Supporting agriculture in protracted crises and rebuilding agriculture after conflict and disasters

Abstract

The agriculture sector holds great potential before, during and after crises such as conflict and disasters caused by natural hazards, to save lives and contribute to livelihoods, support rural households, and provide decent employment (Eynon, 2017, p. 2; Mayen, 2016, p. 2). This rapid review looks at recent available evidence on the impact of conflict, protracted crises, and disasters caused by natural hazards on agriculture and efforts to support agriculture during, and rebuild it after, these crises. It is important to understand the impact of these crises on agriculture in order to ensure efforts to promote agriculture during and after crises effectively deal with the challenges facing the agriculture sector. The literature uncovered by this review suggests that while there is some available evidence, there seems to be a need for more research into the impact of conflict, protracted crises and disasters caused by natural hazards on agriculture and especially into the effectiveness of different efforts to support and rebuild agriculture. Conflict and natural disasters both cause damages and losses to the agricultural sector in a number of similar but also different ways, which require some different responses. Post conflict contexts are characterised by much higher levels of insecurity than natural disasters, for instance. Agricultural interventions need to deal with the impact of the specific crisis, as well as general agricultural development challenges.The evidence available in the literature uncovered by this rapid review suggests that much more research is needed to really understand what works, and what doesn’t work in relation to approaches to supporting and rebuilding agriculture in and after conflict, protracted crises, and disasters caused by natural hazards, as well as the impact these approaches have on agriculture.