A Kenyan farmer applies fertiliser to his cabbage plantation, symbolising the critical role of inputs in achieving food security across Africa. Photo/One Acre Fund
The Business 20 (B20), a G20 engagement group, has called for greater trade integration, stronger supply chains, and more sustainable agricultural practices to tackle Africa’s growing food security challenge. The group’s Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems work stream says these three principles are essential to achieving global food security in a climate-stressed world.
Agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo from Stellenbosch University has outlined how these principles could help African nations overcome hunger, reduce poverty, and build resilience in the face of climate change.
Strengthening global food security
Global food security focuses on ensuring access to sufficient, safe, and affordable food worldwide. It extends beyond addressing hunger to include nutrition, sustainability, and affordability. Sihlobo argues that achieving this vision requires each country to strengthen domestic agricultural policy while reducing barriers to trade.
“Countries that cannot produce enough food should be able to import it affordably,” he explained, adding that easing trade restrictions such as tariffs and export bans would lower costs and ensure a smoother flow of goods.
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Sihlobo also criticised protectionist trade policies, citing India’s 2023 rice export ban, which triggered a surge in global food prices. “Achieving food security through trade is essential,” he said. “Trade friction increases transaction costs, hurting consumers, especially in developing regions such as Africa and Asia.”
He urged the G20 to focus on reducing global trade barriers and improving supply chain efficiency to ensure food reaches markets even during natural disasters and conflicts.
Photo: Philemon Barbier/AFP via Getty Images
Building resilience through technology and sustainable practices
Sihlobo emphasised that sustainable agriculture does not mean eliminating fertilisers, improved seeds, or agrochemicals — instead, it calls for their safer, more efficient use. “There is a growing activism that pushes for the removal of critical inputs, but that would lower productivity and worsen hunger,” he warned.
He cited recent farmer protests in Europe over restrictions on chemical use, saying policymakers should strike a balance between environmental protection and productivity. “The key is optimal, safe use of agricultural inputs, not their ban,” he said.
Sustainable practices, he added, should include climate-smart farming — such as drought-resistant crops and improved irrigation — to help African farmers adapt to worsening weather extremes.
Photo: Stellenbosch University/Courtesy
Policy reforms and local solutions
To make these principles effective in Africa, Sihlobo proposes three policy actions: climate-smart agriculture, trade reform, and improved access to fertilisers.
African governments should coordinate disaster responses and strengthen regional collaboration to mitigate and recover from climate shocks. At the same time, reforms in global trade systems should ensure open markets, giving African farmers access to buyers and affordable imports.
He also called for investment in fertiliser production and transport infrastructure to reduce costs. “It’s not enough to have fertilisers available; moving them to farms remains expensive,” he noted. Local fertiliser manufacturing, he added, would protect Africa from global price shocks and support smallholder farmers.
Finally, Sihlobo urged global cooperation over confrontation. “We must use technology to adapt to climate change rather than demonise it,” he said. “High-yield seeds, fertilisers, and agrochemicals allow us to produce more food on less land, protecting the environment.”
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As G20 leaders convene to shape the next phase of global food systems, Sihlobo’s message is clear: smarter trade, resilient supply chains, and sustainable technology are vital to feeding the world without exhausting the planet.
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