Climate-Induced Food Crisis in Africa: Integrating Policy and Adaptation

Abstract

Climate change threatens development and economic growth in Africa. It increases risks for individuals and governments with unprecedented negative impacts on agriculture. Specifically, climate change presents a major threat to food security in Africa for the long term due to the low adaptive capacity to deal with successive climate shocks. There is a need for greater awareness of the trends of food crisis patterns and adaptive initiatives. The objective of this chapter was to analyze the trends of the food crisis in Africa within the past 10 years and adaptive initiatives. Quantitative data analyzed for food security indicators were obtained from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Development Indicators (WDI) available at the Environment and Climate Change data portal. Policy and adaptation measures related to climate change were reviewed in 26 countries in Africa, with the view to highlight their integrative nature in enhancing food security. High prevalence of undernourishment was observed in six countries, all in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) including Chad, Liberia, Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Countries with a high land acreage under cereal production recorded reduced undernourishment. Niger demonstrated effective adaptation for food security by registering the highest crop production index in extreme climate variability. However, Kenya appears to be the most predisposed by registering both high climate variability and below average crop production index. It is observed that diversification and technology adoption are key strategies applied across the countries for adaptation. However, the uptake of technology by smallholder farmers is still low across many countries in SSA.