Seasonality and social protection in Africa

This Working Paper draws on nearly twenty years of research in several African countries on the inter-related themes of food insecurity, seasonality, coping strategies, famine, formal and informal safety nets, and social protection.

The paper has three objectives:

• to document and synthesise evidence on the nature and consequences of seasonality across rural Africa, highlighting the similarities and convergences across contexts.,
• to explore the various policy interventions that have been implemented in response to seasonality, with particular reference to the emerging social protection agenda.,
• to argue that current approaches to social protection are misconceived and inadequate for addressing the seasonal dimensions of rural vulnerability.

S. Devereux, Futures Agricultures Consortium - January 2009.