Long-term challenges to food security and rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This briefing paper is one of the 10-part Global Development Network (GDN) Agriculture Policy Series for its project, ‘Supporting Policy Research to Inform Agricultural Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia’. It is based on a longer synthesis paper, Long-term challenges to food security and rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa, which draws on extensive published and unpublished research. It will be of value to policymakers, experts and civil society working to improve agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 180 million food-insecure people live in Sub-Saharan Africa, over 21 per cent of the African population. These are among the world’s most vulnerable people, poorly equipped to respond to the threat of climate change, demographic stresses, or spikes in global food prices. This briefing examines how improvements in agriculture might help to achieve g