Ending Hunger in Africa: The Elimination of Hunger and Food Insecurity on the African Continent by 2025 - Conditions for Success

Abstract

Africa’s Agenda 2063 endorsed by the January 2015 AU Summit is an articulation of the continent’s renewed resolve and determination to accelerate broad-based and sustainable economic growth and inclusive development. This is a presentation of the Continent’s political agenda in terms of ambitions, goals and targets driven by the growing urge to ensure action is leading to tangible and measureable results and impact. With both the Agenda 2063 and the SDGs now in place, attention is shifting, and rightly so, towards IMPLEMENTATION, i.e. securing and aligning necessary capacity and systems to deliver on the set goals and targets. The commitment to results and impact implies it is not enough “just to do things”. Also in the context of accountability, it is critical that ACTION is effective and efficient, reflecting the best-use-of-the- resources to deliver on the set targets.

This will require careful and in many cases highly elaborate examination of key decision points including policies, investment structures, institutional arrangements and capacity as well as partnerships and alliances. This also in many instances will imply making difficulty decisions in terms of trade-off between “now” and the “future” or between one section of the population compared to another.

This study, undertaken jointly between the NEPAD Agency and the University of Denver’s Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures is meant to give access to policy and programme leaders expert information and knowledge to enable evidence-based dialogue and consultations in determining national specific pathways and enhance key milestones in the efforts to realise the growth and development targets agreed in Agenda 2063 and the SDGs. The study presents new original perspectives on key conditions and drivers necessary to realise set Agenda 2063 goals. The focus of the study is on the target to “Zero Hunger by 2025” which is also a key goal and target in the African Union’s Malabo Declaration on agriculture transformation (June 2014).

Bringing out the multi-sectoriality and inter-disciplinary nature of addressing food security and nutrition, the study helps to put in perspective the magnitude of the task “to zero hunger by 2025”. What does this target mean given anticipated numbers of people? What amounts and quality of food and hence what policies, investments, technologies as well as human skills and capacity would be necessary to sustain desired levels of supply? What about access to quality food for all populations and therefore zero hunger?

The study report, hence, will support government dialogue and consultations to examine, determine and navigate economic growth and inclusive development pathways, which are realistically built on local circumstances and driven by local and regional-continental ambitions. In this regard, the analysis also presents the current pathways on food security and hunger with an almost obvious conclusion that business- as-usual will not deliver “eliminating hunger and food insecurity by 2025."

The NEPAD Agency and the University of Denver’s Pardee Center are pleased to put this study report in the hands of Governments and regional bodies to inform, stimulate and possibly guide national level critical analysis and determination of national pathways that will work to eliminate hunger and food insecurity by 2025.