COVID-19 and Food Insecurity in Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic increased food insecurity across Africa, with upper-middle income countries like South Africa experiencing higher vulnerability due to their reliance on formal employment and global supply chains. While agricultural production grew in 2020, protectionist measures such as export bans in Malawi hindered the redistribution of food. The document highlights the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as a critical mechanism to reduce dependence on global imports, lower trade barriers, and improve food resilience through increased intra-continental trade and the legalisation of informal cross-border trade.

• The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity in Africa, with the number of undernourished people estimated to exceed 250 million. The proportion of the population experiencing food stress rose from 10.2% in 2019 to 13.3% in 2020, and the proportion in food crisis, emergency, or catastrophe increased from 5.4% to 7.3%.
• Upper-middle income countries, specifically South Africa and Maghreb nations, were more vulnerable to COVID-induced food insecurity than lower-middle income economies. This vulnerability is linked to their deeper integration into global supply chains and a higher reliance on formal sector employment (85% of the labour force), whereas lower-middle income countries benefited from more widespread access to land use rights and a larger informal employment sector.
• Protectionist policies have hindered continental food security; for example, Malawi maintained a maize export ban from February 2018 despite a 5.1% increase in food production in 2020, preventing other countries from accessing surplus maize. While some nations like South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt released cereal reserves, others including Algeria, Angola, Mali, and Sudan imposed export restrictions.
• The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is positioned to improve resilience by increasing intra-African food trade, which currently accounts for less than 0.5% of GDP. Progress includes the ratification by 38 of 55 member countries as of October 2021 and the completion of rules of origin for agricultural products.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2021). COVID-19 and Food Insecurity in Africa. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-and-food-insecurity-in-africa/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. COVID-19 and Food Insecurity in Africa. 2021. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-and-food-insecurity-in-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=COVID-19 and Food Insecurity in Africa |date=13 December 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-and-food-insecurity-in-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2021covid19, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{COVID-19 and Food Insecurity in Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19-and-food-insecurity-in-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }