Africa’s Food Crisis Deepens as 60% More Face Hunger Despite Production Growth – World Bank
Samuel Mobolaji
Africa’s food insecurity crisis has worsened significantly over the past decade, with the number of food-insecure people soaring by 60 per cent—even as agricultural output has steadily increased—according to a new World Bank report.
The report, Transport Connectivity for Food Security in Africa: Strengthening Supply Chains, highlights a troubling paradox in which rising food production has failed to translate into food security for millions. While the continent’s agricultural production rose by 160 per cent over the last 30 years, outpacing the global average of 100 per cent, food insecurity has grown faster in Africa than in any other region.
Over the past 10 years alone, agricultural productivity improved by just 20 per cent, a level insufficient to meet the continent’s mounting food demand.
The World Bank attributes this disconnect to persistent systemic weaknesses that continue to undermine food access. Despite vast improvements in agricultural potential, many African countries remain burdened by hunger, malnutrition, and supply chain vulnerabilities. Poor logistics infrastructure, inefficient transport networks, and delays at border crossings severely limit the movement of food from surplus-producing regions to areas of high demand. Transport costs can make up as much as 45 per cent of the final market price for low-value food commodities, making basic staples unaffordable for millions, especially in remote areas and urban slums.
Distribution bottlenecks are compounded by inadequate food storage, insufficient market information for farmers, and limited access to competitive markets. These structural inefficiencies leave vast quantities of food stranded in production zones while millions remain undernourished elsewhere on the continent.
The report cites Nigeria’s rice market as a case in point. North-Central Nigeria produces more rice than it consumes, yet areas in the south and far north still face shortages due to costly and inefficient transport links. Similar imbalances exist across countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, where national self-sufficiency masks local disparities in food access. In these cases, even where food is available, the challenge lies in moving it efficiently and affordably to where it is most needed.
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