Guinea

GUINEA is a populous country (population 7.4 million in 1999) of West Africa, facing the Atlantic Ocean between Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone. The majority of the population lives on a hot, humid coastal plain, where rice and other crops are grown. There is a central mountainous region and a drier northeastern area where maize and similar crops are cultivated. Arable land is 2.5% of the total (246,000 km2).Nearly 90% of the workforce is agricultural, yet agriculture makes up only 24% of the GDP.

General information

• GNI per capita PPP$, 2000: 1,930
• Internal renewable water resources: 226 km³
• Incoming water flow: none
• Main food consumed: rice, roots and tubers, oil and fat, fruits, vegetables
• Rice consumption, 1999: 62.1 kg milled rice per person per year

Production constraints
The following are the major constraints to sustainable rice production in Guinea:

• 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
• 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
• Lack of effective farmers' organizations and cooperatives
• Poor road networks and marketing systems
• Inadequate land tenure status

Click here for a pdf of this information

back to top