CHANGE THAT WILL SECURE AFRICA'S FOOD FUTURE

BY: AMY GILIAM THORP

Hunger, malnutrition, escalating food prices, pollution of soil, water and air, land degradation and biodiversity loss are reminiscent of branches wilting on a sickly tree. This is the tragic story of Africa’s food security.

These, though, are not isolated problems. Rather, the withered leaves of a deeply unequal and unsustainable global food and agriculture system. A system that signals a need for deep-rooted solutions that can transform our food system into one that is more sustainable and just.

On World Food Day on October 16, meaningful transformation of our food system remains elusive. The global food system and its industrial model of agriculture remain a major driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. Yet the climate crisis and every degree of warming is expected to impact all areas of food production and food security.

A 2022 FAO report shows that hunger has impacted 278 million people in Africa, with the region experiencing the highest rise in moderate to severe food insecurity compared to other regions.

Among the multiple drivers of food insecurity in Africa are conflict, economic shocks such as Covid-19, the cost of living crisis, and the climate crisis. Africa’s heightened vulnerability poses huge risks to the continent’s food production and security.

Agricultural growth, for instance, has plunged by 34 per cent due to climate change since 1961. Extreme weather events, from severe droughts in East Africa to floods in Central and Southern Africa, are already devastating crops, fisheries, livestock, and livelihoods.

With each deadly event, food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa climbs by 5-20 per cent. Africa’s smallholder farmers, particularly women, are most vulnerable to these shocks given their reliance on rain-fed agriculture, insufficient and insecure access to land, lack of financial support and limited access to extension services.

Given the escalating climate emergency, tackling food security and malnutrition through sustainable agricultural production methods has never been more critical. Often, conversations regarding food security focus largely on production while overlooking other key pillars such as availability and accessibility (both economic and physical) to sufficient, safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.

This year’s World Food Day serves as yet another poignant reminder of the ongoing challenges. But also as a moment to reflect. Admittedly, there are several transformative solutions that, if implemented, could build the resilience of Africa’s smallholder farmers and local food systems.

Africa's top priority is to significantly increase finance and spending on sustainable agriculture, including research for development (R&D). Shockingly, though, findings of research by Oxfam reveal that 48 out of 54 African governments allocate just 3.8 per cent of their budgets to agriculture. Some countries invest as little as one per cent.

Since 2019, some of these governments have further reduced agricultural spending, failing their Malabo commitment to spend a minimum of 10 per cent of their budget on agriculture. 

Additionally, only 16 per cent of Africa's climate finance, totalling $4.6 billion, goes to land use sectors, with just over half of that directed to agriculture. Studies highlight the cost benefits of investing in climate adaptation in African agriculture and food systems with action costing $15 billion annually compared to $201 billion inaction costs.

To attain food security in Africa, increased funding for agriculture and research is crucial. In fact, it is not optional. Even so, we must scrutinise the flow of this financing. Funding for agricultural research in Africa largely supports industrial agriculture, as one report shows.

Secondly, Africa must shift investment and policy support towards sustainable and transformative food systems in Africa, with a focus on agroecology and food sovereignty. 

Agroecology, rooted in ecological science and traditional farming, enhances biodiversity and soil health. This is achieved by employing natural methods like crop rotation and companion planting and by integrating local and scientific knowledge.

One major criticism of agroecology is its perceived impact on food security and nutrition. But this criticism is partly due to a lack of research in Africa. Recent studies, however, reveal positive outcomes for nutrition and food security resulting from agroecology practices that emphasise diversified crops, agroforestry, mixed-crop livestock systems and farmer-to-farmer networks.

Another benefit of agroecological practices is that they boost smallholders’ and farms’ resilience to extreme weather events. In Africa, agroecology has garnered support for promoting food sovereignty and equity. 

It has also been commended for challenging power imbalances linked to the corporate control of the food system. This has been done by eliminating smallholder farmers’ dependency on external inputs such as pesticides, for instance.

A third crucial intervention area entails creating enabling conditions for smallholder farmers. Despite producing most of the food across Sub-Saharan Africa, they bear the brunt of climate impacts and food system shocks. Female farmers face additional vulnerabilities due to gender inequality that restricts their land and resource ownership.

To enhance women’s resilience, African governments must safeguard smallholders’ land rights and security of tenure, particularly for women, as a means of bolstering food security and overall agricultural sustainability. Equally crucial is the redirection of policy and financial support towards smallholder-driven agroecology, farmer-led extension services, and the expansion of local and regional markets.

We must start the journey to uproot the historical inequalities underlying our global food system and plant seeds of change. This will anchor us on the path to a more resilient and just food future for Africa. 

This path means drastically increasing our investment in agricultural research and sustainable agriculture approaches like agroecology and supporting a transition to agroecology. It also means facilitating enabling conditions for smallholder farmers to allow them to grow more food for our population.