
<p>The food price crisis of 2007-2008, Covid-19, the Russia – Ukraine War, and climate change have exposed the fragility of food systems. The greatest risk lies in refusing to learn from lessons of the past.&nbsp;</p>



<p>At the start of 2022, we were already facing the prospect of a food crisis. Even before the first Russian tank rolled across Ukraine’s borders on 24 February, food prices had tipped record highs as the world struggled to recover from Covid-19 to repair disrupted supply chains and soaring fuel and gas prices. But a conflict involving two of the world’s largest wheat exporters, and major producers of fertilizer, maize and vegetable oil, have inevitably driven prices even higher and, once again, pushed the issue of global food security into sharp focus.</p>



<p>Russia and Ukraine together account for roughly 30 per cent of the world’s wheat and barley exports, a fifth of its corn trade and almost 80 per cent of sunflower oil exports. Most of their wheat production is imported by countries in the Middle East and Africa, with some 50 countries depending on Russia and Ukraine. Warfare, port blockades and international sanctions have reduced these exports, and supply uncertainties have already pushed wheat prices to around $11 per bushel, a level last seen in 2008. The FAO food price index soared last week to a record high.</p>



<p>The situation is further compounded by rising energy prices, and disruptions to the supply of fertilisers, the prices of which are already fluctuating at levels unseen since the global financial crisis because of higher gas prices. &nbsp;Russia and Belarus produce more than a third of global potash. Russia is also the world’s biggest exporter of fertilizers and the war with Ukraine has disrupted the export of fertilizers and driven up prices for natural gas, which is an important ingredient of nitrogen-based fertilizers. Fertilizer prices (DAP) are surging towards 1000 USD per ton, with a significant increase in the last 6 months, and a 40% jump since the invasion. This will hurt rich and poor farmers alike, due to the clear link between rising costs and reduced production.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The US-based Center for Global Development estimates that higher food and fuel prices will push 40 million more people into extreme poverty.&nbsp; Lower income households, who were already spending between 60 and 80 per cent of their earnings on food, face stark choices, including how many meals to eat in a day. In Tunisia, the fear of food shortages combined with the imminent arrival of Ramadan, caused panic buying and emptied supermarket shelves. Kenyans are protesting rising food prices on social media with the hashtag #lowerfoodprices. Thousands of maize farmers in Ethiopia have been protesting soaring fertilizer prices. And let’s not forget that it was rising food prices that led to the 2019 Sudan coup and the Arab Spring rebellion of 2008.</p>



<p>The food crisis of 2007-8 suggests important lessons for us to mitigate a food crisis this year.</p>



<p>First, remember that cooperation between countries matters, sending important signals to markets that governments and the private sector take the problem seriously.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Second, take concerted action to trade more, easier, faster.&nbsp; Allow food to be traded and attack non-tariff barriers that are the most serious limitations to trade.&nbsp;&nbsp; Africa has shown leadership in the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area – these principles must be fast tracked to allow as friction-free trading system as possible.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Third, governments and development partners should urgently plan for the social and humanitarian consequences of a food crisis.&nbsp; Social safety nets should be strengthened at least temporarily, and humanitarian aid planned for the most vulnerable.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Last and perhaps most importantly, governments and partners must go back to basics: that African economies and livelihoods are built on agriculture. More than 70 per cent of the population is involved in farming, but the vast majority of these are smallholdings with significant exposure to environmental and economic shocks. These farmers and their contributions can be transformed by shorter value chains that share some of the value with farmers, a digital revolution that puts farmers, and strong government agenda and support.&nbsp;</p>



<p>African farmers, if given the opportunities that their European, Asian and North American counterparts have, can increase massively their productivity and grow their businesses.&nbsp; An emergency plan to build support for farmers now can send important signals to markets and increase production this year.&nbsp; Give farmers access to productive, climate smart seeds, the knowledge they need to become more productive, and innovative financial tools to invest.&nbsp; Then help them get their products to market. Proven models are already used by many partners – millions of farmers can be lifted quickly in this way.</p>



<p>At the same time, soaring fertilizer prices must be addressed with urgent action to increase efficiency.&nbsp; AGRA has promoted technologies that can reduce cost to the farmer including the use of blended fertilizers, as we already see in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The same is true in the use of micro-dosing.&nbsp; Both give much more ‘bang for the buck’ and can be much more environmentally friendly. This is also an opportunity to promote greater use of farmers’ traditional practices of regeneration and organic fertilization.</p>



<p>This is the time for African governments to give a strong signal of support to the agriculture sector.&nbsp; Start by reducing redundant regulation, and support SMEs and farmers’ cooperatives with credit guarantee programmes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We learned from the last food crisis that we should not be afraid of a food crisis.  What we should be worried about is lack of action once we understand the problem. Governments should lead and coordinate, private sector should target investment on proven solutions, and unlock African farmers’ potential. </p>



<p><em>The writer is the President of AGRA (the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa).</em></p>


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Inadequacy and fragility of food systems becomes more apparent with every food crisis. The question we must answer is “Where do we go from here?”

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<p>Agricultural investments in Africa have more than doubled in the last decade resulting in increased productivity and stronger economic growth. Agriculture accounts for at least 23 per cent of Africa’s GDP, policies and investments that strengthen resilient farming systems will be pivotal to sustaining growth. Dr. Apollos Nwafor, Vice President for Policy and State Capability at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa joins CNBC Africa on scaling up investments in the sector.</p>


AGRA’s Nwafor explains why partnerships are key to driving inclusive agricultural transformation

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<p>As the world gradually adapts to a post-pandemic reality, policies will need to be developed and implemented to ensure that no one is left behind. Agriculture accounts for at least 23 per cent of Africa’s GDP, policies and investments that strengthen resilient farming systems will be pivotal to sustaining growth. Dr. Apollos Nwafor, Vice President for Policy and State Capability at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


AGRA: How digitalization can help strengthen food systems in Africa


<p>Dr. Agnes Kalibata is the President of AGRA and a Member of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. In 2019, she was also appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit.</p>



<p>Communities across the world are facing a food securitycrisis. Over 690 million people worldwide experiencehunger on a daily basis. This has only been exacerbated by the impacts of COVID-19: The number of people facing acute food insecurity could double to 265 million by the end of 2020.</p>



<p>It doesn’t end there. For billions of people living in the global South, this is a crisis on top of a crisis on top of a crisis. In southern Africa, record-breaking droughts and floods destroyed crops on a large scale earlier this year. Massive outbreaks of desert locusts continue to threaten crops in East Africa. In fact, in 2019 weather extremes and conflict led to 33 million and 77 million starving people, respectively.</p>



<p>The pandemic is pushing already vulnerable people further to the brink and it cannot go on. Moving forward, COVID-19 recovery efforts need to build resilience in our food systems to withstand future shocks. More than that, we must ensure a fair and just recovery, as the impacts of crises are not felt equally.</p>



<p>Women are at the frontlines of economic and extreme weather impacts, including impacts driven by both climate change and the spread of COVID-19. Women often lack decision-making power in and are de-prioritised during emergencies. The food insecurity crisis is no different. While women comprise 40-60% of the agricultural workforce, existing institutional biases often prevent them from having access to land rights, financing tools andtraining opportunities, and hold them back from employment and leadership.</p>



<p>But women are a vital part of the solution to these challenges. If women had access to the same resources as men, they could close the gender yield gap and increase production on their farms by 20-30% on average, and help reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17%.</p>



<p>Addressing gender inequity must be central to the response to food insecurity. In the short-term, we need immediate financial and policy support to manage the impacts of COVID-19 on current food production and distribution systems.</p>



<p>Ensuring equitable access to agricultural inputs and resources in the near-term can decrease the long-term effects of the food crisis. Targeted food programmes and shock-responsive safety nets can enhance and expand social protection measures, but must reach women in places where they are needed the most. Response efforts can collect sex and age disaggregated data and use this to monitor who is being most impacted. Such data can helpdesign evidence-based interventions that support the most vulnerable, such as women and women-run businesseswho bear the burden of the pandemic so disproportionately.</p>



<p>In the long-term, we must make the food system more resilient to potential future shocks. Practices such as regenerative agriculture that enhance soil health, promote agrobiodiversity, and efficiently manage water have shown to increase yields and must be available to people that need them the most. But sustainable food systems are only possible with gender equality, as was found in a programme carried out by the UN across seven countries, including Liberia and Niger. Results showed that when rural women have better access to resources and opportunities, their communities have improved nutrition, increased incomes, and more efficient and sustainable food systems.</p>



<p>Securing women’s land rights is a critical step towards any solution to the current hunger crisis. Doing so createsincentives for long-term investments, such as soil conservation, by female farmers. This can result in increased productivity and makes the land more resilient to climate change, in turn improving livelihoods.</p>



<p>Many regions and countries are already advancing equal land rights for women. The African Union has declared a goal of 30% of all registered land being in a woman’s name by 2025. There is still a ways to go but progress can be noted: My home country of Rwanda, which has the highest percentage of female parliamentary members globally, is also one of only two countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with over 20% of land rights registered in women’s names. Even when land is shared, such as in marriage, the woman’s share is protected by law in Rwanda, a very critical yet often forgotten step.</p>



<p>Bolstering women’s role in the food system can have broad and lasting benefits for our communities and environment. We know that women can lead recovery todeliver a sustainable food system. What we need now is global solidarity to address and overcome the gender barriers.</p>



<p>Next year’s UN Food Systems Summit, for which I am the Special Envoy, calls on all of us to collectively act and change the way we produce, process, and consume food. Leveraging international processes, by ensuring that regional and national consultations are inclusive and participatory, can provide platforms that listen to and support women as change agents.</p>



<p>Now is a unique moment to collectively aim for economic, social and environmental transformation on a previously unthinkable scale. Women can lay the foundation and lead the effort to build back better – we just have to give them the chance.</p>


Migrant Workers Employed On Colorado’s Largest Organic Farm

We must give women a chance to build back a better food system

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<p>As the world marks World Food Day today, CNBC Africa spoke with John Macharia, Country Manager, AGRA, Kenya on Africa&#8217;s preparedness in handling food systems shocks and the needed global action to improve the systems.</p>


Assessing Africa’s preparedness in handling food systems shocks

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<p>The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World indicate that hunger is expanding the fastest in Africa compared to other places and the continent is expected to be home to more than half of the world’s chronically hungry by 2030.</p>


AGRA President Agnes Kalibata on how to improve food security in Africa

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<p>Africa has been a victim of negative events such as floods and droughts, desert locust infestation and now the pandemic. These have highlighted the need to build resilience for agriculture, a key sector to the continent’s economies. AGRA’s Vice President for Program Innovation and Delivery, Aggie Asiimwe Konde joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


#AGRF2020: How to build resilient agricultural systems in Africa

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<p>In this conversation, Dr. Apollos Nwafor, AGRA’s vice president for policy and state capability discusses ways to enhance markets and trade in Africa and their role in strengthening the food systems as the continent seeks to feed its cities.</p>


#AGRF2020: AGRA’s Nwafor on how stronger markets could shape agriculture in Africa

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<p>Tens of thousands of perishable products in Sub-Saharan Africa are lost mainly due the lack of reliable and adequate cold storage facilities and now with the disruption of supply chains and trade caused by COVID-19; the losses are expected to be even bigger. CNBC Africa spoke to Professor Nuhu Hatibu, Regional Head for East Africa at AGRA for more.</p>


Lack of reliable cold chain infrastructure

Lack of reliable cold chain infrastructure, COVID-19 worsen post-harvest losses in SSA

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<p>Former Ethiopian Prime Minister, H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn was recently appointed Board Chair of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). He joins CNBC Africa’s Makeda Mahadeo to discuss priorities and matters in agriculture on the continent.</p>


AGRA Chair Desalegn on the need to transform agriculture on the continent

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<p>Africa is the most food-insecure region with about 256 million people facing undernutrition in 2018. The situation is getting worse in many parts of the continent because of the negative effects of the climate change. CNBC Africa’s Zwena Bachoo caught up with President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Agnes Kalibata for more.</p>


Climate change worsening food-insecurity in Africa, AGRA President explains why

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<p>With the support of AGRA and MasterCard Foundation an online platform, e-Hakiki that enables farmers to verify authenticity of seeds being purchased was created; the platform which currently is accessed by 35,000 farmer’s aims to boost annual yields as well as create financial inclusion in the agriculture sector in Tanzania. Fatma Fernandes, Director of Business at Quincewood Group Limited joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


This digital platform aims to boost crop yields in Tanzania

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<p>African economies have embarked on agriculture transformation strategies to significantly increase farm productivity and promote value addition to food. Joining CNBC Africa to touch base with agricultural development on the continent is former Minister of Agriculture for Rwanda and current President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa Dr Agnes Kalibata.</p>


AGRA’s Agnes Kalibata talks on transforming Africa’s agriculture

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<p>As Africa looks to finds solutions to the food security woes of the quick urbanising continent. Researchers across the continent are focusing more on crop improvement generating new breeds.</p>


Agra

Inadequacy and fragility of food systems becomes more apparent with every food crisis. The question we must answer is “Where do we go from here?”

AGRA’s Nwafor explains why partnerships are key to driving inclusive agricultural transformation

AGRA: How digitalization can help strengthen food systems in Africa

We must give women a chance to build back a better food system

Assessing Africa’s preparedness in handling food systems shocks

AGRA President Agnes Kalibata on how to improve food security in Africa

#AGRF2020: How to build resilient agricultural systems in Africa

#AGRF2020: AGRA’s Nwafor on how stronger markets could shape agriculture in Africa

Lack of reliable cold chain infrastructure, COVID-19 worsen post-harvest losses in SSA

AGRA Chair Desalegn on the need to transform agriculture on the continent

Climate change worsening food-insecurity in Africa, AGRA President explains why

This digital platform aims to boost crop yields in Tanzania

AGRA’s Agnes Kalibata talks on transforming Africa’s agriculture

How Africa can solve its food crisis

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Agra

Inadequacy and fragility of food systems becomes more apparent with every food crisis. The question we must answer is “Where do we go from here?”

AGRA’s Nwafor explains why partnerships are key to driving inclusive agricultural transformation

AGRA: How digitalization can help strengthen food systems in Africa

We must give women a chance to build back a better food system

Assessing Africa’s preparedness in handling food systems shocks

AGRA President Agnes Kalibata on how to improve food security in Africa

#AGRF2020: How to build resilient agricultural systems in Africa

#AGRF2020: AGRA’s Nwafor on how stronger markets could shape agriculture in Africa

Lack of reliable cold chain infrastructure, COVID-19 worsen post-harvest losses in SSA

AGRA Chair Desalegn on the need to transform agriculture on the continent

Climate change worsening food-insecurity in Africa, AGRA President explains why

This digital platform aims to boost crop yields in Tanzania

AGRA’s Agnes Kalibata talks on transforming Africa’s agriculture

How Africa can solve its food crisis

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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