In West Africa, early warning systems (EWSs) for food security have been widely recognized to have contributed, in the last 20 years, to an improved ability to deal with famine emergencies. Nevertheless, despite the advancements in understanding of the environmental and socio-economic dynamics and despite the improved technologies, tackling food security remains a difficult task for decision makers as demonstrated by local food crises in many countries of the region. African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis, while improving the understanding of the monsoon system, allowed us to better orient research challenges to provide EWS with improved products, effectively meeting the needs of end-users at different levels. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society