The WFP-VAM team in Nigeria has been working with colleagues in Rome to leverage satellite imagery to gain insights in the food security situation in the northeast. They are leveraging a combination of seasonal monitoring system, hazard hotspot system and high resolution crop mapping system to monitor the growing season in operational and hotspot hard-to-reach areas of interest. The reporting period will be updated every 10 days. Key Highlights include:

• Nigeria has had a variable rainfall season so far. Drier than average conditions until late April were reversed in May by wetter than average conditions across the whole country.

• In northern areas, the season got off to a good and mostly earlier than usual start. More modest and poorly distributed rainfall in June and July led to lower than average vegetation development in central and eastern Nigeria.

• There is not a well-defined rainfall tendency for the later stages of the season (mid August-late September). Some focus areas have been identified for closer monitoring

• So far, no major concern has emerged, though Adamawa state in the east and Zamfara-Niger in the west require closer monitoring given recent poor rains and low vegetation health.