© Springer International Publishing AG 2016 443
M. Farooq, K.H.M. Siddique (eds.), Innovations in Dryland Agriculture,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-47928-6_16
Nurturing Agricultural Productivity
and Resilience in Drylands of Sub-Saharan
Africa
Tilahun Amede and Admassu Tsegaye
1 Introduction
In most African countries, agriculture accounts for about 70 % of the labour force, 25
% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 20 % of agribusiness (UNECA 2009 ).
However, the natural resources base in SSA has not been exploited to improve food
security and poverty. The region remains one of the most food-insecure parts of the
world, where poverty is prevalent, food shortages are common, and food aid is the
major coping strategy to feed people during food-deficit months. There has been
some progress in Sub-Saharan Africa towards halving the proportion of its popula-
tion that suffers from food insecurity, partly by helping farmer to access agricultural
technologies and expand market opportunities. The prevalence of hunger in the
region declined by 31 % between the base period (1990–1992) and 2015 (FAO 2015 ).
For example, between 1990–1992 and 2012–2014, food availability in Ethiopia and
Mozambique increased by 41 and 31 %, respectively (FAO 2015 ). However, much of
Eastern and Southern Africa has been affected by unfavourable climatic and drought
conditions which have undermined any progress toward improving food security and
nutrition. For instance, in 2015–2016, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe have been suffering
the worst drought in 50 years due to El Nino- associated extreme events. Maize stocks
in Malawi—a net exporter of maize just a few years ago—declined to a quarter of its
annual average after the worst harvest in seven years in 2012–2013. Meanwhile,
maize prices have more than doubled recently (https://www.gov.uk/government/
news/southern-africa-facing-disaster-as-food-crisis-looms).
T. Amede (*)
International Crops Research Institute for the Semiarid Tropics (ICRISAT),
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
e-mail: [email protected]
A. Tsegaye
College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia