A Canadian Approach To Drought Monitoring For Famine Relief in Africa

ABSTRACT

Poor water supply is the dominant issue in African agriculture. A project aimed at reducing the impact of drought onfood supply levels in Africa is described. The result was a computer software package for analysis of monthly rainfall records which can be operated on a desktop computer. Referencing of current weather analysis results against historical expectations was a major part of the system design. Another feature was to combine current records with climate normals to project mid-rainy season growing conditions to post-harvest crop estimates. A simple simulation model is used to relate rainfall records to evapotranspirationpotential to generate crop water use and soil moisture reserve estimates. Initial scale of application was the entire African continent, but a downsized version has been produced for Zambia. Similar versions could be produced for other countries. The overall project proposed a multi-disciplinary approach to monitoring, in which the weather based system described here is only one component. Satellite technology is a key link to this system. Other applications of the system include both training and long-term planning as well as crop marketing support.