The effect of drought among the Zaghawa in northern Darfur

Indigenous responses to drought in sub‐Saharan Africa*

“…Large clay jars relatively impervious to inroads by vermin are found in Darfur, Sudan (cf. Tobert, 1985; also A. and P. Fleuret, 1985; A. Fleuret, 1986b).…”

“…Irvine has presented detailed data on so-called supplementary and emergency foods in West Africa (1952). According to Tobert (1985), the Zaghawa of Darfur sustained themselves during 1984 on food aid sorghum and wild foods, especially the seeds of cucurbits; while the Basarwa of Botswana increase the hunting and foraging activities during droughts (Cashdan, 1985). It is important to stress that this is a different usage of wild products than that in which they are routinely employed to increase dietary diversity.…”

Strategies for coping with severe food deficits in rural Africa: A review of the literature

“…Under such circumstances social cohesion gives way and less desirable measures are resorted to (Oguntoyinbo and Richards 1978;Turton 1977;Holy 1980;. Social breakdown displays itself in behavior such as selling relatives into slavery (Pankurst 1966(Pankurst , 1972Dias 1981), begging (Vaughan 1985), and theft Tobert 1985;Vaughan 1985).…”

“…A number of writers have noted that people tend to resort to them in an identifiable sequence ranging from strategies based upon local, family-controlled resources to strategies in which self-sufficiency gives way to a dependence upon external sources of support (Colson 1979;Cassanelli 1982;Watts 1983aWatts , 1983bCutler 1984;Tobert 1985). Cassanelli (1982) in a study of Somali herders has conceptualized the sequence in eight stages:…”

“…Traditionally farmers stored some of their crops for use in poor years (Raynault 1975;Vaughan 1985;Tobert 1985;Holy 1980), and herders deliberately increased the size of their herd in good years so that they might better withstand inevitable losses from drought or disease.…”