WATER AND FOOD IN AFRICA: AN INTRODUCTION

Figure 1: Young boy collecting water from pond (Source)

Figure 1 shows an image that may seem familiar to many of us. It is part of the popular narrative circulated in the Western media of water scarcity in Africa. The image shows a young boy taking untreated water from a pond in a vast, barren landscape, illustrating the fatal consequences of drought in Africa. 

But what the image or narrative does not show is how and why these events come about? Is it a question of physical availability or access? What is the relationship between water scarcity and food insecurity? How will this relationship change under climate change and other challenges? And what are the solutions? These are some of the questions this blog seeks to provide answers to.

Water scarcity in Africa:

Access to safe, clean, and affordable water is the most basic of all human needs. Its priority in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasises its significance not only for human survival but also for economic development and poverty alleviation. SDG 6.1 intends to ‘achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all’ by 2030. With only 8 years remaining, it is alarming that 2 billion people across the globe still lack access to safely managed water. This figure is primarily dominated by nations within the African continent, where nearly 1in 3 people face water scarcity. Water scarcity, which describes the deficiencies in the availability of renewable freshwater in relation to demand (Taylor 2009) is anticipated to worsen in the future across several African nations, as growing challenges emerge from climate change, population growth, and other anthropogenic activities (Besada and Werner 2015). 

But how does increasing water scarcity relate to food shortages in Africa? 

The link between these two factors may seem obvious, given that food requires water for growth. Water scarcity is thus a major challenge across Africa as half of the continent’s population relies on agriculture and particularly rain-fed agriculture as the main source of income. Rain-fed agriculture accounts for 95% of food production, making it vulnerable to variability in rainfall distribution and intensity.  This is not great news, considering that warming across the continent is projected to be greater than the global average, with some regions predicted an average increase of 3-4◦C over the next century (Ofori, Cobbina, and Obiri, 2021). Moreover, the dramatic expansion in the population has meant Africa remains the only continent where the rise in per capita food production has been lower than the rise in population (Mwanza 2005). Estimates also suggest that agricultural output in Africa needs to grow by at least 33% per year  to attain food security for the continent. Thus, further exacerbating the pressures on water resources.  

Figure 2: Food self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) in Africa in 1961, 1985 and 2007 (Source)

Figure 2 is illustrative of the decline in the food self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) over the decades in the continent. Luan et al. (2013) suggest that the pattern seen is a result of a combination of factors such as due to the effects of climate change, fluctuating food prices, chronic poverty, and poor governance. 

The issues of water scarcity and food security in Africa are therefore intricately linked. In the coming weeks, I will be making entries which aim to get to the bottom of these issues, looking at the causes, impacts, and solutions underlying water scarcity and food insecurity in Africa.