This brief argues for a pan-African food security initiative that would: 1). encourage free trade in food products between African countries; 2). promote multi-country regional investments in infrastructure to enhance agricultural productivity and resilience to climate change; 3). support public-private partnerships to establish fertilizer factories across the continent; 4). create an African council responsible for coordinating and encouraging agricultural research and development; and 5). support a facility that would ensure vulnerable African countries can finance food imports in times of crisis.

Addressing the increasing demands for water, energy, and food requires a coherent methodology to ensure that  societies have access to them and that conflict over them is avoided. For example, agriculture and food production  require water and energy; energy production also requires water and, in some instances, agricultural products.  Water distribution and treatment can be very energy intensive. Therefore, the benefits of approaching the Water- Energy-Food (WEF) nexus in an integrated way are gaining popularity. The public sector, the private sector, civil  society, combined with the geopolitical and socio-economic-climatic environment are all interactors that form a  complex web in the management of these fundamental resources. The MENA region relies heavily on international  trade to ensure national food and nutrition securities and, with world crises and changing global landscapes, this  has  created  a  concern  among  nations  as  to  whether  it  is  sustainable  or  focusing  on  creating  greater  food  self- sufficiency is a better alternative. This policy brief illustrates the use of computer decision support systems (DSS)  to aid in the understanding of the WEF nexus with a particular focus on evaluating food production for trade or  for self-sufficiency.

Addressing the increasing demands for water, energy, and food requires a coherent methodology to ensure that  societies have access to them and that conflict over them is avoided. For example, agriculture and food production  require water and energy; energy production also requires water and, in some instances, agricultural products.  Water distribution and treatment can be very energy intensive. Therefore, the benefits of approaching the Water- Energy-Food (WEF) nexus in an integrated way are gaining popularity. The public sector, the private sector, civil  society, combined with the geopolitical and socio-economic-climatic environment are all interactors that form a  complex web in the management of these fundamental resources. The MENA region relies heavily on international  trade to ensure national food and nutrition securities and, with world crises and changing global landscapes, this  has  created  a  concern  among  nations  as  to  whether  it  is  sustainable  or  focusing  on  creating  greater  food  self- sufficiency is a better alternative. This policy brief illustrates the use of computer decision support systems (DSS)  to aid in the understanding of the WEF nexus with a particular focus on evaluating food production for trade or  for self-sufficiency.

We are living through unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens not only our health, but the very foundation of life itself: our food security. Now more than ever, we are forced to rethink our food security as we witness the widespread dislocations to our food system, forcing millions to beg for food for the first time. During normal times, our world produces enough nutritious food for all but millions still go hungry every day. Why does this happen and what can be done to end this scourge? Nearly 75 years after the end of the Second World War, since when many countries have pursued policies to achieve food security, it is befitting to take stock and ask ourselves what has been achieved, at what cost, and what have we learnt that can help us better thrive in a post COVID-19 pandemic world. Many countries, with different political systems, and at different levels of development, have equated food security with food self-sufficiency (FSS) and/or food sovereignty (FSY). The common element in these countries’ approaches is the belief that producing domestically all of the nation’s consumption of basic food makes a country food secure: the country retains control over its food supply and therefore is not vulnerable to the vagaries of international trade, in particular import price spikes, political economy disruptions, and natural and man-made (including public health) disasters elsewhere in the world. FSS has been equated with national security itself. In distinguishing means versus ends, FSS is a means of achieving the end or the desired state, which is food security. FSY is also concerned with retaining control, but in this case, it also includes control over a country’s preferred approach to agricultural and food policies. FSY asserts that the country does not want its food supply and its agro-food policy approach to be subjugated to foreign corporate interests. In both FSS and FSY, the use of trade protection in some form is central.

Ensuring food security for a growing population is one of the major challenges of the coming decades. The scarcity of natural resources, the negative impact of climate change on agricultural production, and the rapid urbanization are all among many other factors that threaten food security worldwide. Given that several million people in the world already suffer from undernourishment and malnutrition, it is necessary today to adopt adequate policies to meet food demand in each country. In light of these observations, Isabelle Tsakok, Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, explains in depth the concept of food security and outlines major factors that undermine food security.

In a conversation with PCNS Columnist Helmut Sorge, Eniola Mafe who is a strategist, international development leader, Founder at Eniola Mafe Advisory, lead of 2030 Vision Initiative and Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders alumna discusses the existing solutions for Africa's food crisis, the untapped potential of agriculture on the continent and how technology and its democratization could be the solution to Africa's agricultural hardships.

Traders have worried that the war involving Russia and Ukraine could stoke inflation, further disrupt supply chains and derail the global economic recovery. Scarcity of food has led to rising prices within the conflict zone and elsewhere in the world. Both local and global markets are stressed because food demand is high while supply has been restricted. Rising food prices mean rising food insecurity. In this podcast, Dr. Rabi Mohtar & Dr. Isabelle Tsakok, both Senior Fellows at the Policy Center, discuss the effects of the conflict on food security, and the possible ways to mitigate these effects in the medium and long term.