Through $4.1 million in FY 2014–16 funding from USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is protecting livelihoods and building resilience in drought-prone communities of southern Angola and northern Namibia.

An increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events has accompanied climate change in Southern Africa, making it difficult for vulnerable populations to cope with environmental shocks.  In areas along the border of Angola and Namibia, successive years of dry conditions have depleted household resources and disrupted agriculture- and- livestock-based livelihoods, constraining access to food and income for many drought-affected families.Since 2013, USAID/OFDA has supported efforts by FAO to build resilience in drought-prone communities of southern Angola and northern Namibia, including through the promotion of climate-adaptive practices and diversified cropping, strengthening of veterinary services, and trainings in water conservation techniques.  Although the onset of a region-wide El Niño-induced drought in late 2015 has strained agricultural systems throughout Southern Africa, FAO’s resilience-building activities have empowered communities to maintain agricultural production and livestock-based livelihoods amid the dry conditions.