Meshack Malo, Deputy Regional Representative for Africa at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, says Africa must stop reacting to food crises and start designing its future. That’s the pitch from the top of the food bureaucracy: plan harder, invest smarter, and somehow the continent’s hunger, shocks and inequality will be managed into submission.
Malo wrote in a Standard Digital opinion piece that when Africa’s leaders gather to discuss food systems, the conversation usually circles droughts, floods, rising food prices, pests and diseases outbreaks, conflicts and disruptions to supply chains. Those are the pressures ordinary people live with. The people making the decisions, meanwhile, are being told to think bigger — all the way out to 2046.
Who Gets to Design the Future
Malo said the answer won’t emerge by chance and must be shaped through deliberate choices and investments made today. He pointed to Africa’s implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Strategy and Action Plan 2026-2035 as a “unique opportunity” to build agrifood systems that are more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable. The language is polished. The power structure is plain. Decisions are being framed as technical design work, while the people most exposed to hunger are expected to wait for the blueprint to arrive from above.
He said Africa’s population will continue to grow rapidly over the next two decades, urban centres will expand, consumer preferences will evolve and technological innovation will transform the way food is produced, processed, marketed and consumed. The challenge, he said, is not merely producing more food, but ensuring that food systems deliver better nutrition, create decent livelihoods, protect natural resources and contribute to broad-based economic growth.
Malo said Africa enters this future with considerable strengths, including vast agricultural resources, a youthful and entrepreneurial population, expanding markets and growing technological capabilities. He said those assets provide a strong foundation for transforming agrifood systems into engines of prosperity and resilience. The promise sounds generous. The structure remains top-down.
What the System Calls Progress
He said achieving this vision requires a systems approach because agriculture cannot be viewed in isolation. Food security, nutrition, trade, health, environmental sustainability, education and employment are intricately interconnected. He said transformation will depend on building stronger linkages among farmers, researchers, processors, traders, financial institutions, policymakers and consumers.
Malo said one of the greatest opportunities lies in adding value closer to where food is produced. Investments in agro-processing, storage facilities, transport corridors, digital infrastructure and agro-industrial development can generate employment, reduce food losses, improve farmer incomes and strengthen local economies. He said such investments support not only economic growth but also more efficient and resilient food systems.
He said the African Continental Free Trade Area presents a historic opportunity to strengthen regional food markets and unlock new opportunities for producers and agribusinesses. By harmonising standards, improving competitiveness and facilitating trade, African countries can build stronger regional value chains while reducing vulnerabilities associated with external shocks. That’s the reform script: more integration, more standards, more competitiveness, more trade. The people at the bottom are told this will make them safer.
Tech, Resilience, and the People Left Holding the Risk
Malo said technology and innovation are opening new possibilities. Artificial Intelligence, digital agriculture, biotechnology, climate information services and precision farming tools can help increase productivity, improve resource efficiency and strengthen resilience. He said innovation must be people-centred, with smallholder farmers, women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and rural communities able to access and benefit from these advances if transformation is to be truly inclusive.
He said resilience must become a defining feature of Africa’s agrifood systems. Climate change, environmental degradation and economic uncertainty require investments that help communities anticipate, absorb and adapt to shocks. He said strengthening early warning systems, expanding climate-smart agriculture, promoting sustainable land and water management, and enhancing access to finance and risk management tools will be critical in safeguarding livelihoods and food security.
Malo said Africa must also embrace strategic foresight. He said foresight is not about predicting what will happen, but about helping decision-makers prepare for multiple possible futures, identify emerging trends and make better decisions today. He said it should encourage governments and institutions to think beyond short-term challenges and invest in long-term resilience and opportunity.
He said this approach aligns closely with the aspirations of CAADP and Agenda 2063 and reflects a growing recognition that the transformation of agrifood systems is central to achieving sustainable development across the continent. He said the future of Africa’s agrifood systems can be guided by a vision already being applied by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all.
Malo said better production means increasing productivity sustainably while reducing losses and improving efficiency. Better nutrition means ensuring that all people have access to safe, healthy and affordable diets. A better environment means protecting biodiversity, conserving natural resources and building climate resilience. A better life means creating opportunities, reducing inequalities and ensuring that no one is left behind, particularly women, youth and vulnerable communities.
Malo said the year 2046 may seem distant, but the foundations of that future are being laid today. He said the investments made, policies enacted and partnerships forged over the next decade will determine whether Africa’s agrifood systems become drivers of food security, economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social inclusion. He said Africa has the resources, knowledge, innovation and human capital needed to build thriving agrifood systems that can feed its people, create jobs and contribute to global food security. He ended by saying, “The time to design it is now.”