Developing National Response Strategies for Enhanced Resilience of African Economies: Lessons from the 2015/16 El Nino impacts

Smallholder farmers which contribute the majority of food production in Africa are in the frontline of the impacts of El Ni o and climate change related risks. The ecosystems on which they rely are increasingly degraded and their access to suitable agricultural land and water resources is declining. In 2015/16, the African agriculture sector was ravaged by drought that has devastated crop yields, scorched grazing land and undermined the resilience of the production systems and livelihoods. Rising food prices reduced real income, forced the poor to sell their assets, decrease food consumption, and further create poverty traps. By the end of 2015, an estimated 60 million people across sub-Saharan Africa didn t have enough to eat. Since there is convincing scientific evidence that the 2015/16 El Ni o was not the first and will not be the last and will obviously result in recurrent disasters in Africa, there is compelling need for the continent to learn from past and prevent similar disasters and strengthen response and recovery efforts. This paper examines response strategies proposed by African countries to build their resilience and explore the appropriate preventative and risk reduction measures and enhance knowledge on effective response and recovery policies and strategies. Acknowledgement :