ABSTRACT
Drought is a recurring phenomenon in the drylands, its impact on human populations depending on the severity and longevity of the event For the most part, a one-year agricultural drought presents only a moderate problem to the local inhabitants. This chapter deals with the role of international organizations in coping with famine and drought effects on agricultural production systems. Survival of agriculturists in drylands demands storage of profits accumulated in good years to compensate for losses in poor years. International aid agencies have their own special interests in supporting agricultural development. Increasing crop and livestock production to reduce the impact of drought requires much more than new technologies, however adapted and socially acceptable they may be. Research is the key to coping with agricultural drought one of the most promising methods of reducing the problem of rainfall variability is the "response farming" procedure proposed by J. Stewart.
