Abstract:

In Africa, agriculture forms the backbone of most of the continent’s economies,
providing about 60% of all employment. During the last decade, per capita agricultural
production has not kept pace with population growth. Consequently, as per the Food
and Agriculture Organization's (FAO’s) assessments1, at the end of the 1990s, 30
countries in Africa had over 20% of their population undernourished, rising to 35% in
the 18 worse affected countries. In terms of absolute numbers, between 1997–99, 200
million people were malnourished, with 194 million of these people living in sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA). The food gap estimated at 17 million tons in 2000 was filled by imports
(14.2 million tons) and food aid (2.8 million tons) at a cost of US$18.7 billion. In 2001,
close to 30 million people required food emergencies due to droughts, floods and civil
strife.