Columnists
Why East Africa needs to accelerate the pursuit of food and nutrition security
Sunday 17th October 2021
Kenya was hardest hit by the locust invasion in 2020 compared to its East African counterparts. FILE PHOTO | NMG
By Edson Mpyisi
summary
- The FAO 2021 Report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI) shows that world hunger increased in 2020, with COVID-19 playing an important role.
- The report says that 21 percent of the population in Africa is affected by hunger.
- In East Africa in particular, malnutrition is reported with 28.1 percent, which puts it in second place in African regions after Central Africa with 31.8 percent.
While the world community is celebrating this year’s World Food Day 2021 (October 16), where does East Africa stand in terms of food security, which is a declared goal of Kenya. The goal is still a long way off.
The FAO 2021 Report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI) shows that world hunger increased in 2020, with COVID-19 playing an important role.
The report says that 21 percent of the population in Africa is affected by hunger. In East Africa in particular, malnutrition is reported with 28.1 percent, which puts it in second place in African regions after Central Africa with 31.8 percent.
East Africa lags behind compared to 7.1 percent in North Africa, 10.1 percent in Southern Africa and 16.7 percent in West Africa.
Recent major contributors to food insecurity and malnutrition in East Africa include conflict, extreme climate variability, economic slowdowns and recent disasters such as the desert locust invasion in 2019-2020.
Unfortunately, both the frequency and the intensity of disasters such as droughts and floods continue to increase.
So what should the East African countries do after the food security status outlined above to get back on track on the way to food security?
An approach to food systems
The theme of World Food Day 2021 “Our actions are our future: Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life” offers some ideas.
It underscores the fact that food production, nutrition and the environment are interrelated and need to be addressed together through well-coordinated, comprehensive approaches rather than focusing on just one aspect. In other words, governments in East Africa must consciously develop and implement a policy that adopts the “Food Systems Approach”.
A food systems approach encompasses the entire spectrum of actors and their interlinked value-added activities who are involved in the production, aggregation, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food originating from agriculture, forestry or fishing, as well as Portions of the broader economic, social, and natural environments in which they are embedded.
A food systems lens is essential to better identify entry points for intervention to address issues that disrupt food production and distribution.
Consistency in the formulation and implementation of policies and investments in food, health, social protection and environmental systems is vital.
Fortunately, East African countries that want to implement concise policies and plausible measures for food and nutrition security have a partner in the African Development Bank, which runs a sophisticated program to promote the same.
The AfDB “Feed Africa” strategy aims to support the transformation of African agriculture into a competitive and inclusive agricultural sector that creates prosperity and improves lives.
The strategy has four specific objectives, namely: to contribute to the end of poverty; End hunger and malnutrition; Make Africa a net food exporter; and putting Africa at the top of export-oriented value chains where it has a comparative advantage.
The various initiatives that the AfDB supports towards these goals relate to promoting greater adoption of new and innovative technologies to transform agriculture on the continent, inspiring and empowering youth to become more involved in agriculture and agribusiness, as well as the establishment of special agricultural companies – industrial processing zones.
It is important that these initiatives run alongside others that focus, among other things, on building resilience to climate change and related disasters, promoting peace, accessing markets and promoting trade.
This includes the broader food systems approach that countries in the region can benefit from.
Depending on the context of the respective country, there are different ways of transforming the food system: integration of humanitarian, development and peace-building measures in conflict areas; Increasing climate resilience in all food systems; Strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable to economic adversity; Intervening along the food supply chains to reduce the cost of nutritious food; Combating poverty and structural inequalities to ensure that interventions are pro-poor and inclusive; and strengthening the food environment and changing consumer behavior to promote dietary patterns that are beneficial to human health and the environment.
These actions must be followed consciously and not through mere rhetoric.
Edson Mpyisi is Chief Financial Economist and coordinator of the ENABLE Youth program at the African Development Bank in the East Africa region.
E-mail: [email protected]
