Food

Climate and environmental change can often be seen by subsistence farming communities in developing nations as distant problems – they are of little immediate relevance in a society where life or death can be decided by the success of the annual crop cycle.

Within the Walker Institute, we are working to bridge the gap between researchers and communities by turning leading-edge science into practical benefits for real people. For example, for many years we have been working in sub-Saharan Africa to assess the likelihood of dry or wet seasons in areas vulnerable to crop failure, and assisting with practical community-based advice on the selection of suitable crops for the coming season. Affordable and simple index-based weather insurance options, which pay out to farmers if growing conditions turn out to be poor, provide demonstrable buffers against the risks of disastrous and widespread famine resulting from a single poor harvest.