When nature frowns: A comprehensive impact assessment of the 2012 Babessi floods on people’s livelihoods in rural Cameroon

Floods are the most common natural disasters worldwide. Much of the growing literature on the impact of floods, especially in developed countries, and to a lesser extent in rural areas of developing countries, concentrates on economic rather than a comprehensive assessment of combined effects on people’s livelihoods. Holistic floods impact assessments are often done long after the shock, raising problems of data reliability following long recall periods, although post-disaster needs assessments when carried out earlier can facilitate appropriate disaster recovery, relief and reconstruction activities. We applied the sustainable livelihoods framework as a comprehensive approach to assess the impacts of the Babessi floods in 2012 on livelihoods in rural (north western region) of Cameroon 6 weeks after the floods. Using a structured questionnaire, data was collected from victims before and after the floods, using recall methods. A matched sample of nonvictims randomly selected from the same village as the victims was used to assess vulnerability to the floods by household type. Floods were found to have serious economic, social, human and food security impacts on victims. Both government and nongovernmental support were jointly crucial for household recovery. Comparatively observed high levels of recovery were attributed to the low loss of human lives. The article concludes with the need for comprehensive approaches to floods impact assessments. The need for combining formal and informal instruments in post-disaster management in rural areas is also emphasised

Investigating the Response to Meristem Culture of Four Regional Sweetpotato Varieties in the Western Highlands of Cameroon

In the Western highlands of Cameroon where sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an inevitable staple crop during the dry season, farmers cherish local which are presently under the risk of extinction due to accumulation of pest and diseases. Guaranteeing sustainable Sweetpotato production in this region therefore requires providing farmers with disease free planting materials such as tissue cultures. This study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of introducing disease free planting materials from meristem culture of EX-KOLB, EX-GUZANG2, EX-WIDIKUM3 and EX-NKAMBE1 which are four regional sweetpotato varieties common in the Western highlands of Cameroon. Test tubes containing growing media and meristems from each of the varieties were labeled and laid out in a completely randomized experimental design (CRD) with four replications and four treatments. Data on the number of sprouted meristems, number of rooted meristems, number of meristems contaminated, number of meristems that died, average heights of developed plants, average number of nodes on the developed plants, and average number of leaves on the developed plants was collected over a period of 8 weeks at 2 weeks interval. Meristems from all the landraces sprouted in the media used and the differences in the mean number of sprouted meristem between the landraces were significant (P0.05).This genotype-dependent response to media used for in vitro regeneration by plants has been observed by many studies. However meristems from EX-GUZANG2 and EX-KOLB showed greater positive respond to this media and merit further studies for the purpose of this experiment

Research priorities for global food security under extreme events

Extreme events, such as those caused by climate change, economic or geopolitical shocks, and pest or disease epidemics, threaten global food security. The complexity of causation, as well as the myriad ways that an event, or a sequence of events, creates cascading and systemic impacts, poses significant challenges to food systems research and policy alike. To identify priority food security risks and research opportunities, we asked experts from a range of fields and geographies to describe key threats to global food security over the next two decades, and to suggest key research questions and gaps on this topic. Here we present a prioritization of the major threats to global food security from extreme events, as well as emerging research questions that highlight the conceptual and practical challenges which exist in designing, adopting, and governing resilient food systems. We hope these findings help in directing research funding and resources towards the food system transformations needed to help society tackle major food system risks and food insecurity under extreme events

Research priorities for global food security under extreme events

Extreme events, such as those caused by climate change, economic or geopolitical shocks, and pest or disease epidemics, threaten global food security. The complexity of causation, as well as the myriad ways that an event, or a sequence of events, creates cascading and systemic impacts, poses significant challenges to food systems research and policy alike. To identify priority food security risks and research opportunities, we asked experts from a range of fields and geographies to describe key threats to global food security over the next two decades and to suggest key research questions and gaps on this topic. Here, we present a prioritization of threats to global food security from extreme events, as well as emerging research questions that highlight the conceptual and practical challenges that exist in designing, adopting, and governing resilient food systems. We hope that these findings help in directing research funding and resources toward food system transformations needed to help society tackle major food system risks and food insecurity under extreme events

Research priorities for global food security under extreme events

Extreme events, such as those caused by climate change, economic or geopolitical shocks, and pest or disease epidemics, threaten global food security. The complexity of causation, as well as the myriad ways that an event, or a sequence of events, creates cascading and systemic impacts, poses significant challenges to food systems research and policy alike. To identify priority food security risks and research opportunities, we asked experts from a range of fields and geographies to describe key threats to global food security over the next two decades and to suggest key research questions and gaps on this topic. Here, we present a prioritization of threats to global food security from extreme events, as well as emerging research questions that highlight the conceptual and practical challenges that exist in designing, adopting, and governing resilient food systems. We hope that these findings help in directing research funding and resources toward food system transformations needed to help society tackle major food system risks and food insecurity under extreme events