africa

Africa at a Fork in the Road: Taking Off or Disappointment Once Again?
economically active population, and for more than 80 percent in some countries
(World Bank, 2009). More than 70 percent of the continent’s poor live in rural areas
and agriculture is their most important economic activity (World Bank, 2009; Bennell,
2007). One third of the new jobs that are needed to provide a livelihood for Africa’s
youth will need to be created in agriculture.
25.3.2 Building resilience in agri-food systems
Building resilience is the transformative process of strengthening the capacity
of people, communities, and countries to anticipate, manage, and recover from
shocks and transform their lives (Fan and others, 2014). Resilience is built through
partnership-based approaches that respect the dignity of the recipients, foster ownership
of resources, and promote sustainability. Building the resilience of vulnerable
households requires helping them to cope with existing challenges, adapt their livelihoods,
and improve governance systems and ecosystem health so they are better
able to avoid problems in the future. This means not only helping people through
direct implementation of assistance programs at multiple levels, but also facilitating
meaningful change through promoting improved policies and adaptive practices.
Resilient agri-food systems can withstand many political, economic, social, and
environmental shocks over time. In order to achieve appropriate and sustainable
approaches to enhancing resilience in food security, Africa should promote integrated
strategies that ensure support for three separate but complementary components of
resilience: disaster risk management, adaptive capacity, and governance. Among
other considerations these components require actions spanning the areas of natural
resources, social networks, maintenance of diversity in genetic resources and
farming techniques, and policies that create conditions for effective governance.
Managing natural resources. Degradation of natural resources due to overexploitation
has reduced productive agricultural and livestock areas, eroded and depleted
soils, and damaged rangelands and watersheds. The prevalence of natural resource
degradation is mainly due to unsustainable and inappropriate production activities
that decrease the provision of ecosystem services.
Therefore, natural resource management is an important foundation upon which to
build resilience to achieve food security. Development strategies and programs must
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