El Niņo's impact on global rainfall--and its resulting troublesome climatic effects--are storming the news media in 1998. However, the ill effects of bad weather (particularly droughts and resulting acute and chronic food insecurity, even famine) have been a major source of concern for developing countries for many years.

Although the physical and agricultural impacts of drought have been well documented, the policy responses to reduce food insecurity caused by drought continue to be poorly designed. Coping and survival strategies of drought-affected households have not been understood by planners and policymakers. Too little effort has been given to designing policies that will reduce the non-agricultural and economy-wide impacts of droughts in developing countries. Most of the response to drought-induced food insecurity remains emergency- and food-aid oriented. Developing holistic policy approaches to preventing famine and drought-related calamities and linking them to overall development strategies is fundamental for increasing food security in drought-prone environments.

Designing strategies for famine prevention and recovery, and for reducing food insecurity under more usual circumstances, requires a capacity to analyze the historic and potential impact of various policy alternatives. Formulation of policy interventions to improve food security requires a good understanding of policy analysis techniques.

Addressing these concerns requires formulation and implementation of policies based on sound research. To strengthen the capacity of developing country decision makers to evaluate research and policy alternatives, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the University of Maryland are offering a four-week course on Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Policy Analysis, "Food Security in Drought-Prone Environments." The course will provide scientists, policy makers, and other professionals working in public, private and non-profit organizations in developing countries the opportunity to learn how to transform research findings into policy alternatives for achieving sustainable food security in developing countries, and will give them objective methodologies for conducting the analysis.