This book examines Africa’s current food system and future challenges for food security over the next 25 years. Africa is on the rise and by 2050, the continent will be home to a quarter of the world’s population. The analysis presented in this book clearly shows that the African food system needs to transform at a much faster pace to ensure that the people it serves are food secure. This book begins with four contrasting case studies that focus on country-specific challenges in Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal and Zimbabwe. This is followed by 15 thematic chapters organised in three sections on challenges, threats and opportunities. Individual chapters address a wide range of topics including climate change, water security, farm sizes, crop yields, conservation trade-offs, food prices, trade, conflict and structural change. The book concludes by discussing key pathways to improve Africa's food system and food security for the decades ahead. This book is essential reading for students, scholars and practitioners who work on global food security, sustainable food systems, food, health and nutrition and African development. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 Food systems and food security in Africa: looking back and projecting forwards Michiel de Haas, Katrien Descheemaeker, Peter Ebanyat, Ewout Frankema, Ken E. Giller, Ibrahima Hathie, and Leo van Wissen PART 1 Diverse pathways on the country level: past, present and future 2 Senegal’s journey to feed its growing population by 2050: pathways to accelerated food systems transformation Ibrahima Hathie 3 Feeding a fast‑growing population by 2050 through accelerated agricultural transformation: potential avenues for Ethiopia Tesfaye Shiferaw Sida, Temesgen Desalegn, Gashaw T. Abate, and Tilahun Amede 4 Past, present and future of food security in Egypt Racha Ramadan and Antoine Castet 5 Zimbabwe’s agriculture and food security: past, present and future (1960–2050) Mark Nyandoro and Jens A. Andersson PART 2 Challenges 6 Africa’s demographic challenge Leo van Wissen 7 From yield and nutrient gaps to assessing future food self‑sufficiency in Africa Antonius G.T. Schut and Martin K. van Ittersum 8 Global market and food security in Africa: more trade or more domestic production? Siemen van Berkum and Bart de Steenhuijsen Piters 9 Why is food expensive in sub‑Saharan African cities? Ewout Frankema 10 Addressing malnutrition in all its forms in Africa requires a radical paradigm shift Alida Melse‑Boonstra, Inge D. Brouwer, Folake Samuel, and Mofu Musonda PART 3 Threats 11 Political instability and food security: the long view towards 2050 Han van Dijk and Nakar Syntyche Djindil 12 Climate change: impacts and adaptation in smallholder farming systems in sub‑Saharan Africa Katrien Descheemaeker, Patricia Masikati, and Dilys Sefakor MacCarthy 13 Reconciling food security and forest conservation in Africa: challenges and opportunities Marieke Sassen 14 Food security for Africa’s growing population: a labour market perspective Janneke Pieters 15 How small is beautiful? Farm size and economic development in Africa Ken E. Giller and Jens A. Andersson PART 4 Opportunities 16 Transformative trees: forests for water and food security Douglas Sheil 17 A water angle on Africa’s 2050 food security challenge Gert Jan Veldwisch, Jonathan Denison, Gabriella Izzi, Jean Kamwamba‑Mtethiwa, Hans Komakech, Bancy Mati, and Pieter Waalewijn 18 Harnessing biotechnology to release the potential of the bioeconomy for Africa Enoch Kikulwe and Justus Wesseler 19 The multifunctional role of livestock in East African food systems: the case for dairy Simon J. Oosting, Todd A. Crane, An Notenbaert, Ademola Braimoh, Asaah Ndambi, Augustine Ayantunde, Esther Kihoro, Corina van Middelaar, and Jan van der Lee 20 Extending the smallholder value‑creation frontier: a business perspective on food security Paul T.M. Ingenbleek, Olawale Rotimi Opeyemi, Dorothy Kanorio Murugu, Cobus Oberholster, and Lucas E. Urbano 21 Agricultural development in the poorest countries: insights from the poultry sector in Sierra Leone Erwin Bulte, Niccolò Meriggi, Michael Rozelle, and Maarten Voors Conclusion 22 Growing towards a food‑secure Africa in 2050: reflections and pathways Michiel de Haas, Ewout Frankema and Ken E. Giller. Index