Food in Africa - A General Introduction

Welcome to my blog. Over the last four years, I have developed a keen interest in environmental issues with a particular focus on the impact of water availability in agriculture and on our food supply. Over the next few months, I will be blogging about these interests in relation to water and food issues in Africa.

Food Insecurity in Africa

Significant food insecurity exists in Africa. In 2016, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported that almost 30% of people in Africa were severely food insecure. In 2018, it was reported that Africa comprised 31% of the world’s undernourished people. Food insecurity in Africa has not gone unnoticed and global efforts have been put in place to address food insecurity. Under the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods, the African Union (AU) (made up of heads of state and local governments) pledged to end hunger in Africa by 2025. This was noteworthy because it is the first regional initiative of its kind. However, success requires larger political support, policy creations, and investments if it is to meet its goals of eliminating food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition.

According to the FAO website, three Regional Initiatives currently exist which all relate to water and food practices in Africa.

Figure 1: Three Regional Initiatives in Africa relating to water and food practices (FAO)

The first Regional Initiative - Africa's Commitment to End Hunger by 2025 - aligns with the United Nations' second Sustainable Development Goal: Zero Hunger. The Zero Hunger goal seeks to "end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”; it is one of 17 goals set by the United Nations to be completed by 2030. The Second Regional Initiative hopes to improve sustainable production, while the Third Initiative aims to increase resilience in farming communities. The Second and Third Initiatives seek to assist Africa with increasing food security through improvements in farming practices to increase food production.

Figure 2: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals


A General Note

 Before I sign off my first blog post, I want to mention some of the issues raised in Binyavanga Wainaina's article "How to Write About Africa." Wainaina argues that people who write about Africa tend to show certain biases by casting the African continent and its people into stereotypes. For example, people might frame Africa and its denizens as eternally doomed, or seek to blame Western society for all of Africa's problems, or even paint the African continent and its diverse peoples in broad convenient strokes such as “everyone is starving in Africa” stereotype. It is not my intention to fall into any of these traps. If you see me doing these things, please feel free to let me know.

Comments

  1. Richard taylorDecember 12, 2019 at 7:01 AM

    Excellent start to the blog that is clear, reflective, fluently written and well connected to international agendae under the theme of Water & Food.

    ReplyDelete

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