Extreme weather in Horn of Africa - Against the backdrop of drought and famine in the Horn of Africa region, leading food experts have said greater investment in agricultural research, and an increased cooperation among scientists, governments, local enterprises and rural communities are critical to reducing the region's vulnerability to future droughts and extreme weather. According to a joint statement from the experts in food security and agricultural development, who are attending a conference on the current food security crisis in the Greater Horn of Africa, the famine is stark evidence that the root causes of vulnerability in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of this region have not been adequately addressed.

'It is not drought but rather vulnerability to drought that has thrown the region into repeated food crises. Yet in contrast to this vulnerability is the fact that the ASALs produce most of the livestock traded in the region, typically contributing over 40 percent agricultural GDP to the national economies,' they said in the statement, obtained by PANA here Friday.

The conference was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya, by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and convened by the African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the CGIAR Consortium.

Experts from governments, research institutions, non-governmental organizations, regional organizations, and development agencies from the Greater Horn of Africa and globally, that are or have been engaged in addressing the challenges to the development of the ASALs, attended the conference.

One panel included experts from the CGIAR Consortium, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

While discussing the main topic – Famine in the Horn of Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Mitigating Drought-Induced Food Crises – they unanimously called for a priority focus on agricultural research innovation and matching investments.

They said that market infrastructure development, robust policies and partnerships must go together to get research outcomes to farmers and herders on the ground.

Panelists cited the need for better land use practices, including the development of rainwater harvesting approaches that allow more efficient use of available water.

Other solutions include improved crop varieties; animal breed varieties that can thrive in harsh conditions; and development of a market for crops beyond maize which values dryland crops such as sorghum and millet.

Diversification of crops better suited for drylands; Better storage; Partnerships to scale up successes; Better market access for livestock herders; Revitalizing degraded soils in rangelands; National development plans; as well as Commodity exchanges and insurance for farmers and herders are also part of the solutions.

On 12-13 September, members of the G20 will meet in Montpellier, France, to outline priorities for agricultural research in ensuring global food security and stability.

Pana 09/09/2011