Africa's Food Crisis

146 million people currently living in Africa face food insecurity. That is more than double the UK’s population. Take a moment to let that sink in…

How and why has such a horrific statistic been created and what are its implications?

Rising food prices and an over-reliance on exports:

As mentioned in the third blog, nations within Africa are importing high-value crops and products such as cereal crops. Much of Africa’s wheat, vegetable oil and fertiliser are all imported from Russia and Ukraine. However, the ongoing war and tensions between the countries have not only reduced their exports but has also raised food prices significantly not only for African countries, but also other nations in the world. Yet, the reason why many people in Africa suffer compared to the rest of the world, is the over-reliance on importing these products and not maintaining self sufficiency for food security. Currently, US $35 billion a year is spent importing food, whilst arguably the same money could be used to create jobs or invest back into the agricultural economy.


Figure 1 – Map showing anomalous precipitation in the Horn of Africa between March and September 2022.

Climate Change:

Furthermore, climate change and periods of drought are not allowing countries in the horn of Africa to grow crops or raise livestock. Figure 1 shows how Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia as well as some areas in South Sudan and Tanzania are experiencing anomalous declines in precipitation of 150 to 300 mm, causing crops to fail and livestock to die. 22 million people are suffering because of this drought and this number will only worsen should precipitation still not occur. Figure 2 shows how parts of Somalia will be projected to experience famine if rainfall does not occur. This is simply unfair – Africa produces only 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but it suffers the most.


Figure 2 – Food insecurity projections in Somalia.

Conflict within Africa:

Conflict within African nations and poor governance have further caused or exacerbated the food crisis within the continent and caused food insecurity. Civil conflict in the Blue Nile and Darfur regions in Sudan have led to 11.7 million people facing acute food insecurity. Poor governance and lack of economic management has also driven inflation of 400% leaving many unable to access food. Whilst conflict within these regions have calmed down, their impacts are still felt today.

Impacts of food insecurity:

Often, when thinking about the impacts of food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality are what comes to mind. In East Africa, 12.8 million children are known to be malnourished and 7.2 million people are threatened by starvation. Food security also decreases the mental health of individuals. Women and people living with HIV were highlighted as the most vulnerable to poor mental health within the continent (Trudell et al., 2021). These impacts can only be reduced once the crisis of food is solved.

Thus, this blog highlights how water scarcity alone is not responsible for food insecurity within Africa. Rather, it is the combination of all the above mentioned points interacting together and disrupting people’s livelihoods. 

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