Extract: Program and policy officials involved in the work of allocating and shipping food aid from donor to recipient countries should know not only how much food each recipient country requires in a given year but also when food must be delivered to each country during that year to provide maximum benefit to those in need. In addition to basic information such as planting and harvesting periods, other factors such as usual food-deficit or "hungry" periods, rainfall seasons, and customary shipping time requirements are also relevant to determining the optimal time for food aid delivery. This reference document provides such information for major staple crops in the countries of Africa