Introduction to Special Issue Toward Food Security in Africa

Abstract

Living well below 10% of the global average income, 34% of humankind and 65% of Africans have less to spend on food each day than what USD 3 can buy in the United States. The resulting nutritional deficits cause severe health problems, especially for children whose physical and mental development they permanently impair. Governments promise reform – often – but have achieved no progress during the last decade. In fact, the rapid ecological harms they continue to facilitate contribute greatly to food insecurity. Focusing on Africa, the present volume discusses food insecurity: what it is, the forms it takes, its distribution and its evolution over time, its main drivers with emphasis on responsible parties, and viable reforms toward food security for all.