Zimbabwe: fighting the drought

This year Zimbabwe has endured the worst drought in living memory, forcing its President Emmerson Mnangagwa to declare a country-wide state of disaster, but this is not an isolated story. Recent drought in East and North Africa was the worst in over 40 years. The Sahel, which holds back the Sahara to the north, has shifted up to 200 kilometres southward over the past three decades.
This week, leaders gather in Riyadh to discuss how to tackle the destructive impact of drought and desertification which threatens the livelihoods of an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide.
In Zimbabwe the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has been supporting one project which is helping thousands of farmers remain resilient and grow crops despite the lack of rain.