Blog on SDG2- ASD Forum media outreach
Frequent droughts, conflict and civil insecurity in parts of Africa have the potential to derail the quest to achieve the SDGs especially Goal 2
Mohamed Aw-Dahir, Senior Officer (Program and Partnership)
FAO Sub Regional Office for Eastern Africa, SFE
Frequent droughts and extreme weather events in many parts of Africa, especially in the Horn of Africa, Sahel and Southern Africa regions, continue to pose serious food security and nutrition challenges at national, sub national and community levels. In the Horn of Africa, a major drought occurs almost one in every five years leading to humanitarian crises and sometimes famine. Currently, about 20 million people in Eastern Africa are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance due to the cumulative effects of recurrent drought. As a consequence, massive resources committed by national governments and development partners have been diverted away from long term development programs and priorities aimed at achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address short term emergencies to save people’s lives and livelihoods.
On the other hand, conflict and civil insecurity remain the “enemies of food security”. Conflict easily reverses development gains. There is a well-established linkages between the exposure of communities to conflict/civil insecurity, and the deterioration of their food security and nutrition situation. For the three pre-famine conditions currently reported in Africa (Somalia, South Sudan and, Northern Nigeria), all are linked to the impact of protracted conflict which mainly affects rural communities where agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy. Conflict and civil insecurity disrupts food production through destruction of forests and rangelands, crops, and irrigation systems. In conflict affected areas, the prevalence of livestock pests and disease are widespread leading to loss of livestock assets and possibly destitution of pastoralists. Conflict also disturbs farming and related activities; prevents pastoralists access to water and grazing lands; prevents farmers to grow their own food as armed groups often destroy standing crops and loot food reserves. Insecurity also interrupts food transport networks, marketing and other economic activities. “The impact of conflict on food security often lasts long after the violence has subsided, as assets have been destroyed, people killed or maimed, populations displaced, the environment damaged, and health, education and social services shattered” (World Food Summit, 2002).
FAO’s vision for a world free from hunger puts great emphasis on increasing resilience to livelihoods from shocks. Some of FAO’s livelihood support programs to rebuild assets and livelihoods of the drought affected communities in Africa include coordination of one of the largest seed distribution programs (32,000 MT) in Ethiopia during the El Nino crisis in 2015/16 to protect the livelihoods of more than 1.5 million farm households. With the input supplies provided, about 78,000 hectares of land has been cultivated with a resultant harvest of about 170,000 MT of staple food. With an estimated average harvest of 1 MT of cereals per household, drought affected farmers in Ethiopia were quickly able to feed their families and trade the surplus in the local market. FAO’s livestock feed supplementation program in the country also protects core-breeding stock to enable herders to regain a sustainable herd size. Other programs include animal health provisions for affected livestock population, income generation activities through livestock destocking and, cash-for-work program to rehabilitate communal water points and irrigation systems.
FAO also provides hope to conflict affected farming communities in Africa by supporting livelihood recovery programs. In Somalia for instance, where conflict continues to affect food security and nutrition, FAO’ resilience interventions supports sustainable food production, livelihood strategy diversification and, creation of employment among other programs. These and similar interventions are not only improving food security and nutrition in the short term but will positively contribute to the ongoing peace building and stabilization processes.
FAO’s livelihood support programs for communities affected by conflict and drought enables them regain their food production capacities which will undoubtedly allow them to free themselves from the shackles of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition which is the aim of the SDG2. Increased support to small farmers and their productive capacities is, for sure, one way of avoiding the derailment of the of the implementations of the SDGs and Africa 2063 Agenda.