Interview with Dr. Sidat Yaffa about the findings of The Gambia case study of Climate and Development Knowledge Network’s (CDKN) Loss and Damage in Vulnerable Countries Initiative.
Focus: Drought
Research area: North Bank Region
Droughts and changing rainfall patterns in the North Bank Region frequently cause crop failures and food insecurity. A study of 373 households in 31 villages investigated how people in the North Bank Region of The Gambia coped with a severe drought that occurred in 2011. People coped with the impacts of the drought on crop yields by looking for additional income to buy food, for example by selling properties (mostly livestock), migrating to urban centres and engaging in local non-farm activities. Despite this, the study found that 66 per cent had to modify their food consumption, for example by changing from three to two meals a day or reducing portion sizes.
Interview recorded by Allard Detiger during a writeshop at United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security, Bonn.
Editing: Allard Detiger and Koen Kusters
Academic support: Koko Warner and Kees van der Geest
Location of the interview: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - Library, Bonn
