GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Africa


1990, from 23.3 per cent in 1990–1992 to 12.9 per cent in 2014–2016 (United Nations 2015) (Figure 2.2.9). However, this masks regional differences and the majority of the 780 million people (12.8 per cent of the world population) who still suffer from malnutrition live in sub-Saharan Africa (More...12).


The level of malnutrition in Africa is attributable to several factors, including underutilization of land (Cotula et al. 2009), causing per person food production to decline as a result of population growth (Figure 2.2.10); none use of modern farming practices such as the application of appropriate agro-chemicals and mechanization; non use of improved (high-yielding and pest-, disease- and drought- resistant) crop and livestock varieties (Leadley et al. 2014; Zimmermann et al. 2009), and strategies and technologies that reduce post-harvest losses; and the high dependence on rain-fed agriculture although the potential for irrigation is high (UNEP 2013).


The region has great potential to increase agricultural production to especially cater for the most vulnerable segments of society such as children, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and the elderly. Africa’s policy makers believe that “agriculture and the food industry can be the engine for growth in Africa’s largely agrarian economies, with tangible and sustainable impact on improving food security and nutrition, contributing to wealth and job creation, empowering women and enabling the expansion of exports” (AU and NEPAD 2003). Under Vision 2025 on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), African countries committed to raise annual agricultural productivity by at least 6 per cent every year from 2015, largely through expanded use of technological innovations, and to increase public investment in agriculture to a minimum of 10 per cent of their annual national budgets by 2015 (AU and NEPAD 2015).


Many African countries have embraced CAADP (Figure 2.2.11). A key challenge is to sustain this momentum without sacrificing the other environmental imperatives such as biodiversity conservation. In addition, SDG 2 on


52


Figure 2.2.9: Progress on MDG 1, Target C to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger


Marked differences in hunger prevalence persist across regions


Proportion of undernourished people, 1990-1992 and 2014-2016 (percentage)


Sub-Saharan Africa 33 23 Caribbean 27 20 Southern Asia 24 Oceania 14 Eastern Asia 23 10 South-Eastern Asia 31 10


Western Asia 6


8


Caucasus and Central Asia 14


7 Latin America 14 <5 Northern Africa


<5 <5


Developing regions 23 13 0 5 10 1990–92 2015 target Source: UN 2015 15 20 25 30 35 2014–16 projection 40


16 16

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