Climate Change

More than 30 million people in southern Africa will need significant food aid through the upcoming lean season, according to a new report from FEWS Net. This represents an increase of 50 percent from the 2023-2024 lean season. Conflict and extreme weather are the major drivers of the region’s growing humanitarian needs.

 The latest Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM) indicates that intra-African agricultural trade has already reached a new high of US$ 17 billion, finally surpassing its previous 2013 peak, which was reached after a tripling of growth the decade prior. This recent surge, despite the disruptions and aftereffects of COVID-19, must be further accelerated through additional policy and infrastructure support, as well as intra-regional trade facilitation, argue the authors.

Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is crucial to improving food security, reducing malnutrition, and providing livelihoods for food system workers. But such efforts are also key to combating climate change. FLW has significant environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in both the production of food that is later lost and in waste management.

Climate change is transforming the global landscape, creating unprecedented challenges for developing countries. These challenges are particularly acute in regions where economies heavily depend on agriculture, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where climate impacts such as droughts and extreme weather are increasingly disrupting farming economies and food systems. One of the critical questions facing policymakers is how to best navigate these challenges to ensure sustainable development: Does the threat of climate change significantly undermine strategies focusing on agriculture?

Malawi continues to face a looming food crisis, according to the latest alerts from IPC and FEWS Net.