Pastures are generally satisfactory. In early August, small Desert Locust swarms and groups appeared and laid over a wide area in southern Mauritania. In mid-August, bands of hoppers began to be reported and treated. In the south-west, hatching will continue to occur and numbers are likely to increase. Elsewhere, small scale breeding may be in progress.
Control operations are underway.
Following two successive bumper crops, the overall food supply situation is satisfactory. May. Although prices of imported wheat increased slightly, markets remain well supplied. Food assistance is being distributed to Tuareg refugees in camps in the east of the country. Mauritanian refugees in Senegal, following civil disturbances along the Senegal river in 1989, will start to return to Mauritania.