For most of the World's 1.8 billion subsistence farmers, drought means starvation. There are strains of grain that yield less in average years but produce in the driest years. If a farmer knows his area is frequently hit with drought, switching to the drought-tolerant grain may save his children from starvation.

Starvation Prevention

Over 2 million people could be saved annually from starvation if one farmer out of a thousand had an accurate sense of drought frequency. Several decades of information are necessary before forecasts can be accurate.

Data collection is part of a low-cost approach that will address outbreaks of famine.

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