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Building resilience to address the root cause of food security

As the fourth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction gets underway, it is heartening to hear heads of governments, corporate leaders, international organizations and civil society voicing the same sentiments of the importance of reducing disaster risk and building community resilience, the clear link between community resilience and sustainable development and the need to bridge the divide in resources between emergency response and disaster risk reduction.

Working in Mauritania, I see building the resilience of communities and making them stronger as key aspects to addressing the underlying issue of food security in the country.  Mauritania is home to three million people, more than one third of whom are hungry. The Brakna region, in the south, has the highest malnutrition rates in the country, particularly among children under the age of five.

In the present state of accelerated climate change, addressing the issue of food security does not require new, ground breaking ideologies and methodologies; but a simple shift in how we approach the issue, using the knowledge that we also know and the skills and tools that we already have, to look at it and address it creatively from a different point of view.

It is evident that food security in Mauritania and other parts of Africa is directly connected to the availability of water, cultural farming techniques and tools, conflict and the ongoing food crisis, which continue to trap already vulnerable communities in a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger.

When the rainfall is good, there is almost no food crisis, but when there is a rainfall deficit, people become food insecure. The lack of knowledge or perhaps the use of medieval farming tools and limited access to modern farming techniques leads to poor crop yields. All these factors combined, including political turmoil, inflation and conflict, make communities even more vulnerable to the effects of disasters.  

It is clear that the issue of food security calls for integrated action to address its underlying causes.  For example, innovative interventions that can reduce dependency on rainfall, and adapting modern methods and tools with cultural farming techniques will lead to the development of stronger, empowered and resilient communities.

It goes without saying that disaster preparedness and prevention increase the resilience of communities. It is intrinsically linked. Therefore, beyond the specific actions for resilience which enable vulnerable communities to cope with and recover from disasters, we must also invest in increasing the readiness of communities for the eventuality of disasters. Resources and efforts should be committed more and more to reduce the risk of food crises in addition to the focus on emergency response. While critical to saving lives, emergency response is often limited and unable to address the underlying issues. What we call for is investing in a “twin track” approach that combines emergency response, recovery and disaster risk reduction – which boils down to building resilience.

When last year’s drought wiped out crops and sent food prices soaring, the Mauritanian Red Crescent Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) responded by delivering emergency food aid while working with communities to plan for long-term resilience.

Results include the formation of 28 women’s cooperatives, which received vegetable seeds and training on how to grow produce that can withstand the extremes of the desert climate. Three wells were rehabilitated and equipped with solar panels, making it easier to meet the water needs of people, gardens and livestock. Gardens are now flourishing; women are selling produce in the market, and generating income for their families which last year had none. And farmers, after using improved seeds, tools and farming techniques have this year harvested 90 tonnes of sorghum compared to just 14 tonnes last year.

The Red Cross also distributed goats to families whose young children are suffering from malnutrition the area of Maghta Lahjar. Female goats were provided as they can produce much needed vitamin-rich milk for children. Since the programme was introduced, the malnutrition rate has dropped, down nine per cent over the past year.

However, the needs are still immense. It is necessary to tackle the issue of food security in its entirety and in an integrated way. It is in our own interest since this kind of approach has a higher impact, is more cost effective and helps break the vulnerability cycle for the most vulnerable communities, especially when it comes to protecting and strengthening their livelihoods.