Early in September, two summits of continental importance were held to reflect and consider Africa’s future. The first was the 2024 African Food Systems Forum (AFSForum2024) held in Kigali and the other was the inaugural Africa Urban Forum on “Sustainable Urbanization for Africa’s Transformation: Agenda 2063”, in Addis Ababa. Both events engaged the dramatic food systems and urban transitions taking place across the African continent.
That Africa’s food systems transition and its urban transition demand attention is not disputed. However, the blinkered perspectives evident in these separate events raise significant cause for concern. These two events reflect two distinctly different imaginations of Africa’s future. In reflecting on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Jonathan Crush made the point that for Africa, SDG2, the so called “hunger goal, imagined a hungry Africa with no cities, while SDG 11, the sustainable cities and communities goal, imagined an urban Africa in which no-one ate”.
More from the Food Equity Centre
Neither SDG2 or SDG11 reflect the African reality. In fact, the latest UN’s Committee on World Food Security’s High Level Panel of Experts report highlighted that contrary the general perception of food insecurity being a predominantly rural phenomenon, over 68 percent of the Africans experiencing food insecurity live in urban and peri-urban areas.
Referencing Jonathan Crush, the African Food Systems Summit imagined a rural Africa with no cities and the inaugural African Urban Forum imagined an urban Africa in which no-one ate.
Misrepresenting the realities of food systems
The misrepresentations of the realities of urban food security and food systems is an ongoing and active debate in academic circles, which is beyond the scope of this article to cover. However, given the continent’s demographic shifts (urbanisation trends and the youth bulge), the aligned challenges of hunger, all forms of malnutrition, and the economic and development challenges that this presents, and the central role that cities play in this, the failure to see cities and their food systems as connected demands urgent change.
Further isolated reports presented at AFSForum2024, such as the “Accelerating the Private Sector for Food Systems Transformation in Africa”, make clear and important connections between cities and the wider African food system, highlighting that “most agri-food private sector activities are concentrated in urban and peri-urban areas where infrastructure and market access are more developed”.
The same report describes how “agricultural and food systems transformations are being pulled by the powerful motor of the rise of Africa’s cities”. It notes that cities are “a major factor in Agricultural Value Chain (AVC) development for at least the next decade or two”. The report continues to point out that by far the largest food market facing the African private sector and farmers is the African urban market, far larger than the export market. The urban market food consumption share of food output in Africa grew from 28 percent in 1990 to 43 percent in 2023.
Serious challenges within the food system
Despite the dynamism of the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in Africa, serious challenges and constraints remain, including poor infrastructure, misaligned, and often punitive policy positions, and a fragmented sector. Both MSMEs, and upper-tier medium/mid-sized, and large enterprises critically depend on essential hard and soft infrastructure – the “blood and bones of the food system”, including roads, wholesale markets, electricity, water, IT infrastructure, and basic governance.
For over 10 years the evidence is clear that a key determinant of food security outcomes in African cities is not the availability of food, nor access to cash to access food, rather, it is the state of infrastructure. Recent research shows that infrastructure deficits are driving the transition to ultra-processed foods, accelerating the rise in diet related non communicable diseases.
Failure to acknowledge food systems connections
It is therefore short-sighted that the African Urban Forum (AUF) with a key focus on infrastructure, failed to acknowledge these food systems connections, as the AFSForum2024 failed to engage Africa’s urban transition and African cities as the dominant sites of food system activity.
The AUF was promoted as a continental platform through which governments collaborate to enhance African cities, enabling them to fulfil their potential as centres of hope, growth, and prosperity.
As with the Food Systems Summit, the AUF made references to some urban food systems innovations, such as cold hubs or solar-powered food vending carts, etc. Such micro cases are problematic as they give a sense of action, operate within a flawed system, and largely fail to catalyse systemic change at scale.
Drivers for change
Drivers for change were certainly invoked during the AUF where it was stated that “at the core of the paradigm that we need to craft as Africans to transform what could be a juggernaut of underdevelopment into something that could clearly liberate the continent – which is sustainable urbanisation connected to structural transformation and a low-carbon growth path for Africa – we have to first fix the basics”.
What could be more basic than ensuring that urban Africans had access to safe, affordable and nutritious food?
As a provider of health, livelihoods, place making, ecosystem services and more, urban food could be central to urban transformation.
Africa’s growing youth population
The rapid growth of Africa’s youthful population was acknowledged by both the AUF and AFSForum2024. It was stated at the AUF that “Indeed, with the right investments and engagement, the African youth dividend could be the continent’s most sustainable infrastructure resource yet”.
The lack of attention given to Africa’s urban food systems at both events represents the cruellest form of hubris. Two high powered summits attended by prominent African academic, development and government actors have gathered, spoken, discussed plans and ideas. All missed a pressing challenge facing Africa. This is a continent going through a food systems and an urban systems transition, transitions where the positive outcomes, particularly the futures of the youth, are located at the sites where the food systems and the urban systems connect. What chance do the rapidly growing urban youth, denied decent food and nutrition have to thrive, to be the “most sustainable infrastructure resource yet”?
The organisers of the AUF were correct when they said that “African cities and towns will be built one way or another in the next three decades. How they are built will determine the prospects for the continent and the viability of global sustainability efforts for the remainder of the century.” However, this point needs expansion. Not only will African cities and towns be built one way or another in the next three decades, Africa’s future food systems will be built in Africa’s cities and towns. Equally, those food systems will determine the prospects for the continent, its health and wellbeing, and as a result, its viability for the remainder of the century. Those same urban food systems will determine Africa’s ability to thrive, to achieve “hope, growth, and prosperity”.
Missing a great opportunity
The blinkered views held by the urban, and the food system, fraternity, failing to acknowledge the depth of Africa’s urban food systems challenge, mean that the key basics that need to be right, to ensure that Africans are fed, has already been overlooked. A great opportunity has been missed at the events. This is not unique to African cities, and yet we fail to learn from history. In 2009, The Speaker for the New York City Council, Christine Quinn observed that “For years, we’ve been missing a chance to create a greener, healthier, and more economically vibrant city, by ignoring the enormous potential of our food system”. Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane was correct, “Aluta Continua!” (the struggle continues!).
