Several days have already passed days since TICAD 8 was held, and for the first time in quite a while, today’s topic is about Africa.

A paper published in Earth's Future sounded the alarm about growing food security concerns due to both climate change and population growth.

The authors used agro-hydrological, climate, and socio-economic models to quantify crop production with irrigation expansion and perform food security analyses for different adaptation scenarios for African countries under baseline and 3°C warmer climate conditions. The analysis suggested that under a 3°C warming scenario and without the means to secure water for agriculture, the continent could produce only enough food to feed 1.35 billion people in a projected continental population of 3.5 billion, leaving 2.15 billion people without enough food. If agricultural productivity cannot be increased, the paper noted that the only options are further expansion of arable land or increased reliance on imports, leaving Africans even more vulnerable to global food price trends.

The paper suggests that food insufficiency can be partially alleviated in Africa by rethinking diets, securing water for irrigation during the dry season, and halving current levels of food loss and waste.

To improve productivity in African agriculture, it is necessary to face the diversity of environmental and socio-economic conditions, to consider agro-climatic and soil science conditions as well as water and irrigation at the local level, and to take scientific and technological innovations in line with farmers' perspectives. JIRCAS is pursuing the Africa rice farming system and Africa upland farming system projects to develop technologies that will improve agricultural productivity in rice and field cropping systems in Africa.

Information Page on Agricultural Research in Africa
https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/africa-research　

604. Report on TICAD 8 Side-Event “Healthy Soils for Food Security in Africa: The Potential of Regenerative Agriculture”
https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/program/proc/blog/20220825

619. Report on TICAD 8 Side-Event “Managing African Soil for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability”
https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/program/proc/blog/20220915　

Reference
Areidy Beltran‐Peña et al, Future Food Security in Africa Under Climate Change, Earth's Future (2022). DOI: 10.1029/2022EF002651

Contributors: NAKASHIMA Kazuo (Director, Food Program), TSUJIMOTO Yasuhiro & NAKAMURA Satoshi (Crop, Livestock and Environment Division), KANAMORI Norihito (Information and Public Relations Office), IIYAMA Miyuki (Director, Information Program)