Browsing: Food Security in Africa

• In 2024, seven out of eight member states of Eastern Africa’s IGAD were staring down an alarming food crisis.
• This threat has triggered a rallying cry to reimagine and rebuild food systems across Eastern and Southern Africa.
• The food crisis is fed by a dangerous cocktail of climate shocks, land degradation, erratic rainfall, and inefficiencies in food supply chains.

In 2024, seven out of eight member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) were staring down an alarming food crisis. According to an update from the World Bank, over 62.9 million people—or one in every four of the region’s population—are suffering from acute food insecurity.

The stark reality is not just a call to action; it is a rallying cry to reimagine and rebuild food systems across Eastern and Southern Africa.

At the intersection of climate change, population growth, urbanization, and economic instability, the region faces a …

• AU Heads of State have been urged to incorporate newly agreed Kampala Declaration’s commitments into national policies and budgets.
• To succeed however, economies must confront climate change, economic instability, and rapid tech evolution head-on to build a resilient agricultural sector.
• By prioritizing resilience, inclusivity, and innovation, the declaration sets a bold precedent for tackling the continent’s most pressing challenges.

The lush shores of Lake Victoria provided a fitting backdrop as African leaders, policymakers, and agricultural stakeholders gathered from January 9th to 11th, 2025, at Kampala’s Speke Resort. The occasion? The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Extraordinary Summit, which culminated in the adoption of Kampala Declaration—a 10-year roadmap for achieving food security and sustainable agricultural growth across the continent.

The Kampala Declaration embodies Africa’s commitment to revitalizing its ailing agrifood systems under the African Union’s Agenda 2063. For this vision to turn into reality, however, Ambassador Josefa Sacko, AU Commissioner …

• Food security, livelihoods, and economies are threatened as extreme weather conditions hit Africa hard.
• Citizens are now calling for bold action from their governments and the global community to combat this worsening crisis.
• Over 82% of Africans advocate for measures to protect communities against extreme floods, droughts, and environmental degradation.

 As climate change tightens its grip, the African continent is bearing the brunt of extreme weather conditions that have profoundly impacted food security, livelihoods, and economies.

A recent Afrobarometer survey paints a stark picture of the hard reality for millions of Africans: worsening droughts and crop failures are threatening their very survival. Citizens are now calling for bold action from their governments and the international community to combat this worsening crisis.

A decade of declining agricultural yields

Over the past decade, the majority of Africans report an alarming increase in the severity of droughts and crop failures. According to Afrobarometer…

• Zimbabwe is the worst hit in Africa with food inflation at 26% YoY, followed closely by Egypt at 18%, Malawi at 9%, and Guinea at 7%.
• The persistent weakness of the Zimbabwe dollar has been a driving force behind the steep price growth throughout 2023.
• Real food inflation, calculated as the difference between food inflation and overall inflation, provides a dire picture of the strain on households’ budgets in these countries.

The economies of Zimbabwe, Egypt, and Guinea are facing significant challenges due to soaring food inflation, placing them among the top 10 countries globally most affected by this roiling crisis.

According to the World Bank’s February 2024 update, Zimbabwe leads the pack in Africa, with food inflation at a staggering 26 per cent year-on-year, followed closely by Egypt at 18 per cent and Guinea at 7 per cent.

Real food inflation, calculated as the difference between food inflation …

• The transformative power of AI-powered innovation in empowering farmers with the tools and knowledge to protect their livelihoods and improve food security.
• Innovative solutions such as AI-powered climate information systems and blockchain technology for digital wallets are improving smallholder farmers’ productivity and driving their resilience.
• UN’s IFAD notes that innovation is not limited to cutting-edge technologies but can also be found in rural communities and among farmers themselves.

In Tanzania, AI-powered innovation is revolutionizing the agricultural industry, showcasing the immense potential of technology to drive resilience and productivity among smallholder farmers.

By leveraging an innovative app that analyzes images of pest-infected crops and provides locally available treatments, farmers have collectively saved an estimated US$100 million in lost crops.

This success story from Tanzania shared with the world during the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) 47th Governing Council in Rome, Italy, underscores the transformative power of AI-powered innovation in empowering …

• With 65% of the global uncultivated arable land located in Africa, AfDB says there is potential for the continent to feed itself and the rest of the world.
• The lender is now committing to focus on securing long-term financing for research activities and enhancing researcher CGIAR’s effectiveness across the continent.
• AfDB and CGIAR also anticipate engaging in capacity building for country-based national agricultural research services partners, young scientists, extension workers, and private-sector seed growers to produce certified seeds.

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR) have committed to enhancing food security through improved production to offer better nutrition for Africa’s growing population.

This commitment involves strengthened collaboration between the parties, leveraging the robust arable land the continent possesses. “With 65 percent of the global uncultivated arable land, we believe that the continent can feed itself and the rest of the world,” AfDB …

• General cost of living in Africa has increased driven by food inflation.
• Researchers project a possible decline in food prices in 2024.
• Food security in Africa is threatened by possible escalation of conflict in Gaza.

The cost of living in Tanzania is steadily increasing, driven by the rise in the prices of basic foods. As of August 2022, Tanzania’s food inflation was reported at 7.8 per cent by the World Bank. The inflation rate worsened, reaching a peak of 9.7 per cent as of December 2022.

“This upward trajectory of food prices persisted into January 2023, where the food inflation rate reached 9.9 per cent,” reports Tanzania Investment and Consultant Group Ltd (TICGL), an economic research institute.

Food inflation is not only affecting East Africa but also most of the rest of the world. The World Bank states, “Inflation higher than 5per cent is experienced in 63.2 per cent of …

• IFAD together with governments, partners and stakeholders are exploring solutions to optimize the contribution of agriculture to nutrition in food systems.
• Africa still experiences a malnutrition burden among children aged under 5 years.
• The continent’s food security challenges are compounded by the war in Ukraine, by supply chain shortages, conflict, and drought.

A regional knowledge and experience-sharing workshop that addresses nutrition, rural development and food system transformation began today in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Improving food and nutrition security in West and Central Africa (WCA) is crucial. It is estimated that 29.8 per cent of the population of West Africa and 13.9 per cent of the population of Central Africa are undernourished.

For three days, representatives of rural development projects co-financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) together with governments, partners and other stakeholders will explore solutions to optimize the contribution of agriculture to nutrition in the context …

The insurance sector has progressively curated products to cushion the different aspects of living, individuals and corporations. As such, agricultural insurance has been identified as an essential tool in assisting farmers, herders, and governments to mitigate some negative financial impacts of adverse natural events. Many countries have used insurance to help manage agricultural risks. The usefulness of agricultural insurance in risk mitigation is not in question.…

• World hunger is not the result of food shortage, and opposition to gene-edited crops, but due to political strife.
• Global food production is sufficient to feed all, but skewed distribution systems create a huge shortfall in countries.
• Analysis shows that even if GMOs were adopted globally, food shortage will persist.

Globally, Genetically Modified (GM) crops have been touted as the magic wand that could end world hunger. The ability of gene-edited crops to produce more over shorter periods of time and their resistance to diseases has been lauded. Further, GMO’s ability to resist poor weather conditions occasioned by climate crisis are earning them acceptance across nations.

These traits make Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) a solution to global food shortage. Increasingly, naturally maturing crops are yielding little, and their long gestation periods leave them vulnerable to climate crisis. Further their vulnerability to pests and diseases drastically cuts yields, exacerbating food shortages.…