AFRICA AGRICULTURE STATUS REPORT 2016

Introduction
The year 2015 marks the transition from the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
launched by world leaders in 2000 to fight poverty
in its multiple dimensions, to the 2030 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) with their sharper
focus on food and nutrition security. Sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA) made significant progress towards
halving the proportion of its population suffering
from hunger (FAO, 2015a, 2015b). The prevalence
of hunger in the region declined by 31 percent
between the base period (1990–1992) and 2015
(see also FAO, 2015c). The recent period of high
global food prices and recurring droughts in the
region are among the key factors accounting for
only partial achievement of the MDG nutrition
targets. According to the Global Alliance for
Improved Nutrition (GAIN, 2015), climate change
and conflicts exacerbate these challenges, for
example, pushing up food prices, worsening
food security, and hindering the production and
movement of food. Moreover, rising urbanization
puts pressure on urban food systems, which are
failing to keep up with the rapid growth of cities.
Despite these impediments, impressive progress
has been recorded across all of the sub-regions
of SSA over the past 15 years, except in Central
Africa (Figure 10.1).
Because of rapid population growth, even
while the percentage of undernourished
people has declined, the absolute numbers
of undernourished in SSA has risen. About 42
million people were added to the total number
of undernourished people in the region, with an
estimated 217.8 million in 2014–2016 compared
to 176 million in 1990–1992 (Table 10.1). The
current share per sub-region is presented in
Figure 10.2.
1
African
Development
Bank. Poverty
Reduction is
lagging behind
economic
Growth. http://
www.afdb.org/
en/topics-andsectors/topics/
millenniumdevelopmentgoals-mdgs/
goal-1-eradicateextremepoverty-andhunger/
Figure 10.1: Prevalence of undernourishment
in SSA (1990–1992 and 2014–2016)
W. Africa
9%
24%
E. Africa
32%
47%
C. Africa
34%
41%
The prevalence of
Undernourishment in SSA
33%
23%
between 1990 - 92 and
between 2014 - 16
S. Africa
7%
5%
1990 - 92
2014 - 16
Source: FAO (2015a)
AFRICA AGRICULTURE STATUS REPORT 2016
233