drought

This article analyses drought adaptation practices of two groups of sugarcane growers – market and contractual farmers – in Vietnam. Results of this study point out that farmers, depending on their preferred type of market channels, reacted differently to the impacts of drought. Contractual farmers paid more attention to the impact on sugarcane tillering and sugar content, while market-oriented farmers paid more attention to sugarcane colour. »

This report addresses various recommendations to deal with the current El Nino and the forecast of La Nina. According to Oxfam, El Nino was a broadly preventable crisis and the severity of El Nino’s impacts is a reflection of the world’s failure to provide comprehensive and long-term strategies to anticipate, prepare and adapt. To end this cycle of failure, there is an urgent need for humanitarian action where the situation is already dire, to prepare for La Niña later this year, to commit to comprehensive new measures to build communities’ resilience, and to mobilize global action to address climate change. »

This article (PDF) in The African Journal of Food, Agriculture, and Development elaborates on mitigation strategies used to prevent the impact of droughts on livestock and food security in Mwingi, Kenya. Since in Mwingi, people’s primary source of income is keeping livestock, the impacts on livelihoods were severe when during a previous drought almost half of the livestock died. Therefore a new integrated and collaborative approach was developed to mitigate both immediate and long-term effects. »

This IFPRI blogs shares highlights from Chapter 7 of the 2014-2015 Global Food Policy Report. The blog shows that natural disasters aggravate existing civil conflicts or may contribute to fueling new conflicts, by intensifying social tensions, by deepening inequalities between groups or by raising food prices. Also, food price shocks are both a determinant and effect of conflict. »