FACT SHEET Food, water, sanitation challenges

The fact sheet identifies Sub-Saharan Africa as a food shortage hotspot and proposes combining soil, water, and nutrient management—specifically through ecological sanitation—to close the yield gap and build climate resilience.

• Sub-Saharan Africa is identified as a future hotspot for food shortages due to factors including low agricultural yields, high population growth, weak economies, and a high dependence on agriculture, with climate change expected to further negatively impact food security.
• There is a significant yield gap in Sub-Saharan Africa, where yields are commonly below 1 ton/ha compared to 5 ton/ha elsewhere; this is attributed to nutrient loss (30–60 kg per ha annually), low fertiliser use, and a heavy reliance on rainfed agriculture (over 93%).
• The implementation of productive or ecological sanitation systems—the safe reuse of human urine and faeces as fertiliser—could theoretically double current agricultural nutrient inputs (NPK) in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Combining productive sanitation with soil and water management interventions (such as conservation agriculture, mulching, and water harvesting) can increase yields, strengthen agroecosystem resilience, and contribute to climate change mitigation through increased carbon sequestration.

APA

Karlberg, L., Ruben, C., & Watt, R. (n.d.). FACT SHEET Food, water, sanitation challenges. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/Food_security_health_biodiversity/fact-sheet-improving-food-production-subsahara.pdf

Chicago

Karlberg, Louise, Cecilia Ruben, and Robert Watt. FACT SHEET Food, water, sanitation challenges. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/Food_security_health_biodiversity/fact-sheet-improving-food-production-subsahara.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Karlberg |first1=Louise |last2=Ruben |first2=Cecilia |last3=Watt |first3=Robert |title=FACT SHEET Food, water, sanitation challenges |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/Food_security_health_biodiversity/fact-sheet-improving-food-production-subsahara.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{karlbergndfact, author = {Karlberg, Louise and Ruben, Cecilia and Watt, Robert}, title = {{FACT SHEET Food, water, sanitation challenges}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/Food_security_health_biodiversity/fact-sheet-improving-food-production-subsahara.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }