The 2nd UN Meals Techniques Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) occurred from July 27-29, 2025, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy. It’s now 4 years for the reason that 2021 UN Meals Techniques Summit (UNFSS). UNFSS+4 has offered a platform for reflecting on progress, strengthening collaboration, and unlocking finance and investments to speed up meals techniques transformation.
The writer dedicates this text to the 2nd UN Meals Summit performed within the final three days in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia had one thing to indicate to the delegated of the Summit which included heads of states and governments in addition to leaders of UN techniques and invited company.
Ethiopia has been honored to host this Summit in cooperation with Italy. The Summit has offered one other wonderful alternative for Ethiopia to showcase her sensible achievements and experiences in implementing the UNFSS+4 world occasions. Gone are the times during which Ethiopia was talked about as a rustic ridden by famine. The writer needs to take an essential subject concerning the challenges of meals state of affairs in Africa and the attainable options.
What are probably the most conspicuous challenges that Africa is going through to feed its rising inhabitants and what are attainable options thereof? This contribution makes an attempt to counsel solutions to those two fundamental points.
Excessive climate together with droughts and floods disrupting rainfed agriculture, which helps 70% of African livelihoods. Crop yields in some areas have already dropped by as much as 50% as a result of local weather variability. The results of local weather change on meals manufacturing are much more noticeable in sub-Sahara and a few northern African international locations. During the last a number of many years, African international locations had been forces to closely rely on overseas support to reply to meals disaster they encounter virtually yearly in a row,
Despite the truth that Africa possesses a big expanse of arable land, soil degradation, deforestation, and water shortage in lots of African international locations scale back arable land and hampers agricultural productiveness.
Meals that’s produced in Africa is generally misplaced as a result of low expertise within the mode of harvesting. In Ethiopia post-harvest loss accounts for about 30% of manufacturing. That is regularly enhancing with the introduction of agricultural post-harvest expertise however nonetheless there may be extra to be carried out.
With Africa’s inhabitants set to succeed in 2.8 billion by 2050, rising demand for meals exacerbates strain on restricted assets. Moreover, rising costs of meals has not solely exacerbated hyperinflation however has additionally affected the flexibility of the inhabitants to have entry to sufficient meals provide.
Alarming urbanization drives labor shifts away from farming, shrinking farm sizes and disrupting rural provide dynamics. This additionally provides as much as the consequences of displacements and migration searching for meals and rural employment potentialities. It additionally created a better diploma of strain on city growth packages which might be pressured to shift to aid and rehabilitation packages for many who migrate to city facilities.
Excessive poverty ranges restrict each farm manufacturing and entry to meals. Battle and displacement in areas just like the Sahel and Horn of Africa disrupt agriculture and livelihoods. This has been the case for nearly half a century. Conflicts over political points and scares assets in addition to ethnic identifications on inside borders in African international locations has continued unabated.
All types of corruption, weak governance, and poor institutional capability result in misallocation of assets and ineffective agricultural assist. Though many African international locations have excessive sounding insurance policies on paper, efficient implementation in agricultural modernization is hampered by lack of political dedication. As an illustration, in keeping with the stories from the Business Financial institution OF Ethiopia, the financial institution was robbed some 7 billion birr by so referred to as specialists and their accomplices solely to be caught with their thrift.
Aside from Ethiopia and doubtless Kenya, most international locations of the Horn of Africa are bust prioritizing political squabbling to problems with meals safety and meals self-sufficiency. As an illustration, Ethiopia’s quest for entry to ports and joint growth has been politicized and over politicized by international locations of the Horn of Africa supported by those that dread the financial growth of Ethiopia.
Lack of rural infrastructure, dangerous roads, scarce storage, weak logistics results in post-harvest losses and fragmented meals markets. That is certainly a series of challenges which is seen in virtually each African nation. This isn’t solely a serious problem for every African nation but in addition for the implementation of COMMESA, AfCEFTA and different regional financial organizations. That is additionally sophisticated by inside commerce boundaries and restricted regional coordination hamper redistribution of surplus meals throughout borders.
In most African international locations, manufacturing gaps are massive: smallholder farmers continuously lack entry to seeds, fertilizers, mechanization, and trendy farming strategies. Ethiopia has labored on resolving these challenges during the last a number of years by introducing inclusive, expertise oriented cluster farming and wider import substitution packages within the manufacturing of wheat and presumably rice.
Agricultural innovation uptake is proscribed: ICT instruments, precision farming, and drought-resistant seeds stay underutilized as a result of infrastructure and capability constraints.
What’s to be carried out to enhance Africa’s meals state of affairs? The next could also be thought-about.
Growth of climate-resilient crops (drought-tolerant, early-maturing varieties like cassava, teff, millet) is underway with assist from AGRA, CGIAR, and nationwide breeding packages. It is a sensible resolution for populations in arid and semi-arid populations residing in African international locations.
ICT improvements together with cellular platforms, voice/textual content extension providers, and digital marketplaces are empowering farmers with well timed data and market entry
AI-powered instruments for native climate forecasting, AgriLLMs, and precision farming are scaling through initiatives like AIM for Scale, benefiting tens of millions and decreasing vulnerability to local weather shocks
Investments in rural roads, chilly storage, post-harvest services, and transportation networks assist scale back losses and enhance provide chain resilience agrifocusafrica.com.
Intra-African commerce through the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) helps redistribution of surplus to deficit areas, smoothing provide fluctuations
Strengthening coverage frameworks with land tenure reform, strategic grain reserves, anti-corruption measures, improved knowledge techniques, and social safety packages are constructing resilience.
Enhancing extension providers and monetary entry particularly through public- personal partnerships–boosts smallholder participation and productiveness.
Supporting youth employment in agriculture, rural expertise coaching, and household planning/training efforts can scale back inhabitants strain and diversify rural livelihoods.
Selling agribusiness and native worth chains to seize extra agriincome domestically as a substitute of counting on uncooked exports.
To advance quickly towards meals safety, African nations and growth companions ought to emphasize:
Scaling confirmed applied sciences like AI forecasting, climatesmart seeds, and sustainable irrigation.
Bridging finance gaps by local weather adaptation funding centered on smallholders.
Fostering collaboration amongst governments, NGOs, researchers, and the personal sector to implement multidimensional, regionally tailor-made options.
Africa has large potential with 60% of the world’s obtainable arable land and a rising younger workforce however turning this potential into resilient meals techniques requires daring investments, inclusive insurance policies, and built-in innovation at scale .
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This is a complete overview of Africa’s place on the Second United Nations Meals Techniques Summit Stocktaking Second (UNFSS+4), held in Addis Ababa from July 27-29, 2025, co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy.
Africa participates at UNFSS+4 grounded in a continent-wide consensus, mirrored by the Africa Widespread Place on Meals Techniques, aligned with CAADP (the Complete Africa Agriculture Improvement Programme) and Agenda 2063. In preparatory conferences throughout the area (e.g. Nairobi, April- Could 2025), delegates reaffirmed a unified voice calling for fairness, multilateralism, and an inclusive meals transformation agenda Key themes and targets conveyed on the Summit included, Vitamin-Centered Transformation
Africa insists that vitamin is non-negotiable–healthy diets are integral to sustained growth. Over 30% of kids beneath 5 are stunted; malnutrition stays a triple burden. Nationwide SUN platforms in Botswana, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, and others show nutrition-sensitive improvements.
As acknowledged earlier, Africa possesses massive expanse of arable land which accounts for 60% of the worldwide potential. It should be famous that there are main preconditions to make sure regional meals provide in Africa together with sustainable peace, expertise, monetary assets and expert manpower to supply new improvements in agricultural manufacturing and productiveness.
African financial integration also needs to contemplate establishing built-in meals marks to make sure not solely instant meals availability but in addition for establishing meals reserves throughout all international locations within the area. Moreover, expertise sharing amongst agricultural analysis facilities will assist to introduce varied sorts of crops and fruits that can be utilized in drylands in addition to areas with potentials for bumper harvest.
Ethiopia can share with African international locations the expertise the nation has to this point gained in agriculture, environmental safety and meals safety.
