Cassava and yams aredominant crops in Nigeria, especially in the south. Cereals (maize and rainfedrice) play a major role in the southern-central part of the country whereplanting takes place from the middle of the current reporting period, from theend of March to April. Compared with the average, rainfall was generally low(-12%) with an increase in sunshine (RADPAR +1%), average VCIx, but a markeddecrease of the fraction of cultivated arable land (CALF), the second highest dropof all the countries monitored by CropWatch. In the main maize producing areas,which correspond to the median belt of the country, conditions were generallyaverage, according to the NDVI clusters. Below average conditions occurredmostly at the beginning of April, but the end of the month indicated somerecovery as planting progressed. In line with the overall analysis of the westAfrican region, the most plausible interpretation of the CropWatch indicatorsis that conditions were generally average so far, but that crop phenology isdelayed in the Sahelian part of the country.

Figure3.22. Nigeria crop condition, January-April2015