ABSTRACT
Severe droughts are recurring phenomena in many parts of Africa. Drought may be the major actor on the crowded stage to cause or trigger famine. Proactive planning for drought on a national, local and household level, is far better than ad hoc crisis management. The droughts provided the media with the necessary imagery to depict Africa as a continent in crisis. The combined effect of increasing population size and shrinking land availability demands increased food production per capita. The occurrence of severe droughts will undoubtedly cause a decline in the level of food production under rainfed agriculture. The informal private sector of urban and peri-urban farming should not be taken over by the government, although the treatment of urban wastewater and its subsequent use in urban agriculture does require government planning, investment and extension services. Participatory development of urban and peri-urban farming may enable proper integration between central planning of wastewater treatment and its use by private farmers.
