The causes of the food crisis: past and future

In writing the blogposts I have so far, there has been a constant question in the back of my mind. What are the causes of hunger in Africa, and what makes the continent's situation so particular? While explanations referring to the geography and the geology of the continent manage to shine light on some of the problem, I wanted to explore the different factors, especially historical, that could also be at the root of this crisis.

As I mentioned in my very first blogpost I mentioned the complexities of the African continent, especially as it relates to access to safe water and food security. The continent has the lowest proportions of national populations with access to safe water, it is the only place on the planet where per capita rates of food have declined and it has the most variable river discharge in the world.

While I have heavily focused on the role of water in this issue of food insecurity, this blogpost takes a different approach this time. 

This is not to say that water scarcity has no role in the availability of food for the African population (I believe that my previous blogposts have shown a clear link between the two), but instead to shine light on potential other deep rooted issues.

Africa has faced a long history of hunger and famine caused by droughts, poverty and conflicts. All across the continent millions have died due to famine. In 1985 the famine in Ethiopia caused over a million deaths and in 2018 Africa was home to approximately 65 million people that were considered acutely food insecure, this figure was half of the global total (Worldvision, 2019).

Two prominent views appear when explaining the phenomena: the assumption that the underlying causes of the crisis are internal rather than external, or the simplistic tendency to focus on the obvious geographical constraints (Darkoh, 1989). This is problematic, especially considering the fact that the problem of water supply in Africa is not one of volume but one of distribution.

A family setting off for a fishing expedition on the Congo River (source)

Although these challenges can be traced back to a multitude of factors, I will focus on colonialism and the current economic dependency and debt burden of the post colonial period.

The colonial system was based on the extraction of wealth from the continent. This wealth included agricultural products that meant the demand of the West, and although the colonial era has come to an end, the social structures that evolved under it are still very much present (Darkoh, 1989). Independence, and the struggles to attain it, often resulted in the further impoverishment of African countries.

It is also important to note that paradoxically there has been a rapid expansion of export cash crop production. In 1970 Mali, for example, corn production had fallen by more than a third yet export crops reached a record high (Lofchie, 1975). This has been the case for many African nations, even the most drought prone.

This dualistic agricultural economy, where there is a division between large scale production of export crops and small scale production of food for the population, was essentially encouraged through colonialism (Lofchie, 1975). The debt burden and economic dependency only serves to exacerbate this matter.

Why is this relevant?

In my plan in writing about Africa, I have mentioned my intention to explore the complexities of the continent and its challenges. I believe that the focus on the internal factors causing the hunger crisis can sometimes lead to exceptionalism for Africa. It further builds on the representation of Africa as a continent with an inherent incapability of providing food for its population. This obscures exogenous factors. The geographical pressures felt by Africa, although extreme in some cases, can also be present in other continents of the world. Furthermore, the dualistic agricultural economy highlights inconsistencies that make it difficult to explain the situation in SSA with a focus on geographical factors.

Development policies can only benefit from a full understanding of the root of the challenges Africa faces in terms of food security, whether they be internal or external. The dismissal of historical factors can be detrimental as efforts need to be made in order to obtain long term solutions. There thus also needs to be a shift towards transforming some of the structures that have noticeably been failing, and that are legacies of a past colonial time.