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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 April 2022
In the course of planning a general bibliography of African famine, it became apparent that there were a number of problems raised by the multiplicity and variety of recent publications in this field. At a time when renewed interest has been triggered by the images of African famine on the television screens of the wellfed world, the researcher can no longer gather data exclusively from specialized journals. More diverse sources such as Marxism Today, New Society, and Past and Present, which normally pay comparatively little attention to African events, have in the last year published articles on African famine; it would seem that ‘everyone’ has a licence to write about famine. This deluge of recent publications joins a mass of literature on African famine which has been building up over the last century and a half: historical accounts, colonial records, economic reports, technical hand books, newspapers, periodicals and books.
[1] For example Sender, J. and Smith, S. ‘Famine: what can the left give?’ in Marxism Today 29 (1) 1985,7-10; P. Kelemen ‘The Politics of Famine’ in New society 74 (1194) 1985, 281; M. Vaughan ‘Famine Analysis and Family Relations: 1949 inNyasaland’ in Past and Present 108,1985,177-205.Google Scholar
[2] Bibliographies on famine include: B. Currey, M. Ali, and N. Khoman Famine: a first bibliography Washington D.C., Agency for International Development, 1981. Beudot, F. Elements for a Bibliography of the Sahel Drought Paris, OECD, 1976-84; J. Roch, B. Hubert, E. Ngyrie and P. Richards ‘Selective Bibliography on the Famines and the Drought in the Sahel’ in African Environment 1 (2), 19 5,94-116. I contacted a number of individuals and institutions interested in famine during 1985 andfoundthat while many people knew some of the major famine collections, no one seemed to have access to a comprehensive list of what is available.Google Scholar
[3] I have recently researched and compiled two publications on famine bibliography: Famine in Sub-Saharan Africa: a select bibliography (excluding the Sahel) from 1978; and Famine in Africa: a guide to bibliographies and resource centres (both published by the African Studies Centre in Cambridge in 1986).
[4] A detailed list of the resource centres is available in my recently published guide (see note 3). See also Walsh, G. ‘Access to Sources of Information on Agricultural Development in the Sahel’ African Rural Economy Program Working Paper no. 17, Michigan State University 1976, which gives details of many of the activities of Sahelian research centres in the 1970s.Google Scholar
[5] Permanent Interstate. Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel.
[6] Sahel Bibliographic Bulletin, 4 (4) 1980 179.
[7] Ibid. 7 (1) 1983, 8.
[8] Ibid. 5 (2) 1981, 55, and 5 (3) 1981, 107; 6 (2) 1982, 85; 7 (2) 1983, 61.
[9] Ibid. 4 (3) 1980, for example, included a list of research projects in the Sahel.
[10] Personal communication from Royal Tropical Institute July 1985.
[11] Cited in note 2 above.
[12] Sahel Bibliographic Bulletin, 3 (2) 1979, 107.
[13] Kostinko, G.. Selected Bibliopgraphy of club du Sahel and CILSS Documents Washington D.C., Koba Associates, 1979; Club du Sahel Bibliographie: documents diffuses par le CILSS et le Club du Sahel Paris, OECD, 1984 (these contain details of the Sahelian bibliographies these organizations publish).Google Scholar
[14] Oxfam, for example, has produced a number of publications on famine and drought in Africa, the most recent of which is N. Cater Sudan: the roots of famine Oxford, Oxfam, 1986. Witherell, J.W. United States and Sub-Saharan Africa, a guide to U.S. official documents and government sponsored publications 1975-1980 Washington. D.C. Library of Congress, 1984, contains details of US AID publications.Google Scholar
[15] To name just a few: the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex; Overseas Development Group at the University of East Anglia; the Centre for African Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; and the African Studies Centre at the University of Cambridge.
[16] On-line search facilities are now available at many University libraries and they are able to search databases (usually in the United States) which cover most subject areas. Other institutions like the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam and the Commonwealth Agriculture Bureau in Farnham will run searches on specified topics.
[17] Forthcoming in ARD.
[18] Cited in note 2 above.
[19] Weiss, M. and Jansen, A. ‘Drought in Africa’ in Dokumentationsdienst Afrika, Hamburg : Institut fur Afrika-Kunde, 1976, and H. Peters “Drought in Africa II (supplement)’ in Documentationsdienst Afrika, Hamburg : Institut fur Afrika-Kunde, 1981.Google Scholar
[20] S.Berry ‘Food Crisis and Agrarian change in Africa: a review essay’ African Studies Review 27 (2) 1984,59-112; Bates, R. Markets and States in Tropical Africa Los Angeles, University of California Press’ 1981, A.K. Sen Poverty and Famines: an essay in entitlement and deprivation Oxford Clarendon, 1981, M. Lofchie and S.K. Commins ‘Food Deficits and Agricultural Policies in Tropical Africa’ in Journal of Modern African Studies 20 (1) 1982, 1-25.Google Scholar
[21] T. Jackson and D. Eade Against the Grain: the dilemma of project food aid Oxford Oxfam 1982 H. Schneider (ed.) Food Aid for Development Paris OECD, 1978, Stevens, C. Food Aidandthe Developing World, four African case studies London : Croom Helm, 1979.Google Scholar
[22] For example: Bullwinkle, D.A. ‘Drought and the Desertification of the African Continent’ in A Current Bibliography of African Affairs, 16 (4) 1983-84, 279-297; P. Paylore and J.A. Mabbutt Desertification. World Bibliography Update 1976-1980, Tuscon, Arizona, University of Arid Lands Studies 1980, S. Feierman Health and Society in Africa: a working bibliography, Mass.: Crossroads Press, 1979; N. Ball World Hunger: a guide to the economic and political dimensions, Santa-Barbara, California and Oxford, 1981, ABC-Clio Press, 1981.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[23] Firebrace, J. and Holland, S. Never Kneel Down. Drought, Development and Liberation in Eritrea, London, Spokesman 1984; P. Lawrence, F. Snyder, and M. Szeftel ‘War and Famine in Africa’ in Review of African Political Economy 33,1985,1-5; V. Tickner ‘Military Attacks, Drought and Hunger in Mozambique’ in Review of African Political Economy 33 1985, 89-91.Google Scholar
[24] Independent Commission on International Humanitarian Issues, Famine: A Man-Made Disaster? London: Pan 1985; Jackson, H.F. ‘African Crisis: drought and debt’ in Foreign Affairs 63, 1985, 1080-1094; L. Timberiake Africa in Crisis: the causes, the cures of environmental bankruptcy London Earthscan, 1985.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[25] The daily newspapers carried many reports on Bob GeldoPs activities throughout 1985: for example, in July 1985 there was a large number of newspaper articles covering the Live Aid concert. See also Moorehead, C. ‘Geldof and the Givers’ in New Society 74, 1985 (1190): 99-101; D.Blundy and P. Vallely With Geldof in Africa, confronting the famine crisis London: Times Books, 1985.Google Scholar
[26] Tudge, C. The Famine Business Harmondsworth, Pelican 1979; T.T. Poleman ‘World Food: Myth and Reality’ in World Development 5,1977, (5-7): 383-394; R.F. Hopkins and DJ. Puchala (eds.) The Global Political Economy of Food Wisconsin, 1978.Google Scholar
[27] In Science 188 1975, 571-577.
[28] I am grateful to Megan Vaughan, Ludgard De Decker and Neil Wright for comments on earlier drafts of this paper, and to the SCOLMA committee for their help and encouragement.