Africa's food paradox: why more production doesn't mean less hunger

Despite an increase in food production over the past two decades, Africa currently faces a paradox: the number of food-insecure people has also risen. A new World Bank report, analyzing the transport across the continent of major staples like cassava, maize, rice, and wheat, reveals that food in Sub-Saharan Africa takes, on average, four times longer to reach consumers than in Europe. This inefficiency drives up food costs, limits access, and increases spoilage.

Many African nations opt to import food from overseas, primarily Europe and Asia, rather than sourcing from within the continent. For cereals, for example, intracontinental trade accounts for a mere 5%. This preference for imports, even for internally produced goods like rice and wheat, is often due to them being cheaper than local alternatives.

Several factors contribute to these challenges:

• Poor Rural Road Access: Approximately 60% of Africa's rural population lives more than two kilometers from an all-season road. This isolates farmers from markets and hinders the distribution of essential agricultural inputs like fertilizers and seeds.
• High Transport Service Costs: In many areas, market distortions within the transport sector lead to artificially inflated transport prices. This makes it unaffordable for farmers to move their goods to consumption market and for consumers to access food. In this regard, already a series of previously published reports highlighted these distortions, especially in less liberalized transport markets such as in West and Central Africa (Rallaband & Teravaninthorn, 2009) and in specific Eastern or Southern African countries like Tanzania and Mozambique (Vilakazi & Paelo, 2017).  These problems are made worse by fragile infrastructure that is easily damaged by extreme weather events.
• Regional Trade Barriers: Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) significantly increase regional trade costs, in a measure estimated from 8% to 25%. This prevents food surpluses in one country from reaching deficit areas in neighboring countries.
• Long Supply Chains: Africa's reliance on imports means food travels an average of 4,000 kilometers. This can take up to ten times longer to transport compared to developed regions. Inefficient ports further contribute to delays and higher costs.
• Limited Storage: Africa's food supply chain often operates on a "just-in-time" basis with insufficient storage capacity. This results in substantial post-harvest losses, with an estimated 37% of locally produced food going to waste, and leaves the continent vulnerable to global supply shocks.

The report argues that investing in better logistics is crucial to reversing these trends. To this end, it identifies 50 critical investments aimed at easing supply chain bottlenecks, lowering food prices, and reducing post-harvest losses. These include modernizing 20 critical land border crossings, improving 20 crucial road segments and corridors for food transport, and upgrading 10 high-volume ports such as Abidjan, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, and Mombasa.

The report also highlights the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost intra-African trade by as much as 30%. However, it cautions that maximizing AfCFTA's benefits requires targeted investment to reduce NTBs and improve border-crossing efficiency.

More specifically, the report recommends:

• Upgrading Maritime Transport, Seaports, and Corridors: Modernizing ports, streamlining customs, and investing in regional corridors will enhance efficiency and reduce delays.
• Addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs): Tackling NTBs and inefficiencies in intra-African trade will lessen reliance on overseas imports and promote cross-border trade.
• Increasing Efficiency of Transport Services: Encouraging competition, providing financing for new trucking operators, and utilizing electronic cargo platforms can lower transport costs and boost regional trade.
• Enhancing Local and National Connectivity: Maintaining and upgrading existing roads, expanding access to all-season roads, and developing resilient infrastructure will better connect rural farmers to markets and stabilize food distribution.
• Building Storage Facilities: Developing modern storage and cold chain infrastructure will minimize post-harvest losses and stabilize food supply chains, potentially through public-private partnerships.

Ultimately, efficient transport and logistics networks, coupled with adequate storage facilities, are essential for managing the geographical imbalance between food supply and demand across Africa, thereby significantly reducing food insecurity.