Science for Africa’s future food security
The need for an all-Africa food supply strategy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22429772 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lukas Kornher (0000-0002-2324-015X, University of Bonn, corresponding author), Isabell Daniels (German Institute of Development and Sustainability), Getaw Tadesse |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 629-635 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Food Security (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1876-4517 • E-ISSN: 1876-4525 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12571-025-01635-4 |
| OpenAlex | W7127614461 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
Africa has become import-dependent for staple food cereals over the past five decades. It is an ongoing dispute if increasing import dependency in Africa is causing food security risks for its population fueled by recent increases of uncertainties around international trade caused by geopolitical tensions and global trade policy disruptions. We call for an all-African approach based on regionally coordinated domestic support policies to increase Africa’s self-sufficiency and reduce international imports. We argue that the recent trend towards self-sufficiency as the overarching goal is not a sufficient strategy to improve food security because domestic support policies distort markets, increase prices, and set wrong incentives. Trade distorting policies risk undermining the benefits of regional and international trade for food security because often only trade can provide an efficient insurance mechanism against local supply shocks. A regional policy coordination is required for country-specific policy decisions framed by an all-African trade policy framework to balance production and imports primarily at the continental level. If a food self-sufficiency approach — for political reasons — is to be pursued, it should be in a way that is less distortive of the domestic and regional markets.
Agriculture · Commercial policy · Food policy · Food security · Food systems · Geopolitics · Population · Staple food · Trade barrier · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Global trade and economics
| Highly cited | No |
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