According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, “Africa imported about 85% of its food (2016-2018) from outside the continent,” amounting to $35bn and is expected to reach $110bn by 2025. At the same time, sub-Saharan Africa has recorded “the highest rate of agricultural production growth of any region of the world since 2000”. How do these two trends balance out?
Higher production
Food-security challenges have long-overshadowed the progress made on the continent. Several factors have contributed to this perception.
“The 2010/2011 global food crisis and increase in food imports looked alarming. $7bn in 2000 ramped up to $40bn by 2010. What we didn’t know was that Africa has the fastest-growing agricultural sector in the world, in terms of percentage growth. Agricultural production has been increasing at a yearly 4.3% rate (inflation adjusted) while the world
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