Women sell vegetables along Gayaza road in Kalerwe Trading Centre. Such food production is expected to grow by about 60 percent over 2010 levels by 2050. Photo By Mouris Opolot
The Principal Research Fellow Economic Policy Research Centre, Ibrahim Kasirye has said that food production is bound to rise while hunger is expected to continue biting in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) as well as other parts of the globe.
The observation was stated on a presentation titled “Policies and Programmes to End Hunger”, which he delivered at the African Union organized workshop on “Ending Hunger in the Horn of Africa: Moving from Rhetoric to Action”, held from 23-24 October 2017 in Addis Ethiopia.
According to Kasirye, global food production- will grow by about 60 percent over 2010 levels by 2050, will grow more rapidly in developing countries, especially in SSA and within the horn of Africa (Djibouti and Somalia) largest increase in food production is likely.
“Even with population growth and climate change, per capita consumption is projected to increase by 15 percent in SSA to more than 2,700 kilocalories per day,” the presentation adds.
Regarding hunger, Kasirye notes that an additional 38 million people in SSA are projected to be at risk of hunger in 2050 as a result of climate change.
To counter these looming challenges, Kasirye called for more research and development to raise pests and disease resistant crop varieties, bio fortification of staple crops, land reform and increase in land under irrigation to counter climate change.
Other solutions include;
Drafting and implementing policies on school feeding to spur demand for local food products as it is with Brazil where 30 percent of schools’ feeding requirements are procured from local small-scale farmers.
Setting up food reserves as mechanism for rapid responses in line with Pillar 3 of the CAADP framework.
Guaranteeing food subsidies to mitigate the expected impacts of high food prices during economic crises and ensure affordability of a basic diet for all, as it is with Egypt.
And effecting crops and livestock insurance and agricultural input subsidies
The workshop series are aimed at implementing the 2014 AU Malabo Declaration on Agricultural Growth and Transformation.