Precipitation Variability and Food Security

Abstract

The break out group began with a roundtable discussion in response to the question: What are the key issues in understanding the linkage between precipitation variability and food security? The responses included:

• Agriculture:

  • Property rights

  • Crop selection and rotations

  • Agro-forestry

  • Technology

• Water:

  • Intensive, efficient use in irrigation

  • Participatory water basin management

  • Long-term changes due to land use and climate

  • Drought and desertification

• Food security:

  • Traditional means of coping in agrarian societies

  • Global distribution of agriculture and globalisation

  • Urbanisation

• Uncertainty:

  • Precipitation and nutrient flows

  • Markets

  • Spatial and temporal patterns

• Research:

  • Barriers to the integration of social and natural science

The group then had five presentations, on themes related to the above issues. A general discussion period followed the presentations. The first two presentations set the scene.