The West Asia-North Africa region is plagued by frequent drought crises (De-Pauw 2002). Since 1995, IFAD and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development have helped to integrate this zone in a regional approach to drought management. The Mashreq-Maghreb project led by ICARDA has taken an integrated approach to the problem including policy, institutional, and technological issues.

As part of this initiative, drought preparedness in West and North Africa was the subject of an international conference organized by ICARDA and IFPRI in 1998. Participants concluded that there was a vital need for better information and sharper definition of the most vulnerable areas, and for the establishment of holistic national drought management strategies and infrastructure. Emphasis was placed on the need for early-warning and monitoring systems, water resource development, diversification of land use, closer crop-livestock integration, mechanisms for efficient destocking and restocking of animal herds in drought emergencies, the judicious allocation of emergency feed, the examination of crop insurance options, support to community self-help measures, and actions to upgrade the earning capacity of low income people both on- and off-farm.

The pain of drought in the region is illustrated by the severe North African drought of 1994-95. It reduced Morocco’s agricultural gross domestic product by 45%. In collaboration with the national program of Morocco, ICARDA demonstrated the potential of computer-based crop growth models under environmental stress to aid in drought planning and response (ICARDA 2000).

These models helped to identify times for sowing different crops, define strategies for supplemental irrigation of wheat, quantify the gap between potential crop yields and those currently achieved by farmers, and analyze environmental factors limiting crop production. A climate database was developed, along with a soil map covering most of the agriculturally-productive areas of Morocco. Morocco is now much better prepared to combat drought in the future.

Mozambique was in turmoil from 1966 to 1992 due to its independence struggle and an ensuing civil war. It emerged from this long era of conflict as one of the poorest countries in the world. It held its first multi-party elections in 1994, and the new government realized that poverty reduction needed to be at the top of the new agenda. IFPRI was asked to assist the Ministry of Planning and Finance and Eduardo Mondlane University to develop Mozambique's first national poverty assessment and train Mozambican researchers in policy analysis.

The assessment found that almost 70% of Mozambicans lived below the poverty line in 1996-97, and were deprived in such vital areas as health, education, and food security (Simler et al. 2003). The research concluded that reducing poverty hinges on increasing educational levels, stimulating sustainable economic growth, raising agricultural productivity, improving rural infrastructure, and reducing the number of dependents in households through family planning.

These guideposts are invaluable for research and development priority-setting in Mozambique. They also provide valuable guidance for national policy development. By identifying the problems and priorities first, Mozambique has increased the likelihood and speed of a successful recovery.