Water and Africa 
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| Title: | Drought, famine, and the seasons in sub-Saharan Africa |
| Author: | Glantz, M.H. |
| Book title: | African Food Systems in Crisis. Part 1: Microperspectives |
| Year: | 1989 |
| Pages: | 45-71 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Subsaharan Africa |
| Subjects: | famine droughts arable farming |
| Abstract: | This paper explores some of the linkages between drought, desertification, famine, and the seasons. The stress that the different seasons produce for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is explored. Different types of drought are then considered (meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological droughts), as well as the effects droughts might have on the seasonal rhythm of agricultural activities and thus on the usual hardships that farmers face. Finally, the relationship between drought and desertification and drought and famine are examined. An attempt is made to integrate the effects of seasonality into these relationships. The author concludes that drought is not the primary or sole source of the agrarian crisis existing in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Drought is most often a contributing factor to other underlying problems plaguing societies that are dependent on agricultural production for their livelihood. The importance of drought as a contributing factor in any given situation must, however, be determined on a case-by-case basis from one region to the next and from one time to the next, even within the same region. The author stresses the importance of the effects of seasonality on the livelihood of rural populations. He argues that, while the processes of drought, desertification, and famine are highly visible, these processes only worsen the effects of an already existing, potentially equally devastating climatic process, the changing of the seasons. Bibliogr. |