The crisis of Covid-19 has worsened the agricultural and food situation in many African countries which were already facing difficulties in this regard due to several factors such as drought, floods, and locust epidemics, contributing to the reduction of local agricultural production.
The challenge of food security is always on the agenda of African policymakers. Some countries have seen their agricultural production affected and have been forced to increase imports, while other African countries are suffering from famine.
Indeed, statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) revealed in 2019, even before the Covid-19 crisis, a shocking figure of 250 million Africans were undernourished.
The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted some African countries to use this experience to rethink their healthy, sovereign food and agricultural systems, geared towards self-sufficiency for local and regional demand.
Millions of people suffer from famine in Africa
Feeding Africa, food sovereignty, resilience, and food self-sufficiency in Africa are all key hopeful terms that have been used frequently lately. These notions formed the theme of the latest Dakar 2 Summit, organized from 25 to 27 January in Diamniadio, near the Senegalese capital Dakar, on the initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, the government of Senegal and the African Union Commission. 34 heads of state and government attended the Summit.
Apart from the Heads of State, the summit brought together all stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector, namely ministers responsible for agriculture, the private sector, commercial banks, financial institutions, NGOs, and scientists.
This diversity of actors attests to Africa’s willingness to take action and seriously consider concrete solutions to ensure food security, which has become an urgent imperative with the inflation caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
At the closing ceremony, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced that development partners have pledged US$30 billion to support African countries in the implementation of their national agriculture and food pacts. This includes US$10 billion from AfDB and another US$20 billion from several other partners. This financial support will allow the provision of food and agricultural products over the next five years, for the benefit of African states.
Given the importance of the subject and its crucial impact, the summit was not a space for advocacy only but was based on the transparency and concrete results of these national pacts.
During the summit, the heads of state took upon themselves the responsibility to feed their countries, according to the AfDB president’s statement.
The other face of Africa: Countries still suffering from famine
Africa is the region of the world most affected by famine, especially in the Sahel. Drought and erratic rainfall are just some of the reasons why agriculture and food in Africa are so fragile. Indeed, the hunger riots of 2008 will never be forgotten.
International statistics have revealed that hundreds of millions of people in Africa are victims of what is known as food insecurity. NGOs are constantly appealing to states to save the millions of Africans affected by famine.
Other alarming figures from the Global Food Crisis Network, of which the European Union is a member, showed that almost 2/3 of the world’s people at risk are in Africa.
The countries most affected by the scourge of famine are Nigeria and South Sudan. In addition, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 20 million people are hungry and do not have the means to eat every day, revealed an official of the NGO Care. Thus, the majority of African countries are experiencing a food crisis, as citizens are unable to eat three meals a day.
The phenomenon of famine is exacerbated by local conflicts and insecurity in the Sahel, which force communities to flee their villages and remain dependent on NGOs.
Where does the problem lie? Can Africa ensure its food security?
The food situation in Africa reveals contradictions. Indeed, at a time when millions of Africans are suffering from hunger every day, at the last Dakar 2 summit, it was announced that “65% of the world’s arable land is in Africa”, which is enormous potential and sufficient for Africa to ensure self-sufficiency in food. Africa must therefore focus on agriculture.
The first step to achieving food security is to develop agriculture. This is why the African Development Bank is trying to address this issue by providing loans to member countries to support agriculture and farmers. Similarly, each country must show responsibility and deploy adequate and sustainable means to attract young people to the fields.
According to the report “Reconquering Food Sovereignty in Africa” published by the Fondation Jean-Jaurès in September 2021, “five major trends” have been identified that should “mark the trajectory of agriculture” in Africa.
First, agriculture must involve rural communities, empowering rural women through their professional integration and the valorization of their work. Integrating innovative and industrialized techniques in the agricultural sector, and finally, regional integration, which is necessary to promote the development of the continent as a whole.
The question is whether African countries suffering from famine can be integrated into these national agricultural development plans when the drought is intense, or whether we should help them with food in other ways.