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GUINEA BISSAU is a tiny (36,000 km2) tropical West African nation facing the Atlantic Ocean between Senegal and Guinea. The land is mainly flat, rising to savanna in the east. The population in 1999 was 1.2 million. Rice is grown in both swampy coastal areas and the drier savanna region. Eleven percent of the land is arable and agriculture, which occupies 85% of the workforce, constitutes 54% of the GDP.
General information
- GNI per capita PPP$, 2000: 710
- Internal renewable water resources: 16 km3
- Incoming water flow: 9 km3
- Main food consumed: rice, oil and fat, nuts, millet and sorghum, roots and tubers
- Rice consumption, 1999: 87.3 kg milled rice per person per year
Production constraints
The major constraints to sustainable rice production in Guinea Bissau are as follows:
Drought in upland areas and drought and flash flood in rainfed lowland (or inland
swamp) and tidal wetland (or mangrove) areas because of irregular weather
- Acidity and salinity in tidal wetland (or mangrove) areas
- Inadequate and irregular input supplies: seeds, fertilizer, and credit
- Lack of small farm equipment, especially for postharvest operations
- Poor maintenance of developed swamps
- Poor drainage, iron toxicity in undeveloped swamps
- Poor maintenance of dikes, saltwater intrusion
- Lack of effective farmers' organizations and cooperatives
- Lack of a well-defined rice policy
- Poor road networks and marketing systems
- Weak research and extension support
Production season |
|
|
|
Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season |
May-Aug |
Oct-Jan |
Basic statistics, Guinea Bissau |
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
Rice |
Area harvested (ha) |
60,000 |
60,100 |
69,881 |
69,000 |
72,000 |
72,000 |
Yield (t/ha) |
1.8 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
Production (t) |
105,000 |
123,314 |
133,266 |
132,000 |
138,282 |
138,282 |
Rice imports (t) |
19,169 |
43,268 |
58,955 |
34,000 |
18,200 |
na |
Others |
Population, total (x103) |
877 |
973 |
1,086 |
1,161 |
1,187 |
na |
Population, agriculture (x103) |
758 |
830 |
914 |
968 |
986 |
na |
Agricultural area (x103 ha) |
1,400 |
1,420 |
1,425 |
1,430 |
na |
na |
Irrigated agricultural area (x103 ha) |
17 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
na |
na |
Total fertilizer consumption (t) |
0 |
586 |
300 |
600 |
na |
na |
Tractors used in agric. (no.) |
18 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
na |
na |
Source: FAOSTAT online database. |
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