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The recent drought in East Africa was the worst in over 40 years. In North Africa, the Sahel region has seen deserts expand 200 kilometres southward over the past three decades.
The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which opened Riyadh’s Saudi Arabian capital, has called for urgent investments to prevent encroaching desertification. It has also called for empowering small-scale farmers to tackle land degradation and desertification to safeguard the planet’s food security, climate, and ecosystems.
Speakers at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification COP16 said that better land management was needed to prevent desertification, protect Planet Earth, and ensure its arableness. The lead speaker at the conference was UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UNCCD Ibrahim Thiaw. The meeting kicked off on 2nd December 1 and will continue until 13th December 2024.
IFAD’s President Alvaro Lario is in Riyadh to advocate for small-scale farmers and producers who are dealing with the destructive impact of drought and desertification which threatens the livelihoods of an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide.
The recent drought in East Africa was the worst in over 40 years. In North Africa, the Sahel region has seen deserts expand 200 kilometres southward over the past three decades.
This year, Zimbabwe has endured the worst drought in living memory, forcing its President Emmerson Mnangagwa to declare a country-wide state of disaster. IFAD has been supporting one project which is helping thousands of farmers remain resilient and grow crops despite the limited rainfall.
Poor rainfall has seen at least 40% of farmers experiencing complete crop failure due to this year’s El Nino-induced drought- the worst in living memory. Many small-scale farmers in the country rely on rainfed agriculture. Even for those who have irrigation, poor infrastructure, and broken pipes and canals were hampering their efforts to grow crops.
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An estimated population of 6 million is expected to be food insecure in Zimbabwe during the 2024-2025 lean season (January to March). In addition to the human and economic costs, land degradation and climate change could force up to 700 million people to migrate by 2050
