Mainstreaming Climate-Related Disaster Risk Reduction in Agriculture and Food Sectors in Eastern Africa
Analytical Report
The eastern Africa sub-region has recurrently experienced climate-induced food insecurity crises. Their magnitude and frequency have been rising. To illustrate, the number of people affected by droughts has been multiplied seven folds, between the 1980 average decadal baseline and 2011. Floods and landslides also present rising impacts. To address the issues, countries have set up institutions for disaster risk management (DRM). However, prevailing hindrances affect their effectiveness. This report thus recommends seven main priority intervention aspects for climate resilient agriculture and food sectors in the sub-region: (1) making early warning effective for early action in agriculture; (2) addressing population dynamics and constraints on natural resources; (3) developing risk-informed sector-specific DRM plans; (4) financial resource allocation and mobilization; (5) linking the development and humanitarian efforts; (6) transcending socio-cultural barriers; and (7) agro-ecologically appropriate infrastructure development and technology transfer. Otherwise, the magnitude of climate-induced food crises will escalate to unbearable levels.
