Africa, as a food producing continent can produce enough to feed itself and the rest of the world. But instead of being the food basket of the world, the continent is facing increasing hunger and malnutrition due to factors such as the impact of climate change, conflict and COVID-19, described as the ‘Triple Cs’.
These challenges are not only threatening future food production prospects but they are also rolling back achievements in Africa’s food systems.
At a panel discussion held virtually as a side event of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), the discussants gave vivid images of the threats posed by the ‘Triple Cs’ and made recommendations on fashioning out appropriate responses to dealing with the issues.
According to Dina Saleh of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the interactions between conflict, climate change and COVID-19 negatively impact the food system as well SDGs and Agenda 2063. She urged African countries to build resilient food systems to address the challenges.
In his contribution, Chimimba David Phiri, the FAO Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and FAO Representative to the African Union, noted that there was no better opportunity to discuss Africa’s food systems than now.
Citing incidents of droughts and floods, Phiri said what used to occur every 10 years in the past, now occurred every two years.