This article was prepared with support from the United Nations Economic Commission (ECA) in Africa
Mold cited the ECA's upcoming report in a presentation on the links between trade and food security at the 2025 ECA Ministers' Meeting side event. They argue that there is a greater path to food security through the notion of collective regional food security.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Africa accounted for 41% of the world's undernourished population in 2023, up from 24% in 2000.
And the food import bill is large, making foreign exchange delivery rare. In 2023, Africa spent over $83 billion to import groceries.
But Mold claimed we should not be fascinated by the total. “The ultimate count is net performance, and Africa is a key food exporter. Food exports outside the continent reached nearly $620 billion in 2023.
Most were unaware, and the food trade deficit in Africa improved significantly in 2023 to $22 billion, down $25 billion in a year.
He stressed that even those numbers are misleading. The deficit is driven primarily by a handful of large food importers from North African countries, Nigeria and Angola.
Molds have been found to be struggling to fund food imports in some East African countries, but collectively the deficit is very small, accounting for just 0.3% of the region's GDP.
Farayi Zimudzi, president of Ethiopia's FAO, highlighted the need to invest in R&D to change productivity. “We must invest in research towards high-yield varieties, whether it's livestock crop species or genetics.”
She said Africa has a high population growth rate and emphasized the urgency of increasing food productivity. Gimji argued that Africa needs to invest more strategically in irrigation, given the challenges of climate change.
She urged policymakers to find ways to attract investors to promote agriculture change. “The government cannot do it on its own.”
Channing Arndt, director and research professor at the Center for Global Trade Analysis in the Agricultural Economics division at Purdue University, highlighted the key needs of timely production data.
“In a timely manner, I mean harvesting. You are supposed to generate data so that market participants can make decisions about where and where to sell. That's very important.” He pointed out that timely quality data gives players advantages.
