Africa’s drylands are often imagined as vast, empty spaces. Romantic wilderness on the one hand. Zones of hunger, conflict and poverty on the other. Media stories tend to emphasise crises and scarcity, portraying these regions as peripheral and fragile.
But this narrative obscures a more complex and hopeful reality. Across these landscapes, millions of pastoralists and dryland farmers are constantly adapting, innovating, and building livelihoods in some of the continent’s most variable environments.
Drylands are areas of low rainfall and high temperature that cover 60% of Africa. They support the livelihoods and food security of half a billion people who depend on pastoralism and crop farming. These regions are integral to biodiversity, culture and economies. Pastoralists alone supply over half the continent’s meat and milk, sustaining millions of households and enterprises. They underpin food systems and trade networks that reach far beyond the drylands.
