Managing risk rather than reacting to disaster

An editorial by Judith Rodin in the Daily Nation (Kenya): …Perhaps nowhere in the world is the impact of climate on agriculture more direct and more dangerous than in Africa. Rising temperatures skew the timing and distribution of seasonal rains, causing fatal floods and drought and wreaking havoc on traditional farming systems dependent on reliable rainfall. The impact is all the more devastating as to date, global thinking has focused reactively on managing disaster, rather than proactively managing risk. It is only when disaster strikes that we react.

After disaster strikes, funding is sought on a largely ad hoc basis and only then can relief be mobilised for the people who need it most. In the meantime, lives are lost and valuable assets depleted, undermining progress. Such complex challenges call for wholistic solutions which take into account all the interdependencies of the different sub-issues. Only by defining truly integrated solutions will a decisive solution to food security become viable.

Innovation needs to be mainstreamed into every step of the process. This means re-thinking everything from the way we structure financial and technical support at a global level to how we deliver practical support to farmers. The signs are encouraging.

…The tools and data to predict food security risks with a relative measure of accuracy are now available. Research and experience in addressing food security challenges in the last 100 years now make it possible to generate accurate data estimating rainfall patterns across the world and to map the places most vulnerable to drought against the nutritional needs of affected populations.

…Africa RiskView is a software platform that translates satellite-based rainfall data into near real-time needs and cost estimates for every first-level administrative district for every country in sub-Saharan Africa. It combines four well-established disciplines: crop monitoring and early warning; vulnerability assessment and mapping; emergency response; and financial planning and risk management, providing the most sophisticated early warning system for food security risks yet.

…Averting disaster is the best way to support vulnerable populations, rather than helping them cope with the aftermath. From a financial perspective, managing disaster is also exponentially more expensive than managing risk….

Plowing on Tuti Island in Khartoum, Sudan, shot by Petr Adam DOHNÁLEK, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Czech Republic license