The causes of African food crisis

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in Africa, the continent was largely self- reliant and productive, with agriculture and sustainable practices that ensured food reserves in times of need. However, since colonisation, it seems the continent has been plagued with recurring famine and poverty, stressing the dire situation with food insecurity.

The causes of the food crisis in Africa are many, including historical, environmental, social (demographics, disparities, governments) and economic factors (including the dominance of cash cropping coupled with poor infrastructure, technology and information). Only if these factors are addressed can the issue of food security be effectively contained and managed sustainably in Africa.

Historical factors: European ascendancy Before the entry of Europeans on the African scene, many countries and tribes in Africa had their own methods of agriculture that were suited to the land and were sustainable, such as shifting cultivation (practised over wide areas) allowing for fallow periods of recuperation.

Colonisers determined that these practices were “barbaric”, “environmentally” destructive and wasteful, and introduced their own intensive, high-input systems which led to some abandonment of traditional practices. Unbeknown to them, however, these new farming regimes had a long-term degrading effect on the environment leading to issues such as soil erosion, run-off, etc. not to mention vulnerability to drought and climate variability.

Quite simply, Europeans changed what was once a system suited to the environment to one that was not, exacerbating upcoming issues with the food crisis. Additionally, pastoral activities previously practised for many centuries had been abandoned. As colonisers, Europeans also introduced monoculture and cash-cropping systems which shifted a vast majority of agriculture towards abandoning original food cropping in the pursuit of financial return.

Economics, infrastructure and information systems The high returns generated from cash cropping led to a large shift from traditional food crops for monetary pursuits in others. This meant that in times of drought and need, there was inadequate storage of food crops in African nations.

While many were starving, cash crops were still often exported during such periods. In theory, the returns from cash crops were expected to alleviate this situation but with foreign investors, inequitable marketing policies for farmers and large disparities between the rich and the poor, profits from cash cropping rarely reflected in the local or even national economies.

The surplus from agriculture generated in monetary terms, rather than from storage of food crops for times of need, clearly is not conducive to food security. Additionally, due to limited national resources, both governments and communities lack important information regarding weather forecasts and climate variability to better prepare farmers for planting and cultivation to optimise environmental factors or prepare for times of need (i.e. drought).

This lack of preparation is a significant contributory factor. Similarly, many rural areas lack sufficient infrastructure (roads, telecommunications, etc.) to transport and deliver goods to urban areas. They also lack efficient aid and development assistance.

Furthermore, the weak economies have plunged many of the countries in economic debt which has led to the little financial resources available to them being used to pay off the debt first instead of investing in agricultural and infrastructural development within the country.

But these issues are not solely attributable to poor economic conditions — they are also related to social structure, disparities in the system and governance issues.

Social factors Although economic returns and financial means do exist in many African nations to check food crisis, poor policies and government bureaucracies make prevention difficult. For starters, the low status of women and the occurrence of cash crops often mean that men are in charge of revenue and, as a generalisation, men are less likely to spend as much income on the needs and food security matters for the family than women.

Additionally, there are large disparities between the poor and the rich farmers who initially had the capital to invest in cash cropping and generated income and built on investment from there (while the poor farmer was unable to invest at all) causing a wide gap between the two.

Ultimately this puts money in the hands of big producers and away from those smaller producers in rural communities who are hit hard in times of drought with little means to obtain food. The governments often do little to alleviate this with a history of corruption. Even governments that are not corrupt are highly centralised and are unable to generate “ideas” to assist in these areas. They also poorly link the environment and food security policies when it comes to planning.

The environment With such rapidly expanding populations, the environment and its resources in Africa are under huge pressure. Already, from previously implemented European practices and in parts of the continent due to arid and semi-arid environments, land is already fragile. Current practices, therefore, exacerbate these problems with land degradation, pollution, erosion, run-off and declining productivity.

The writer is a Professor of Environmental Science, University of Botswana, Gaborone.