International Network for Economics and Conflict

Last week G-8 and African leaders announced their commitment to the next phase of their strategy to achieve global food security by improving agricultural growth and investments in Africa. The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is an effort to align bilateral and multilateral assistance with African nations’ plans and policies for food security. One of its main goals is to reduce the risks incurred by vulnerable communities by increasing private agricultural investments and providing technical assistance. However, these solutions seem to sidestep the realities of climate change and the effects of prolonged conflict. Most of the groups affected by these risks live in fragile states, so the challenge is how to implement sustainable and effective strategies that can withstand both environmental shocks as well as insecurity.

The International Disaster Database recorded 122 cases of natural and climatological disasters in Africa between 2010 and 2011, including floods, droughts and landslides. The World Food Programme estimates that climate-related hazards in Africa affected an average of 10 million people a year over the last decade. More than half of the continent’s population lives on $1.25 or less a day, and a quarter (239 million people) suffer chronic hunger. Climate change is one factor causing the increases in global food prices. Africa’s population is expected to double over the next forty years, intensifying the pressure on food resources and risking hunger for even more people. Since almost all of Africa’s agriculture is rain-fed, it is even more susceptible to the effects of environmental disasters.

Conflict in Africa compounds the problem of food insecurity. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that conflicts cost Africa over $120 billion worth of agricultural production during the last third of the twentieth century. At the end of 2011, there were about 9.7 million internally displaced persons from conflict in Africa, most of which came from rural communities. Local struggles over access to dwindling agricultural resources not only reduce food production, but also contribute to even greater conflicts. Significant efforts are needed to improve vulnerable communities’ resilience and preparedness and, hopefully, lessen some of the motivations for violence over economic insecurity.

This phase of the New Alliance promises $3 billion from multinational corporations, shifting the burden from donors to private investors, which is indicative of the European and global financial crises. It promotes agriculture index insurance as its strategy for risk management. Allocating funds for disaster response is beneficial, but it fails to address the changing realities of Africa’s environment. Many of the current food problems stem from weak policies, lack of investment in rural infrastructure and conflict.

The following are examples of risk-reducing environmental management interventions that can be applied at the community level:

• Alternative energy, such as solar and wind, can reduce further environmental disruptions and displacement from larger infrastructural projects;
• Reforestation and sustainable agricultural practices, such as drip irrigation, aid soil fertility, promote food security and income generation and reduce the loss of crops during environmental shocks;
• Integrated watershed management, such as flood protection and water storage, has the added benefit of providing safe drinking water, especially after a natural disaster occurs.

Supported by sound national policies and laws, innovation and traditional knowledge, this micro-level approach can provide a level of sustainability that large-scale development projects cannot, once donor funds and support are withdrawn. Communities that rely on the land for their food and livelihoods have a much deeper vested interest in protecting their environment. And this effort can reduce African dependence on humanitarian aid as a response to disaster and give them the tools to adapt and manage risk. Helping local communities rehabilitate natural resources can increase employment, promote more sustainable agricultural outputs, stabilize livelihoods, reverse environmental degradation, minimize the risks associated with environmental shocks, empower communities and even support disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. In turn, these improved economic situations can support broader peacebuilding activities.

About 70 percent of Africa’s population depends on agriculture for their food security and livelihoods, so giving them the education, support and power to manage their own resources is an incentive for these communities to increase their food production capacities sustainably and efficiently. But achieving sustainable food security requires countries to get peacebuilding right. Leaders in the fight against hunger should give greater attention to cross-sector dialogue in security and natural resource management. Conflict-prevention should be a vital element in the planning, implementation and evaluation of agricultural programs and risk management.