This timely volume presents a synthesis of the ideas that emerged from a multidisciplinary colloquium held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in August 1985. The aim was to assess the impact of drought as a major factor in the agrarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. Leading authorities engage in discussion of the African environment, the socio-political factors that generate famine, case studies of the effects of famine on these social structures, and finally possible lessons to be learnt on dealing with famine worldwide, thus developing an up-to-date and cohesive study of the problems of African development. Despite the current popular interest in the African famine problem, Drought and Hunger in Africa is the first major collection of the results that have emerged from the recent profusion of research relating to the subject. As such, this book has relevance, not only in Africa, but also to scientists, social-scientists and policy makers in the West, and to other areas of the third world which are facing the problems of drought and famine.
