Why is it that Africa isn't already feeding itself?

The focus of my last post was based upon the widely supported claim that a little investment in Africa could stimulate an agricultural revolution, thus enabling Africa to feed itself and the world. However, such a claim necessitates investigating: why is it that Africa isn’t already feeding itself? And therefore, what is necessary to enable Africa to achieve food security?

To consider this question, it is important to understand some contextual information. At present, two-thirds of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population reside in rural areas and depend upon agriculture for their livelihoods, almost 50% live in extreme poverty and one third are undernourished (Toenniessen et.al., 2008). The majority of this poverty is in rural areas and its main cause is insufficient food production and lacking capacity to generate income from small-scale agriculture.

Therefore, Sub-Saharan Africa’s low agricultural productivity is the main cause of the regions poor economic growth, high poverty rate and food insecurity. These four factors are intrinsically linked: “agricultural development is an essential prerequisite to overall national economic development” (Toenniessen et.al., 2008). Therefore, to ensure increased agricultural productivity and food production, sustained economic growth and reduced hunger and poverty levels there is a need to accelerate investments in agricultural water development. 

In the latter half of the 20^th century, Agricultural (or ‘Green’) Revolutions took place in many of the developing nations in Asia and Latin America. As a consequence, food production increased at the same rate as population growth; the rural poor and whole economy benefitted, poverty rates decreased significantly and predicted famines were avoided. The Green Revolutions in Asia and Latin America provided the foundation upon which these regions developed economically and continue to do so today (Evenson, 2003).

However, in spite of significant investment and effort to promote agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa, the region has not had a sustained or comparable Green Revolution to those that occurred in Asia and Latin America. Africa has a considerably lower chemical fertiliser (and improved crop) use when compared to other developing nations (Byerlee et. al., 2007) and increases in African agricultural production have been achieved unsustainably by decreasing fallow periods and increasing the area of cultivated land. Consequently, there has and continues to be mass deforestation and serious soil fertility problems across the continent. Lacking soil nutrients means there is less plant growth, less organic matter in the soil and reduced soil water storage capacity. The increases in agricultural production that have been achieved are not in line with population growth hence the high rate of undernourishment and malnourishment across Africa.

However, the solution to the question ‘why isn’t Africa already feeding itself?’ is not as simple as replicating the Asian Green Revolution in Africa. Because, as Toenniessen et.al highlight; “The ‘one size fits all’ approach that worked so well for the vast irrigated regions of Asia is simply not appropriate for the highly diverse rain-fed farming systems of Africa”.

The conditions for a Green Revolution in Africa present a far greater challenge than those that were present in Asia in the 1960’s:

·      Africa’s physical landscape is far more varied.

·      Precipitation is incredibly variable and unpredictable.

·      The cropping systems are far more diverse than those in Asia and fertilisers are expensive (Gilbert, 2014).

·      There is a lack of labour-saving machinery.

·      Unlike in 1960’s Asia, most of the agricultural land in Africa (96%) is rain-fed hence there is very little water transportation and storage infrastructure, as well as minimal amounts of irrigation equipment installed.

·      Lack of roads and railroads significantly restricts access to markets.

According to Toenniessen et.al, a Green Revolution for Africa must be locally specific and adapted to the conditions of each locality. Increasing yields and achieving food security across Sub-Saharan Africa will require a multi-faceted approach:

·      Improvements/ modification of many different crops and each being used in their best-suited locality.

·      Increasing soil fertility is imperative. 

·      Introduction of pest and disease resistance to crops.

·      Adoption of inexpensive, more appropriate and sustainable farming practices. 

·      Improved and more affordable access to fertilisers will also be crucial. 

·      Greater access to markets that are efficient and fair is also necessary if agriculture is going to drive national economic growth (and poverty reduction) in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

I hope this post has highlighted the importance of realising and appreciating that Africa's food insecurity has many causes and is not nearly as simple as the presence or absence of water. Therefore, if food security (and a Green Revolution) are to be achieved in Africa there will need to be many adjustments, some of which are listed above, as well as cross-sectorial cooperation and coordination. However, although a multi-faceted approach is completely necessary for increasing agricultural productivity and economic development across Africa (whilst also supporting an increasing population) an essential pre-requisite will be an increased ability to access and utilise reliable water sources. How can this be achieved? Read my next post to find out!





Byerlee, D., Kelly, V., Kopicki, R. and Morris, M. (2007). Fertilizer use in African agriculture. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Evenson, R. (2003). Assessing the Impact of the Green Revolution, 1960 to 2000. Science, 300(5620), pp.758-762.

Gilbert, N. (2014). Costly fertiliser holds back a green revolution in Africa. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/dec/05/costly-fertiliser-holds-back-a-green-revolution-in-africa

Toenniessen, G., Adesina, A. and DeVries, J. (2008). Building an Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1136(1), pp.233-242.

"With a little investment, Africa can feed itself and it has the potential to feed the world”

"With a little investment, Africa can feed itself and it has the potential to feed the world” declared the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Kanayo Nwanze, in 2011. (Tran, 2011)

As we are inescapably reminded: the world’s population continues to increase and will reach 9.7 billion by 2050 (Un.org, 2016). To sustain this population global food production must inevitably increase. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) report How to Feed the World in 2050 estimates that by 2050 global food production must increase by 70%. The UNFAO specifically states that this requires investment and policies that promote agricultural productivity in developing countries. Therefore, developing countries and more specifically the continent of Africa are being seen as the solution to help meet current and future global food demands.

If a survey was carried out on the UK high street asking participants to imagine Africa and its relationship with food I almost guarantee that the majority would describe images of barren and infertile lands that receive very little moisture and consequently produce insufficient amounts of food, leaving the continents inhabitants malnourished and undernourished. Undoubtedly a product of the popular imagery that is projected across the media to highlight the extent of drought and food shortages. If you were then to suggest to the participants that Africa may in fact feed the future world I am almost sure that the majority would most likely may claim you to be speaking untruths.

I am not trying to deny that poverty, malnourishment, water and food insecurity aren't issues in Africa but there is also truth in what Kanayo Nwanze declared in 2011. Indeed, the sentiment he expressed is not uncommon and experts from many different fields are anticipating that an 'African Agricultural Revolution' will feed the future world. A small examination of Africa's current agricultural practices and geophysical conditions highlight the potential for the continent to feed itself and become a net food exporter.

Currently, farming in Africa is practiced extensively but the average farm is approximately a hectare in size (Giordano 2005). There is also little use of GM crops, pesticides, fertilisers and other yield enhancers. As well, only 4% of land in Sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated meaning that the majority of arable land is solely fed by the rain. A little known fact is that Africa also has substantial supplies of groundwater. According to Giordano, internally renewable groundwater supplies in sub-Saharan Africa can be placed at around 1,500 km3/yr, this is three times the availability of China and six times that of India (Giordano, 2005).

Therefore, with only 4% of land in Sub-Saharan Africa currently being irrigated, the rest being solely rain fed and a low use of yield enhancers there is great potential for increasing these agricultural practices in Africa. There is also the potential to increase groundwater abstraction to facilitate an increase in irrigation. Undoubtedly, increasing use of these practices would assist in increasing the agricultural output of Africa and there is therefore a strong case for increasing investment in the continent. Aside from helping to meet global food demands investment in Africa's agricultural industry will also boost the countries economies and therefore assist in decreasing the continents poverty rate (Toenniessen et.al., 2008).

However, there is a tendency to be swept up in to the romanticized notion that investment in Africa and reform of its agricultural policies will ensure that future populations are food secure. However, we must be cautious in being so reductionist toward the means by which it is claimed Africa will feed the world. Indeed, it is likely that increased irrigation, increased groundwater abstraction and greater use of yield enhancers will facilitate the increase of Africa’s agricultural yield. However, it will not be that simplistic. These ‘solutions’ will be significantly affected by the geophysical, socio-economical, political, infrastructural and legal contexts of the African continent. It is paramount that these factors are afforded considerable contemplation and attention in the pursuit of Africa as the garden of the future.

In the coming weeks this blog will explore whether Africa can in fact feed the world. This will involve investigating how this may be achieved and will explore the many factors which may limit or permit Africa being the future of global food supplies. Some topics that I hope to explore include:

• Groundwater abstraction - its possibilities and limitations 
• Virtual water and it's implications 
• International interest in Africa's agricultural potential 

Toenniessen, G., Adesina, A. and DeVries, J. (2008). Building an Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1136(1), pp.233-242.

Giordano, M. (2006). Agricultural groundwater use and rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa: A first-cut assessment. Hydrogeology Journal, pp 310–318. 

Un.org. (2016). World population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 | UN DESA | United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Available at: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/2015-report.html 

Tran, M. (2011). 'Africa can feed the world' | Mark Tran. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jul/27/africa-potential-to-feed-world