External shocks have put undue pressure on Africa’s food situation and highlighted the continent’s food vulnerabilities, according to the final declaration of the two-day Africa Leadership Forum in Accra, Ghana.
Indeed, Covid-19 and the Ukrainian crisis have disrupted supply chains and made access to inputs such as fertilisers difficult for the farmers who feed the continent.
This vulnerability to shocks needs to be addressed, and the focus should be on “developing and strengthening the agricultural value chain to ensure food security”, the declaration said.
The declaration also noted that the current and future effects of climate change are a wake-up call for Africa, requiring a reorientation of the agricultural development agenda. Thus, there is a need to take advantage of the good practices that have transformed Africa’s agricultural sector and scale them up, the statement continued.
In order to have an agricultural sector that is resilient to internal and external shocks, climate-smart technologies and the diversification of agricultural systems are essential, according to the same declaration.