1985 -  Response to critical situation in sub-Saharan Africa

IFAD launches the first phase of its Special Programme for Sub-Saharan African Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification (or Special Programme for Africa). More than USD 800 million is mobilized through this programme, the second phase of which is launched in May 1991.

1985-94 - Special Programme for Africa-mitigating the menace of drought and desertification.

Two thirds of sub-Saharan Africa is susceptible to frequent drought – a menace threatening the livelihoods of millions, destroying national economies and wiping out fragile gains from economic recovery and development efforts. Although it often creates critical emergency situations to which the international community responds generously, the lasting impact of drought has been widely ignored. Besides the problem of drought, there is the accelerated process of land degradation, conventionally referred to as desertification.

Mitigating the impact of drought and reversing the process of desertification are what IFAD’s Special Programme for Africa (SPA) will pursue during its eight years of implementation.

The programme, to be carried out in two phases, focuses on the poorest regions and the most vulnerable groups – smallholder farmers, the landless, rural women and youth, artisanal fisherman, nomadic pastoralists and hunter-gatherers. It aims to direct resources and support to the most critical needs of the affected populations:

• rehabilitation and recovery in the smallholder farm sector;
• development of traditional staple food crops;
• construction and rehabilitation of small-scale water control schemes;
• promotion of agro-forestry and soil conservation measures;
• the building of institutions and orienting of policies to achieve these goals;
• protection of common property resources; and
• development of alternative livelihoods and off-farm activities.