Rethinking Food Systems Transformations in Africa

It is now non-debatable that progress towards eliminating “hunger, achieving food security and nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture,” Sustainable Development Goal number 2, across the globe is unfortunately unrealistic, at least in the remaining five years. This is because, despite the concerted efforts made by governments, development partners, the private sector, and other stakeholders, hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition remain challenging. The 2025 report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World documents that around 8.2 percent of the global population might have suffered from hunger in 2024[1]. Compared to other regions of the world, the state of hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition is higher in Africa. For instance, while 1 out of 11 people was hungry globally in 2023, 1 out of 5 people was hungry in Africa during the same period, as reported by the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024[2].

The key question remains: what made the progress towards eliminating hunger, achieving food security, and improving nutrition so slow, and even deteriorating compared to 2015, when the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were launched? The overwhelming rise in the number of hungry people in Africa is due to multifaceted and intricate challenges that have occurred since then. The outbreak of Covid-19 in 2019 was the biggest contributor to the disruption of food systems transformation globally, while Africa and other least developed countries were disproportionately affected. About 2.3 billion people were estimated to have been affected by either moderate or severe food insecurity globally in 2024, which was about 335 million and 683 million higher than in 2019 (before Covid-19) and in 2015 (when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was launched), respectively1.

Additionally, climate change induced challenges also immensely contributed to hunger and food insecurity with the greatest impact manifested in poor and vulnerable population with low adaptive and resilience capacity. The ongoing Russian-Ukraine war has also created additional challenges, with disproportionate impact on countries dependent on food imports and agricultural inputs from Russia and Ukraine. Moreover, instability and armed conflicts create much more damages to food systems transformation in Africa[3] [4].

Are we committed enough to eliminate hunger, achieve food security and nutrition in Africa? 

I had the opportunity to attend the second UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS+4), which was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from July 27–29, 2025. While I was heading to the Summit, I asked myself: when will Africa be free from hunger? In the end, I had mixed feelings regarding the progress made and the goals expected. On the one hand, it was frustrating to witness how far Africa is behind in eliminating hunger. On the other hand, the level of commitments being made by the governments of Africa and the international community to accelerate food systems transformation, thereby eradicating hunger and ensuring food security for all, was commendable.

In his address, Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, mentioned that Ethiopia has been implementing over 700 interventions to ensure food and nutrition security for all. He noted that “Ethiopia’s strategy focuses on self-sufficiency, local production, and resilience.” The Prime Minister called for renewed commitments towards transforming food systems. Similarly, William Ruto, the President of Kenya, also called for renewed commitments, strong partnerships, good governance, and strengthened financing and financial inclusion to transform food systems. Other heads of state also shared similar messages and underlined that pragmatic and inclusive interventions should be taken to accelerate food systems transformation

Are the leaders of Africa really committed enough to turn their words into actions? In my opinion, there is a huge disparity between the promises made and the tangible actions taken to eliminate hunger and achieve food security and nutrition for all. Accountability and strong political will are crucial to making progress towards eliminating hunger and ensuring food security and nutrition in Africa. Now is not the time for making only promises; taking tangible actions is what really matters.

Investment in agriculture should be prioritized to enhance production and productivity amidst the rapidly changing climate. Over-dependency on imports of staple foods has proved to be problematic in the recent global food supply chain disruption, and investment in domestic production needs to be prioritized. It is also important to focus on the domestic production of essential agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and chemicals. In general, eradicating hunger and ensuring food security requires coordinated efforts from all stakeholders.

The way forward

Eliminating hunger and achieving food security requires not only more time, but also inclusive and tangible actions from the government, non-governmental organizations, private actors, and other stakeholders. Hence, continued efforts, greater accountability, and shared responsibilities are key to moving forward in eradicating hunger and ensuring food security and nutrition in Africa.

[1] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2025. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 – Addressing high food price inflation for food security and nutrition. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd6008en

[2] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2024. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 – Financing to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd1254en

[3] Kaiser, M. (2022). A Personal Editorial from the Editor-in-Chief: Food Ethics in Times of War. Food Ethics, 7(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41055-022-00103-5

[4] IFPRI. (2022). 2022 Global food policy report: climate change and food systems. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896294257