1. Introduction to Water and Food in Africa

1. Introduction to Water and Food in Africa

This blog aims to engage with the theme of water and food in Africa. Consequently, within this first post I intend to provide an overview of the relationship between water and food and outline how a variety of contextualities in Africa complicate this relationship. 

It is an established fact that water is key to the production of food, for example, it is estimated that ‘producing food requires… 2,000 to 5,000 L/person/d’ (UNESCO. 2006: 247) and that ‘Globally, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of all water withdrawn from rivers and aquifers.’ (UNCTAD. 2011: 1). Whilst, the agricultural demand for water withdrawals globally is high it is even higher in the context of Africa (as evidenced in Figure 1). This comparatively high level of agricultural water demand can be attributed to a number of physical and human circumstances. Within this first post I aim to provide a preliminary outline of these and their implications for food. Later on, in this series of blogs I will explore these in more depth. 

Figure 1 - UNESCO

Climactic

One of the key reasons for Africa’s higher agricultural water demands are a consequence of the high rates of evapotranspiration that occur due to the climactic conditions across regions. As evidenced in figure 2 these rates are comparatively high relative to the rest of the World. The high rates of evapotranspiration mean more water has to be used in the agricultural process as comparatively more of this water is lost to the atmosphere over time. Hence, more water is required to produce the same crop yield increasing the agricultural industry’s demand for water. This relatively low water productivity is subsequently reflected in food production productivity. 

Figure 2 – NTGS, University of Montana

Environmental factors are also key in influencing the availability of water in time and space, which is another contributing factor to Africa’s complicated water-food nexus. ‘The main time-varying climate factors affecting regional rainfall variability are El Niño and southern hemisphere mean temperature’ (Ambrosino, C. 2011: 191). The temporal and spatial variability of rainfall is key in affecting food production in terms of altering crop yields and the type of crop grown. The variation in rainfall and its implications for African agriculture are further compounded by the fact that African agriculture is largely dominated by rain-fed subsistence-based farming.  

Economic Constraints

Furthermore, Africa’s water-food nexus is also subject to the economic constraints that affect the population and governments. These economic constraints largely affect water productivity and hence the efficiency of food production. At the national level these are largely attributable to an inability to provide technological and infrastructural systems of water management. However, the economic constraints facing individuals in Africa also impact Africa’s water-food nexus. As evidenced in Figure 3 the purchasing power and productive capacities of farmer’s and consumers constrain the ability for water and food to be used and produced efficiently. As a consequence, in order to overcome some of the challenges facing Africa’s water-food nexus I will have to consider the current economic limitations in the region and how various policies may attempt to overcome some of these limitations. One of my main motivations in including a consideration of the economic constraints embedded in the relationship between water and food is Sen’s theory that postulates it is inequalities in the mechanisms of distribution that are most impactful in the misallocation of global resources. As a consequence, in unpacking water and food in Africa I think that a portion of this blog should be dedicated to investigating the economic mechanisms that constrain Africa’s water-food nexus. 

Figure 3 – Asian Development Bank

Political 
Africa’s water-food nexus is also subject to political contestations largely affecting the allocation, management and availability of water to farmers. The politicisation of water and its subsequent impacts upon agriculture are both a consequence of Africa’s colonial legacies and the political leverage that presently surrounds water as a means toward election. Furthermore, the provision of water by governments, communities or private servicers is a further key contestation and one that continues to impact water and as a result food. As a result, it again feels necessary to dedicate a proportion of this blog to investigating water and food from the perspective of the political ideologies that shape this relationship. 

Summary

The structure of this blog will attempt to continuously engage with the water-food nexus present in Africa and the intertwined nature of this relationship. However, I am conscience of the fact that in order to comprehensively address some of the existing empirical data on food an unpacking of water as an environmental, economic and political resource must also occur. Hence, the brief outlining of the nature of these factors in the first post. Accordingly, the structure of this blog, provisionally, will seek to explore the implications of these various factors on the allocation and provision of water and the subsequent implications for agriculture and food in Africa. I am hopeful that in engaging with the theme in this way I will be able to provide a better representation of the current state of water and food in Africa and perhaps offer some explanation as to how we have arrived at this point.