Conclusions

Whatever the nature of the triggering event, disaster strikes because many people in the region are extremely poor and have little or no insurance in the form of food reserves or any type of asset protection. They have become increasingly vulnerable to disaster-triggering events because of rapid population growth in marginal areas, the increasingly degraded environment that results from overutilization of the fragile resources, an inability to diversify their sources of income and the difficulty of "escaping" to other areas because of political boundaries, conflict and sheer lack of opportunity for betterment. Misguided development programmes have often encouraged farmers and pastoralists to adopt productivity-enhancing practices that compromise long-term risk-avoidance strategies.

Despite decades of nationally and internationally funded development programmes in agriculture and rural development and sustained inflows of food aid and emergency relief operations, abject poverty, undernourishment, food insecurity and, periodically, famine still characterize the lives of a large proportion of the population of the Horn of Africa. The natural conditions in many parts of the region make life intrinsically difficult, and these conditions have been made worse by a shrinking and degraded resource base, combined with an expanded population. The economies of the countries are largely dependent on the agricultural sector and are weak, reflecting the failure of strategies and programmes to stimulate growth in the sector.

The fact must be confronted that the opportunities for dramatic improvements in the livelihoods of people living in the low-potential, marginal areas of the Horn of Africa are limited. It is a harsh natural environment where mere survival is an achievement. However, some opportunities to reduce the risk of famine and food insecurity in these areas are presented by modern technology, the adoption of a comprehensive approach that is more sensitive to the needs and potential of the area and an increase in the allocation of resources to these areas. The approach should aim to derive synergies between restoring the natural resource base and enhancing agricultural productivity.

It is clear that the problem of food insecurity in the Horn of Africa cannot be solved within the agricultural sector alone. It is a complex and multifaceted task in which knowledge systems, education, health, energy and infrastructure development provide the framework that will allow people to broaden their economic opportunities and increase their incomes. For this reason, it is essential that the UN agencies with different responsibilities take concerted action with the aim of assisting governments and other partners in eliminating food insecurity.

The overall diagnosis of the underlying causes of food insecurity was endorsed during discussions between the Inter-Agency Task Force on the UN Response to Long-Term Food Security, Agricultural Development and Related Aspects in the Horn of Africa and governments of the region (see Box 2).