We can make famine history

Africans are not passive recipients of aid but they do need our help, writes Jan O’Sullivan.

IT IS easy to be discouraged by the news of another devastating famine in the Horn of Africa, and to think that famine in Africa will recur regardless of our efforts. But as we mark World Food Day on Sunday, it is important to realise that this is not necessarily the case.

African farmers, the majority of whom are women, can be skilled in disaster prevention. They can have access to better quality seeds, they can be trained in farming techniques that combat the effects of climate change, and they can be protected by safety- net programmes when harvests fail.