blair26_Eric LafforgueArt in All of UsCorbis via Getty Images_ethiopia farmers Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images

Transforming Africa’s Agriculture

Strengthening Africa’s agriculture systems will not only make the continent more self-reliant and resilient to future shocks, but will also boost global health, prosperity, and security. The international community therefore has both moral and self-interested reasons to support this process.

LONDON – Over the next 30 years, Sub-Saharan Africa’s population will double to over two billion, and its economies will industrialize. Africa’s development will therefore be critical to the world’s future stability, prosperity, and health. Given this, the continent should be receiving much more international attention.

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted a number of global vulnerabilities, including the uncoordinated nature of the world’s pandemic response, its inability to support the poorest countries and their populations in managing the economic fallout, and of course the weakness of existing health-care infrastructure. Leaders must now urgently address these weaknesses, alongside other major global challenges, ranging from climate change and rising inequality to technological disruption and global terrorism.

Moreover, fragile agriculture and food systems, particularly in Africa and other low-income regions, have exacerbated the pandemic’s impact. Unless addressed, these systems’ shortcomings could deepen any crisis in the decades ahead.

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