Food security and Drought management

Resource Persons

The Food Security and Drought Management training is conducted in March every year. The training theme is "Dealing with insecure and marginal livelihoods in the ASALs of Kenya". Resource Persons (Course facilitators) are drawn from Egerton University (Prof. Francis Lelo, Prof. E. Njoka, and Dr. W. Chiuri); CETRAD (Dr. B. Kiteme and S. Makali); and the Centre for Development and Environment, University of Berne, Switzerland (Dr. Chinwe Ifejika-Speranza).

Course Objectives:

1. To impart practical knowledge and enhance general understanding about
   • The nature of rural livelihoods and the causes of their insecurity in the ASALs of Kenya.
   • Food security situation in the ASALs
   • Drought occurrences and drought related disasters and their effects on people's livelihoods and general development trends
2. To impart technical skills and practical methods to assess food security and drought situation in the ASALs
3. To create a clear understanding and enhance the appreciation of the link and relevance of the existing policy framework to food security and drought related disasters.
4. To review and assess the effectiveness of the existing strategies and intervention programmes to cope with food insecurity and mitigate the effects of drought

Course Modules

The course is structured in six modules.

Module 1:	INTRODUCTION, CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
Module 2:	BASELINE KNOWLEDGE OF THE RURAL FOOD ECONOMY
Module 3:	INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS, FOOD SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Module 4:	VULNERABILITY, RISKS AND DISASTER (DROUGHT)
Module 5:	SKILLS FOR FOOD SECURITY AND DISASTER ASSESSMENT
Module 6:	FIELD PROJECT

Eligibility

The course is open to all those dealing with issues related with food security and drought management, including rural livelihoods. The main requirement is basic degree or ordinary diploma with over ten years work (field based) experience.