Africa’s food systems are facing a pivotal moment. The continent holds vast potential—with 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land—yet it remains heavily dependent on food imports.
In 2019 alone, Africa spent $43 billion on imported food, a figure projected to surge to $90 billion by 2030. At the same time, more than 256 million Africans continue to suffer from hunger, and the gap between local production and consumption is widening.
The African Common Position on Food Systems offers a unified, strategic response to these challenges. It lays out a bold vision to fix what’s broken—from low productivity and fragmented markets to climate vulnerability and underutilized innovation.
However for this vision to succeed, African-led initiatives must be supported, scaled, and fully integrated across sectors and borders.
A Unified Vision for Africa’s Food Systems
Africa’s food systems are shifting rapidly. Urbanization, changing diets, and the rise of middle-class consumers are increasing demand for diverse, convenient, and processed foods.
Meanwhile, the traditional food supply chain—largely driven by smallholder farmers and informal SMEs—remains under pressure.
More than 80% of food consumed in Africa moves through SMEs, yet these businesses often lack access to finance, infrastructure, and modern technologies.
There is urgent need for regional cooperation, smarter policies, and coordinated investment to make food systems inclusive and competitive—from farm to fork.
One strategic shift is the integration of local food markets into broader continental frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which can reduce dependency on imports and strengthen intra-African trade.
Achieving this will require improved infrastructure, better access to inputs, and supportive regulatory environments across borders.
How is Climate Change Undermining Production Gains?
Over the last two decades, climate change has emerged as a critical disruptor of African agriculture. The frequency of droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall is increasing, putting more than 38 million additional people at risk of hunger.
Africa’s food systems are still largely rain-fed and vulnerable to shocks. Inadequate early warning systems, deforestation, and degraded ecosystems make climate adaptation even harder.
According to the AU framework, reversing these trends will require deliberate action to invest in climate-resilient practices, sustainable land and water use, and regionally coordinated ecosystem restoration.
This includes technologies that reduce emissions, increase yields, and help farmers adapt to climate variability. Sustainable water management, climate-smart seeds, and nature-positive practices must become central to production systems.
How are Technology Gaps Slowing Growth?
Despite advances in agricultural innovation, only 35% of African farmers use improved technologies. Input systems, mechanization, and access to reliable information remain limited—especially among women and youth.
Less than one-third of Africa’s arable land is planted with improved seed varieties, constraining productivity and income growth. We have much work to do.
This shared vision emphasizes the need to address this systemic underuse of technology. Public-private partnerships must be strengthened to improve input delivery, mechanization services, and innovation diffusion.
Solutions must also ensure equitable access, especially for youth, women, and smallholder farmers.
Youth Must Be Part of the Solution
Africa’s population is young—over 60% is under 25—and growing fast. While youth are essential to future food systems, many face barriers to land, finance, skills, and opportunities.
At the same time, they are driving change in agribusiness, climate action, and digital innovation.
Youth are engaging more in policy, innovation, and entrepreneurship—but their full potential remains untapped.
Africa’s agreed roadmap emphasizes the need to address youth integration into decision-making and implementation, from enterprise development to education reform.
A powerful example is the HealthyDiets4Africa Agri-innovator Accelerator program in Kenya, European Union funded. Being implemented by FSPN Africa, it is supporting and mentoring young Agri-innovators to scale their innovations through agribusiness development training.
These initiatives not only boost productivity but also demonstrate that agriculture can offer viable livelihoods for Africa’s youth.
How Processing Staple Foods is a Growing Market
Africa’s urban food market is projected to reach $150 billion by 2030, with processed staples like cassava flour, millet flour, and fortified cereals driving demand.
Consumers are increasingly seeking convenience, quality, and food safety—spurring the growth of new value chains.
However, small processors face serious constraints. Access to energy, finance, and equipment remains limited. Quality standards and compliance frameworks are weak, making it hard to compete with imported alternatives.
This continental strategy highlights staple processing as a key growth. By building agro-industrial hubs, supporting food SMEs, and linking processors with farmers and regional markets, Africa can capture value across the supply chain—creating jobs, increasing farmer incomes, and reducing post-harvest loss.
Africa’s Game-Changing Solutions Are Already Emerging
While challenges persist, African-led solutions are already reshaping food systems from the ground up. Two innovations by FSPN Africa offer compelling examples of this transformation in action.
In Kenya, FSPN Africa is supporting access to market opportunities digitally. These tools improve income, reduce food waste, and strengthen sustainable practices—particularly for women who dominate post-harvest handling.
In East Africa; Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, FSPN’s digital extension platform, The Shamba Calendar, is helping smallholder farmers access market information, farm inputs and climate advisories in real-time.
By reducing costs and increasing accuracy, this system has helped boost yields by over 20% and reach thousands of farmers who previously lacked support.
The CVH.Africa is democratizing access to knowledge to ensure the underserved communities have access to new knowledge and can interact with food systems experts across value chains to improve productivity and innovations.
These solutions reflect what the Common Position envisions: integrated, context-specific, and scalable innovations that prioritize those most excluded from current systems.
A Turning Point for Africa’s Food Future
Africa’s food systems are at a crossroads. On one side lies rising hunger, climate shocks, and continued dependence on imports. On the other is a roadmap grounded in regional consensus, innovation, and inclusion.
The African Common Position offers more than a vision—it provides a strategy for building resilient, competitive, and people-centered food systems.
It identifies the actors who matter most: women, youth, smallholders, processors, and informal traders.
Africa does not lack ideas or energy. It needs scalable systems, smart investments, and long-term commitment to implementation.
The path is clear. What’s required now is focus, coordination, and belief in the continent’s capacity to lead its own transformation.
Africa’s food future is in motion—and it’s time to act.
For more information, contact info@fspnafrica.org
