An Economic Geographer’s Journey to Understanding Water and Food in Africa

As previously highlighted , African countries face challenges to water and food security from both physical and anthropogenic factors. Despite increasingly hostile climatic conditions, the potential to technically overcome the physical aspect appears feasible given advancements in agriculture inputs, methods, technology, and infrastructure. However, the anthropogenic aspect encompassing social, political, and economic challenges seem more daunting to address.  Despite sufficient resources and advantageous economic tailwinds, numerous obstacles inhibit the development of feasible investment opportunities in Africa ( IEA, 2023 ). Unsound fiscal debt management has restricted the availability of public capital while underdeveloped regulatory frameworks, unrobust public policies, and unclear long-term strategies have private investors wary of heightened contractual, legal, political, and reputational risks ( IEA, 2023 , AfDB, 2023 ). African countries also face structural challenges in...

As previously highlighted, African countries have generally struggled to achieve food security due to increasingly hostile climatic conditions , inadequate water security , violent conflicts , persistently low agricultural productivity , and insufficient investments in agricultural infrastructure . This post addresses the latter three, focusing on two key developments from the recent COP28 climate summit in Dubai and their role in complementing existing institutions and policies: 1. The COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action . 2. The Africa and Middle East SAFE Initiative .  Firstly, the global declaration signed by 134 countries, including 25 African countries, places agricultural systems transformation at the forefront of the global climate agenda with expectations of enhancements to food systems, climate resiliency development, emission reductions, and reduction in global hunger ( AfDB, 2023a ). The declaration further suppor...