Sub-Saharan Africa - Food security and resilience using a small- scale funding model

Often referred to as the “meat of the poor”, legumes are typically grown by women and contribute directly to household food 170 Climate and Health: Science-based policy solutions FOOD SECURITY AND RESILIENCE USING A SMALL-SCALE FUNDING MODEL Figure 1: Seed of the Stress Tolerant Orphan Legume (STOL) crops project, which assesses potential climate resilience of minor legumes (Credit: Felicien Zida). [...] The grains are a source of dietary protein, fibre and essential micronutrients, and the leaves and immature pods of some species are appreciated as fresh vegetables. [...] A Climate and Health: Science-based policy solutions 171 FOOD SECURITY AND RESILIENCE USING A SMALL-SCALE FUNDING MODEL further problem is that the average yield for legumes in sub-Saharan Africa is typi- cally low due to their susceptibility to common pests and diseases and their inability to cope with erratic and extreme weather events. [...] The aim is to breed a version of the legume that combines the charac- teristics favoured by local farmers with the traits of interest identified in the donor. [...] The re- gions of the world that are already bearing the brunt of the impact of climate change have made a negligible contribution to the problem itself and have also, historically, 176 Climate and Health: Science-based policy solutions FOOD SECURITY AND RESILIENCE USING A SMALL-SCALE FUNDING MODEL experienced high levels of malnutrition and preventable morbidity.