Water 'bout food in Africa?

A less obvious link between water and food development  The reason for this post, and its temporary divergence from food development, is to demonstrate the huge problems within Africa with safe water provision and sanitation. The significance of this issue in relation to food is based on the overwhelming percentages of the population working in the agricultural sector. According to World Bank statistics, 53% of workers in Sub-Saharan Africa fell under this category. Of note were countries like Burundi, where the figure stood at 86% in the same year, and Somalia with 80% (data.worldbank.org, 2021). The simple explanation for this recognition is that water plays a far greater part in food provision than solely irrigation practices in the lives of farmers. The safety of water and sanitation services also impacts the health of large parts of the national workforce, in a sector that, if disrupted, can have national ramifications. It is no wonder that the Organisation for Economic Co-ope...

The Basic food-water Link The Water Stress Index (WSI) was originally developed by Falkenmark and Lindh (1974) as a warning system ahead of potential food shortages in relation to disruptions to water availability (Damkjaer and Taylor, 2017). The WSI defines water scarcity by the number of people that compete for sustenance from one single flow unit of water (106m3/year), or in simpler terms the “hydraulic density of population” (Damkjaer and Taylor, 2017). The WSI’s existence also informs us of the regional disparity in water availability, and thus introduces one of the foundational challenges facing water and food development in Africa historically. Most of the inhabitants of Africa live in semi-arid areas that are prone to extreme seasonal variation in freshwater availability and pose the risk of large-scale water shortages, subsequent famine and the potential for the emigration of environmental refugees (Falkenmark, 1989). Drought proved rampant in 2019 particular...