In 2011, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published a booklet titled “why Africa has become a net food importer?”. The publication argued that Africa started to grow its food deficit since the mid-1970s, despite its vast agricultural potential, due to a combination of factors such as: population growth, low and stagnating agricultural productivity, policy distortions, weak institutions and poor infrastructure. The booklet also noted that the wealthier countries in Africa are those with the highest food imports per capita (USD 185 per year in real terms), while Africa’s low-income countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, import far less food per capita (USD 17 per year), but have higher difficulties in covering their food imports bills, as the reserves of hard currency derived from exports are minimal, and insufficient to cover the costs of such imports.
Wednesday, July 03, 2024
