DRESS-EA

Drought is one of the main natural hazards affecting people's livelihoods and socio-economic development in the IGAD region, especially smallholder farmers and pastoralists.

The frequency of periods of rainfall deficit hitting the region since the 1980s has increased. Nevertheless, the region's natural resources represent a major asset for the local populations whose livelihoods are mainly based on agriculture, livestock, forest resources, water, wetlands, etc.

The main objective of the project is to increase the resilience of smallholder farmers and pastoralists to climate change risks especially those related to drought, through the establishment of appropriate early warning systems and the implementation of drought adaptation actions in the IGAD region.

Specific objectives :

• Developing and promoting regional investments in drought early warning systems (EWSs) and improving the existing ones
• Strengthening and improving the capacity of key stakeholders in drought risk management at regional, national and local levels 
• Facilitating smallholder farmers and pastoralists’ inputs to undertake innovative adaptation actions that reinforce their resilience to drought 
• Enhancing knowledge management and information sharing on drought resilience at the aforementioned levels.

Expected results :

• Strengthening the effective use of the early warning system by the stakeholders
• Improving the resilience of key operators and partnerships for drought management at regional, national and local levels
• Promoting the use of concrete and innovative drought adaptation tools
• Strengthening knowledge and awareness of drought risk management