1st Edition

African Food Systems in Crisis Part One: Microperspectives

Edited By Rebecca Huss-Ashmore, Solomon H Katz Copyright 1989
    356 Pages
    by Routledge

    356 Pages
    by Routledge

    Originally published in 1990. Produced by the Task Force on African Famine of the American Anthropological Association, this is the first of a multi-part project dealing with the long-term and ongoing food crisis in Africa primarily at the level of local production-the microperspective. It offers a series of anthropological and ecological views on the cause of the current problem and on coping strategies used by both indigenous people and developmental planners. The three sections of this volume review current explanations for food problems in Africa, focusing mainly on production and consumption at the household level; they offer a number of perspectives on the environmental, historical, political, and economic contexts for food stress, and include a series of case studies showing the ways in which Africans have responded to the threat of drought and hunger. The extent of research and the degree of scholarship involved in the production of this volume recommend it to all persons concerned with this ultimately global dilemma, particularly those involved in planning and relief efforts.

    Foreword. Preface Part 1: Introduction 1. Perspectives on the African Food Crisis Rebecca Huss-Ashmore Part 2: The Context of Food Stress in Africa 2. Drought, Famine, and the Seasons in Sub-Saharan Africa Michael H. Glantz 3. Desertification: The Public Record J. A. Mabbutt 4. Desertification: The Historical Significance Brian Spooner 5. The Persistence of Nutritional Stress in Northeastern African (Sudanese Nubian) Populations Debra L. Martin, George J. Armelagos, and Kay A. Henderson 6. Ecology and Politics of Food Availability Ellen Messer 7. Prevention of Famine John R. K. Robson Part 3: Strategies for Coping with Drought, Hunger, and Famine 8. Indigenous Taita Responses to Drought Anne Fleuret 9. Occupation and Drought Vulnerability: Case Studies from a Village in Niger John J. Curry 10. Adaptation, Drought, and Development: Boran and Gabra Pastoralists of Northern Kenya Asmarom Legesse 11. Indigenous Institutions and Adaptation to Famine: The Case of the Western Sudan Soheir Sukkary-Stolba 12. Famine, Hunger Seasons, and Relief-Induced Agonism Robert Dirks 13. Drought, Drought Relief, and Dependency among the Basarwa of Botswana Robert K. Hitchcock, James I. Ebert and Richard G. Morgan

    Biography

    Rebecca Huss-Ashmore, Solomon H Katz