Experts discuss how agricultural research can avert future food crises

The event Famine in the Horn of Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Mitigating Drought-Induced Food Crises was held by the CGIAR Consortium held in Nairobi, Kenya on 1 September 2011. More information is available from http://consortium.cgiar.org/hoa/

Agricultural research plays a critical role in examining the causes and identifying potential solutions which can be exploited by countries and development agencies to avert future food crises. The CGIAR is exploring how it might make a greater contribution to the affected regions of the Horn and beyond.

The following speakers addressed a media briefing:

• Lloyd Le Page, CEO of the CGIAR Consortium
• Mark Gordon, Co-Chair, UN Somalia Food Cluster, World Food Programme
• Namanga Ngongi, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
• Joseph Mureithi, Deputy Director, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI)

Topics included:

• Promising options and innovations to help farmers become more resilient and food-secure in the face of weather and other shocks
• The role of infrastructure and access to viable, functioning markets in food security and prices
• Whether drought-tolerant crops and large-scale irrigation are the answer
• Whether pastoralism is a driver of drought-induced food insecurity or a buffer against it
• Policies that are needed, and at what levels, to ensure that recommendations and innovations for drought-prone areas are put in place in those areas that need them most

A science learning event brought together leading researchers and experts from various CGIAR centers - including the World Agroforestry Centre – as well as programs and selected regional and development partners. Participants discussed avenues of agricultural research which have direct application to the crisis in the Horn, identifed candidate evidence-based solutions and interventions that are considered of priority to the region, considered the comparative advantage of the CGIAR, and presented an actionable plan for the way forward. The outcomes of this event are being synthesized internally and used to inform the African Union meeting on 2-3 September, and more broadly the G20 meeting in Montpellier on 12-13 September.

To learn about the potential of agroforestry to mitigate the effects of drought, prevent desertification and restore degraded soils, see Surviving drought through agroforestry. Agroforestry can also help to boost food production (for humans as well as animals) and provide alternative sources of nutrition or income when crop yields are low.

With climate change expected to lead to unpredictable seasons in the future, placing even greater pressure on agricultural systems, food production and food prices, agroforestry is a viable option to help buffer farmers against the impacts.

(Photo courtesy of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)