Droughts and increased water risks are the new normal in Africa and many farmers and role-players in the agricultural sector have already started to adapt and innovate.

- The latest UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s annual Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition Report highlighted drought as one of the key factors contributing to the continuing rise in the number of hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa. And in South Africa, the Government’s Crop Estimates Committee announced that the country would harvest 20 percent less maizein 2019 because of drought conditions.

The African continent is disproportionately affected by extreme climate. Droughts or floods are becoming more frequent. Many African regions are experiencing water stress because of too much – or too little – water.

Across much of the world, water deficits are expected to become the new normal. With rising human populations and growing prosperity, water demand is growing exponentially.

Images of dozens of freshwater dolphin carcasses and cracked soil where once laid navigable rivers shocked the world in 2023, as the worst drought in history hit the Brazilian Amazon.