Abstract

This brief report, drawing from a multi-year effort by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), identifies modest declines in rainfall, accompanied by increases in air temperatures. These analyses are based on quality-controlled station observations.

Conclusions:
• Summer rains have remained steady in Senegal over the past 20 years but are 15 percent below the 1920–1969 average.
• Temperatures have increased by 0.9° Celsius since 1975, amplifying the effect of droughts.
• Cereal yields are low but have been improving.
• The amount of farmland per person is low and declining rapidly.
• Current population and agriculture trends could lead to a 30-percent reduction in per capita cereal production by 2025.

First posted October 15, 2012