The impact of flooding on food security across Africa

Abstract

Recent record rainfall and flood events have prompted increased attention to flood impacts on human systems. Information regarding flood effects on food security is of particular importance for humanitarian organizations and is especially valuable across Africa's rural areas that contribute to regional food supplies. We quantitatively evaluate where and to what extent flooding impacts food security across Africa, using a Granger causality analysis and panel modeling approaches. Within our modeled areas, we find that ∼12% of the people that experienced food insecurity from 2009 to 2020 had their food security status affected by flooding. Furthermore, flooding and its associated meteorological conditions can simultaneously degrade food security locally while enhancing it at regional spatial scales, leading to large variations in overall food security outcomes. Dedicated data collection at the intersection of flood events and associated food security measures across different spatial and temporal scales are required to better characterize the extent of flood impact and inform preparedness, response, and recovery needs.

Drought versus flood: What matters more to the performance of Sahel farming systems?

“…Recent studies recommended harvesting the floodwater for irrigation purposes in the Sahel instead of being seen as a damaging resource (Atanga & Tankpa, 2021; Elagib, Al Zayed, et al, 2021). Directing and guiding future studies and predictive assessment of flood‐related impacts on food security in Africa necessitate the collection of relevant data and information (Reed et al, 2022).…”

“…resource (Atanga & Tankpa, 2021;Elagib, Al Zayed, et al, 2021). Directing and guiding future studies and predictive assessment of floodrelated impacts on food security in Africa necessitate the collection of relevant data and information (Reed et al, 2022).…”

“…Modelling approaches showed that $12% of the people across rural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa experienced food insecurity from 2009 to 2020 due to flooding (Reed et al, 2022). The above literature review raises the question as to how the recovery of Sahelian precipitation amount with its increasing variability has affected agricultural yield.…”

“…In contrast, flood as a hazard in the Sahel is comparably less investigated than drought (Ayanlade et al, 2022; Elagib, Al Zayed, et al, 2021; Epule et al, 2018; Tarhule, 2005; Tschakert et al, 2010). Modelling approaches showed that ∼12% of the people across rural areas in Sub‐Saharan Africa experienced food insecurity from 2009 to 2020 due to flooding (Reed et al, 2022). The above literature review raises the question as to how the recovery of Sahelian precipitation amount with its increasing variability has affected agricultural yield.…”

The Teddy-Tool v1.0: temporal disaggregation of daily climate model data for climate impact analysis

“…This information can be crucial for evaluating the impacts of climate change on various sectors, such as agriculture, water resources, energy production, and human health (Golub et al, 2022;Trinanes and Martinez-Urtaza, 2021;Colón-González et al, 2021;Tittensor et al, 2021;Byers et al, 2018;Jägermeyr et al, 2021;Poschlod and Ludwig, 2021;Degife et al, 2021). A better representation of the diurnal course of temperature, extreme precipitation events, and other weather variables are also important for adaptation assessments which depend on behavior or processes with high temporal dynamics, such as the energy demand, labor activity, the heat stress of crops or flood events (Minoli et al, 2022;Zabel et al, 2021;Reed et al, 2022;Orlov et al, 2021;Franke et al, 2022). Research has shown that using sub-daily climate data can result in more robust and reliable impact assessments compared to using daily data (Orlov et al 2023).…”