Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa

The supply and demand of fruits, vegetables and animal products is often insufficient and too expensive for most consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. However, recent evidence suggests that both the production and consumption of these nutrient-dense products is rapidly growing. What are the policy implications of this? And what can governments do to stimulate more inclusive and sustainable domestic value chains?

The mobile money revolution has begun to substantially increase financial access around the world. Mobile money accounts allow people previously excluded from the formal financial sector to access savings accounts, make payments to merchants, and make person-to-person transfers, among other services. Research has shown that mobile money access can have important effects on key outcomes such as improved resilience and food security.

Beans play an important role in the diets of rural Ugandans, making up as much as 25 percent of average daily protein intake. They are also an important cash crop within the country, with biofortified beans holding the potential for significant value-added production and income generation. However, this potential is constrained by Uganda’s weak seed systems and uncoordinated value chains, which limit productivity.

The sustainable transformation of Africa’s agrifood processing system has been increasingly recognized as crucial to ensuring the region’s food security, reducing poverty rates, and supporting economic development. The ReSAKSS 2022 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) takes an in-depth look at the status of the system, as well as the major challenges threatening further development and policies that can support sustainable growth in Africa’s agrifood sector.

In the spring of 2022, we taught a graduate level course titled “Agri-food Systems and Economic Development” in Georgetown University’s Global Human Development Program. One of the assignments was writing a policy brief on the impact of a major shock to food systems (such as a significant policy or technological change, natural disaster, or the COVID-19 pandemic) on a sub-population in a country or region. This post by Christian Kamm is based on the assignment.