Water Scarcity and Food Security in Africa

Besides the impact of water scarcity mentioned in the previous blog, another major impact of water scarcity is food insecurity. Water is key to food security. In fact, food security literally depends on water security.  Agriculture requires a lot of water for production of both livestock and crops. Agriculture uses 80% of water in the world while only 10% is spent on other domestic issues (Werner & Besada 2013). Planning for future food security requires analyzing water resource issues and land use. Water plays a very crucial role in food security, providing the basis for human well-being and healthy eco-systems. The relationship between food and water production is important for creation of sustainable and resilient food systems same as the relationship between the ecosystem and humans is core. All living creatures depend on the ecosystem and without proper ecological conditions; aquatic life such as fish which is food for human beings is also affected.

The world and especially Africa has been exhausting its fresh water levels making it difficult to feed a growing global population, maintain good health and achieve sustainable development goals. As currently managed, Africa does not have enough water to adequately sustain Africa’s population and end malnutrition and hunger. World population is estimated to be 9.8 billion by 2050 with the most growth occurring in Africa where there’s the most severe food insecurity (UN, 2015). Urbanization and rising incomes are continually increasing therefore raising the demand for more nutritious meals that require more water to produce. In order sustain the rising needs for food and water; there must be strategies put in place.

Below are strategies that can aid the design of local and regional prime concern to move Africa to greater nutrition and food security;

Water conservation through trade; Most of the water in Africa goes to producing food and especially for consumption. Virtual water import in the form of import of farm produce is a mechanism to improve national water security (Hoekstra & Mekonnen, 2013) . Countries that have limited water resources should focus on producing high value exports such as spices, flowers, tea and vegetables and import the cheap but water intensive foods such as cereals. The countries with high water availability should do the vice versa to maximize water productivity in agricultural production and enhance even distribution of water resources.

Measure of the water foot print of humanity; Global institutions and individual countries should enhance research and be more specific in quantifying the water footprint for humanity which is measured from a consumption and production basis per country. Developing a water footprint for a country is really important during national or international policy development and planning (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2012) . Once proper planning is done, proper strategies are put in place to ensure that food insecurity and water scarcity do not occur.

Figure 6: The Water Footprint of Humanity in mm/year Between 1996-2005

Source: (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2012)

Water rights, rules and regulations; It is important for governments to come up with water rights and set up laws and regulations to ensure misuse of water is minimized and prevent issues of water pollution, provide everyone with equal opportunities to water access  (Hodgson, 2006). Through quotas and rationing, water rights can be enforced to reduce water use.

Invest in R&D and innovation; as technology continues to evolve, researchers and institutions should come up with more innovative ways to maximize nutritious food production with the minimum most water. For example, solar powered drip irrigation is one of the key innovations and modern day strategies for sustainable food production (Burner et al, 2010).

Focus on human capacity development and institutional framework; most people in Africa practice small-scale agriculture which means that they produce most of their food for personal consumption. Empowerment of the small scale farmer would be effective therefore in ensuring food safety. This can be done by expanding small scale irrigation.

Value chain improvement; efficient food and water recycling strategies can be addressed right from post-harvest handling, processing, production, retailing, distribution to trade and consumption. This will help protect environmental water requirements.

Mass education to change lifestyle and consumption patterns; by educating the public on how to manage limited water resources adequately it is easier to manage water resources (Ganter, 2010) . They should also be educated on ways of maximizing water productivity, how to recycle water and the benefits of proper water storage. In 2018, South Africa had been able to cut its water consumption by half.

As the population continues to grow and climate changes, Africans must recognize that the water resources are getting fewer and limited and must come up with coping mechanisms to ensure there is effective water productivity and maximum utilization of what is available.