FAO acts to anticipate the impacts of drought in Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Madagascar

FAO acts to anticipate the impacts of drought in Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Madagascar

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has begun to implement anticipatory actions in three countries forecast to see worsening droughts: Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Madagascar. Having started in September 2026, these activations will continue ahead of drought conditions peaking in the coming months.

The pre-agreed actions being carried out focus on supporting the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors in these countries, in order to maintain the availability of food and people’s livelihoods through the drought.

Actions in Burkina Faso include:

• livestock health services, including a vaccination campaign.

In Djibouti, FAO will:

• provide livestock health services (feed and mineral/vitamin blocks)
• distribute agricultural inputs (drought-tolerant seeds, irrigation materials, tools) 
• help to rehabilitate strategic pastoral water-retention infrastructure to secure water access for livestock and rural communities. 
• provide awareness-raising activities about the appropriate use of feed and supplements, climate-resilient farming practices and improved irrigation.

In Madagascar, it will:

• distribute agricultural inputs (drought-tolerant seeds, planting materials)
• provide climate-smart agriculture and irrigation support
• provide livestock services (animal feed)
• distribute fishing inputs and tools
• provide cash and other assistance.

These actions are being supported through pre-agreed financing from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (400,000 US dollars in Djibouti, 1.54 million US dollars in Madagascar) and FAO’s Special Fund for Emergency and Resilience Activities (300,000 US dollars for Burkina Faso, provided by the Swedish government).

The current activations ahead of drought follow FAO’s previous anticipatory action interventions for this hazard during 2026, which have taken place in Chad, Colombia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Mozambique, Sudan and Zimbabwe, and for floods in Somalia and South Sudan.