Asking The Right Questions: Community-Based Strategies To Combat Hunger

Anthropologists have long recognized the value of community participation in development planning and project implementation, and this paper discusses a new strategy to engage communities to monitor conditions of food insecurity and vulnerability, and to develop strategies for mitigation against shocks. Community based early warning programs (CEWS) complement existing hunger early warning systems that rely on satellite and agroclimatic data by collecting and monitoring data in rural communities. These strategies build on existing community awareness of local conditions, provide support for locally identified mitigation activities, and foster community participation. Examples from programs in Mozambique illustrate the potential of the CEWS strategies for effecting sustainable change and combating chronic food insecurity and vulnerability.