly. Significant rainfall peaks (+100mm) occurred in Sierra Leone and west Liberia in May, and in southeast Nigeria in July.

The region experienced a moderate warm spell (TEMP, +0.6°Con average) as well increased sunshine (RADPAR, +2%). Temperature peaks can bementioned for limited areas, such as a cold spell in central northeastern Nigeria in April (-2.0°C) and a heat peak (+4.0°C) in Ghana in mid-April. Among all countries, Ghana, Togo, and Benin display the highest temperature anomalies(+0.8°C). The same countries also have the highest radiation departures (RADPAR,+4%, +3% and +6%, respectively) from average.

The biomass production potential (BIOMSS) in the regionunderwent a moderate drop of 6%, while the cropped arable land fraction at 83%(-1 percentage point compared to average) and VCIx (0.81) point at very closeto average conditions in the west. Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Benin, andNigeria underwent greater variability, with a BIOMSS drop between 10 and 14%.VHIn is very mixed, but with a tendency to low values in the north in relation with the late onset of the rainy seasons at higher latitude. Altogether,environmental conditions and vegetation indices create no particular concerns for the area. Figure 2.1 illustrates agroclimatic and agronomic indicators for the MPZ for the reporting period.

Figure 2.1. West Africa MPZ: Agroclimaticand agronomic indicators, April-July 2015