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Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015
Making development sustainable: The future of disaster risk management |
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3.7 Agricultural drought risk
In several countries, losses from agricultural drought not only pose risks to the national economy but can also lead to devastating effects on the rural population. With climate change, patterns of agricultural drought can be expected to change.
Agricultural drought is probably the most socially constructed of all disaster risks (UNISDR, 2011a
UNISDR. 2011a,Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Revealing Risk, Redefining Development, Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. . The direct impacts of agricultural drought are reduced crop, rangeland and forest productivity, reduced water levels, increased fire hazard, damage to wildlife and fish habitats, and increased livestock and wildlife mortality. The indirect impacts include reduced income from agriculture and increased food and timber prices, which in turn lead to wider impacts such as malnutrition (especially among children), increased unemployment, migration, reduced tax revenues and the risk of foreclosures on bank loans to farmers. Although agricultural droughts can persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage to the local economy (FAO, 2013a
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2013a,Drought, FAO Land & Water.. . In sub-Saharan Africa, only 1 per cent of the farmed area is irrigated (Ward et al., 2014
Ward, Christopher, Claudia Ringler, Raphael Torquebiau and Tom Watson. 2014,Improving resilience in SSA drylands: the contribution of agricultural water management. . ![]() ![]() Click here to view this GAR paper. Figure 3.33 Total factor productivity (TFP) index
(Source: USDA Economic Research Service.)
In many low-income countries in this region, agriculture remains a critical economic sector. In many of those countries where economic activity and employment are concentrated in agriculture, such as Eritrea and Ethiopia, a significant proportion of the population is undernourished, and a significant proportion of the area covered by vegetation is affected by high levels of land degradation and agricultural drought hazard (Table 3.2).
In these countries, agricultural drought not only poses risks to the national economy but also leads to devastating effects on the rural population.
In Malawi, for example, agriculture is responsible for around 30 per cent of GDP. Estimated annual losses due to drought represent about 1 per cent
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