Africa urged to invest more to enhance food security

Sub-Saharan African countries should shore up favorable policies and investments in agricultural infrastructure to enhance food security.

Food security experts said in a report released Thursday that improvements in the structures that impact food security, rather than income improvements, are driving positive score changes.

The report, 2015 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) annual update, released by global research body Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) that is received in Nairobi, shows that food security has improved in almost every region of the world over the past year.

"Food security challenges for developed and developing countries differ considerably," said Richard Okine, Regional Director for DuPont Sub-Saharan Africa.

Okine said developing countries often lack basic infrastructure, including storage, road and port facilities, while smaller incomes inhibit access and affordability of nutritious food.

The GFSI is an annual measure of food security across 109 countries, produced by the EIU and sponsored by DuPont, a food security forum.

The index looks at 19 specific measures of food security across four broad categories: affordability, availability and quality and safety. It revealed that food security improved in two- thirds of the 109 countries covered.

Food security in SSA is continuing to improve. Of the 28 countries in the region, 82 percent recorded score increases between 2014 and 2015, and the region as a whole saw a score improvement of 1.5 points, says the report.

According to the report, sustained economic expansion in most regions and rapid growth in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, combined with lower global food prices provided the necessary operating context, while government investments in agriculture and infrastructure.

The high economic growth rates that SSA has experienced in recent years have resulted in increased investment in the structures that are necessary to ensure food security.

The report shows that both public and private investment in SSA's agricultural and food systems have begun to pay off and major improvements occurred in the following areas: food safety- net programmes, crop storage facilities and the subsequent reduction in the percentage in food loss.

"An overwhelmingly positive factor has been the fact that over the past few years, the overall economic growth in the developing world has led to improvements in the structural areas that are essential to improving people's access to a wider range of affordable, nutritious foods," said Okine.

The director said solutions must be collaborative, and reached in concert with communities, governments, NGOs and farmers who know the "facts on the ground" as well as with global businesses who have the specialized expertise or resources to help solve particular problems.

According to UN estimates, the world population is projected to increase by 1 billion over the next 12 years and reach 9.6 billion by 2050, with growth coming mainly from developing countries and more than half in Africa. Endi