**4.3 Drought tolerance**

Climate change alters the precipitation amount, patterns, and distribution. The occurrence of drought and its severity has already been felt in some regions of the world and is expected to significantly rise soon. Food and nutrition security is threatened by frequent droughts in Southern Africa. The release of cultivars with improved tolerance to drought will reduce the impact of drought on many nations in southern Africa whose economies are already struggling from COVID-19 pandemic and political disturbances. Many methods and techniques are available for breeding programs to utilise in the development of drought tolerant cultivars. Genomic selection tools and emergence of different bodies ready to capacitate breeding programs in modernization and operational excellence would help in the identification of drought tolerant genotypes for respective. Water use efficiency is one mechanism for drought tolerance which should be explored in breeding programs.
