Addis Ababa, 17 March 2025 (ECA) - A lot of despondency is often expressed about Africa’s food security and the prospects for the continent’s agricultural sector. But such pessimism is misplaced, according to Andrew Mold, Economic Commission for Africa’s Officer-in-Charge of the subregional office for Eastern Africa.
In a presentation on the link between trade and food security to delegates at a side event of the 2025 ECA Conference of Ministers, Mold cited ECA’s forthcoming report “Improving Food Security in Eastern Africa Through Greater Intra-regional Trade –A Review of the Issues”, The report argues that there is a pathway to greater food security through embracing the concept of collective regional food security.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Africa accounted for 41% of the world’s undernourished population in 2023, up from 24% in 2000. And Africa’s food import bill is large, putting scarce foreign exchange reserves under pressure. In 2023, Africa spent more than $83bn importing foodstuffs from outside the continent.
Yet, we should not be beguiled by aggregate figures, argued Mold: It is the net performance that ultimately counts, and Africa is still a very significant food exporter. Food exports to outside the continent reached nearly US$ 62 billion in 2023. Largely unnoticed, Africa’s food trade deficit improved markedly in 2023, to US$ 22 billion, a decline of US$ 25 billion in a single year. Even that figure is misleading, he stressed, as the deficit is driven by a handful of large food importers – principally North African countries, Nigeria, and Angola.
Mold conceded that while some countries in Eastern Africa struggle with financing their food imports, collectively the deficit is quite small, representing just 0.3% of regional GDP. Moreover, he stressed the potential of greater intra-regional trade to improve food security, particularly in staples such as maize and rice.
For her part, Farayi Zimudzi, FAO Representative for Ethiopia, highlighted the need for investment in R&D to transform productivity. “We must invest in research towards high-yielding varieties, whether it’s crop seeds or genetics for livestock.”
She said Africa’s high population growth rate underlined the urgency of boosting food productivity. She noted the challenge for farmers presented by climate change, arguing that it was time for Africa to invest more strategically in irrigation.
“We are completely undercapitalised when it comes to irrigation on the continent.”
She urged policymakers to find ways to attract investors to drive transformation. “Governments cannot do it by themselves.”
Channing Arndt, Director and Research Professor, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, underscored the critical need for timely production data.
“By timely, I mean at harvest. You’re supposed to be producing data so that market participants can make decisions about where to buy, and where to sell. That’s supremely important,” he stressed.
He noted that timely quality data would give players an edge in the marketplace. “There are consulting firms using satellite data to look down at African nations and estimate supply, and then they’re telling large multinational buyers where to go,” he said.
He warned that if local players fail to embrace these technologies, they would continue to lose out to multinationals.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org