Alors qu’il ne reste plus qu’une année avant la date d’échéance de la réalisation des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement, l’Indice de la faim dans le monde 2014 (GHI) offre une analyse multidimensionnelle de la faim et présente de nouvelles données permettant d’alimenter le débat mondial sur la question de savoir où concentrer les efforts dans la lutte contre la faim et la malnutrition. Selon le GHI 2014, les niveaux de faim dans les pays en développement pris dans leur ensemble se sont améliorés depuis 1990, diminuant de 39%.

With one more year before the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the 2014 Global Hunger Index report offers a multifaceted overview of global hunger that brings new insights to the global debate on where to focus efforts in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. The state of hunger in developing countries as a group has improved since 1990, falling by 39 percent, according to the 2014 GHI.

Southern African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysis examines the food security threats facing eight of the countries that make up southern Africa — Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe — and explores how climate change will increase the efforts needed to achieve sustainable food security throughout the region. Southern Africa’s population is expected to grow at least through mid-century. The region will also see income growth.

Zambia, like much of Africa, is reliant on maize production for its food security. However, maize yields average only about 1 tonne per hectare (ha), so even a moderate decline in harvests can be devastating for food security. Climate change is a critical concern, with declining or more erratic rainfall likely to result in lower production and less predictable harvests.

This paper, by drawing from the lessons learnt from research and development activities for about two decades in Malawi and Zambia, presents the case study of agroforestry-based land use practices (fertilizer tree/shrubs) to identify and highlight opportunities as well as policy/institutional challenges for assisting smallholder farmers to enhance climate change adaptation and mitigation in southern Africa region.