259 Introduction Agricultural production is highly sensitive to climate hazards, including droughts. Losses due to drought events represent a signifcant challenge to farmers, agricultural stakeholders, and policymak- ers worldwide (UNISDR, 2015). Te scientifc community predicts an intensifcation of negative impacts due to future climate change (IPCC, 2013). Te UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) state that the priority areas for adaptation to climate change are water and agriculture. Tese, in turn, are related to the largest climate hazards that are drought, foods, and higher temperature (UN, 2016). Droughts originate from the lack of precipitation during a specifc period of time, resulting in water shortages in a specifc region (Wilhite and Glantz, 1985). Te rainy season in the Central Andes generally occurs during the austral summer (DJFM). In this period, the position of the Atlantic intertropical conver- gence zone (ITCZ) and the formation of the Bolivian High result in a prevalence of easterly winds over the Central Andes (Garreaud et al., 2003). Easterly winds transport humid air from the lowlands east of the Central Andes to the region, while the prevalence of westerly winds inhibits moisture transport (Lenters and Cook, 1999; Tibeault et al., 2012; Vuille et al., 2000). Te summer rainfall represents more than 70% of the total annual precipitation (Canedo-Rosso et al., 2019b; Garreaud et al., 2003). Spatially, precipitation in the Central Andes presents a northeast-southwest gradient with annual precipitation above 800 mm in the northeastern decreasing to below 200 mm in the south-western Central Andes (Vuille et al., 2000). Agricultural production is directly afected by climate hazards in the Central Andes, and drought conditions may lead to shortage of food for humans and animals (Garcia, 2003; Garcia et al., 2007). Tis is the case for the most important crops in the Central Andes: quinoa and potato, which are afected by precipitation variability, and losses in crop production are connected to drought (Garcia et al., 2003). Precipitation in the Central Andes is strongly associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which warm phase is connected to droughts (Garreaud and Aceituno, 2001; Tompson et al., 1984; Vicente-Serrano et al., 2015). Te ENSO is a periodical variation in sea surface temperature (SST) over the tropical Pacifc Ocean with intervals of 2–7 years and may be represented by three phases: neutral, 30 Drought and Agricultural Production in the Central Andes Claudia Canedo- Rosso, Ronny Berndtsson, and Cintia B. Uvo Introduction 259 .................................................................................................. Precipitation Variability 260 ............................................................................... Impacts of El Niño – Southern Oscillation on Crop Yield 261 ..................... Conclusions 263 ................................................................................................... References 264 ......................................................................................................