| | The Cape Verde Islands are a group of semi-arid islands in the Atlantic 450 KM west of Senegal. The islands are part of the Sahal belt, with low and fluctuating rainfall. It is only rarely that enough rain falls at the right time for maize and other crops to survive resulting in sporadic famine that punctuates Cape Verde's history. In recent years rainfall has halved: long-term average precipitation fell from 360mm in 1961 to 180mm in 1991. As a result Cape Verde has to import about 70% of its food. |
