Insights for food systems transformation from southern Africa

The report highlights the urgent need for food systems transformation in southern Africa due to climate change, population growth, and high rates of malnutrition. It reviews key 2021 global and regional events—including the UN Food Systems Summit, the AGRF Summit, and COP26—to identify national entry points for action across southern African states, emphasizing the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus and the role of youth and ecosystem restoration.

• Food systems in southern Africa are severely impacted by climate change and population growth, with agriculture's dependence on predictable rainfall making the region vulnerable to increasing temperatures and extreme weather events.
• Sub-Saharan Africa faces critical water stress in the next 25-50 years, with 230 million people (16% of the projected population) expected to live in water scarce areas, including South Africa and Malawi, and 460 million (32%) in water stressed areas, including Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Tanzania.
• Southern African food systems are characterized by significant challenges, including a 12% acute food insecurity rate, high stunting rates (over 30% in 11 of 16 SADC member countries), and the loss of approximately one-third of all food produced in the supply chain.
• The 2021 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) summit identified critical pathways for transformation, including improving post-harvest technologies and cold chains, increasing renewable energy access, and making rural employment more attractive to youth, who make up nearly 60% of Africa's population under 25.
• The UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) provided specific national entry points for southern African countries, such as promoting indigenous crops in Namibia, improving irrigation and animal disease control in Zambia, and enhancing mangrove recovery in Mozambique.
• While food systems were not prominent in the main COP26 agenda, the Glasgow Climate Pact recognized the need to protect and restore nature and ecosystems, and the Koronivia joint work on agriculture continued to address agriculture through a climate lens.

APA

Chesterman, S., Hamann, M., & Norström, A. (2022). Insights for food systems transformation from southern Africa. Global Resilience Partnership. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/insights-for-food-systems-transformation_overview.pdf

Chicago

Chesterman, Sabrina, Maike Hamann, and Albert Norström. Insights for food systems transformation from southern Africa. Global Resilience Partnership, 2022. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/insights-for-food-systems-transformation_overview.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chesterman |first1=Sabrina |last2=Hamann |first2=Maike |last3=Norström |first3=Albert |title=Insights for food systems transformation from southern Africa |publisher=Global Resilience Partnership |date=August 2022 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/insights-for-food-systems-transformation_overview.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chesterman2022insights, author = {Chesterman, Sabrina and Hamann, Maike and Norström, Albert}, title = {{Insights for food systems transformation from southern Africa}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/insights-for-food-systems-transformation_overview.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }