‘Better prospects’ for food security in rural areas

BETTER agricultural conditions would not fully compensate for the jobs that have been lost as a result of the pandemic, but they might cushion households from severe food insecurity, which World Bank’s economists had feared sub-Saharan Africa would face from 2020, said the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz).

Agbiz senior economist Wandile Sihlobo said it was possible that rural households would be in a slightly better position in terms of staple grains availability and acute poverty levels than they were last year.

“When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, sub-Saharan Africa faced a potential rise in food insecurity, which was underpinned by the anticipated slowdown in economic activity, loss of income, and a ban on grain exports by major exporting countries, such as India, Russia, Cambodia and Vietnam,” he said.

Sub-Saharan Africa is a net importer of food, with the World Bank estimating that an additional 26 million people would fall into extreme poverty – defined as those living on less than $1.90 (R27) a day in 2011 purchasing power parity terms – last year.

According to Agbiz, in mid-2020, the concern about trade restrictions had waned, as the G20 discouraged global grain-exporting countries from banning exports.

The slowdown in economic activity played out as expected, with sub-Saharan Africa’s economy contracting 1.9 percent last year, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund. Also, there were widespread job losses in sub-Saharan Africa, which resulted in a rise in food insecurity as initially feared at the start of the pandemic, particularly in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi.

Sihlobo said various governments’ responses to rising food insecurity during the pandemic had primarily been through increasing grain imports, mainly in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria and Malawi.

Some of these countries also rolled out input support schemes to assist farmers ahead of the 2020/21 production season, which began from October last year for most countries.

Within sub-Saharan Africa, income support to households was limited to South Africa, but household food insecurity arose even here.