Precipitation Variability and Food Security

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.