Any sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition should seriously take into consideration that the 21st century will be an arid century with erratic and unpredictable rainfall (Philip K. Thorton et al. Agriculture and food systems in sub-Saharan Africa in a 4°C+ world. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, January 13, 2011 369:117-136). The decrease in growing season length and the increase in rain-fed crop failures will make many marginal areas, today used for subsistence agriculture, totally unusable. Furthermore in such areas it will not be possible to productively keep livestock species such as small ruminant and cattle. The potential catastrophic level of climate disruption will exacerbate local conflicts and population migrations and will certainly cause severe over-use, erosion and degradation of large areas. There should be massive emphasis on dromedary and camel keeping through: specialized training, creation of restocking herds and introduction of camel herds in suitable areas. All this accompanied by promotion and support toward nomadic/semi-nomadic life styles.
Maurizio Dioli