The markets are crowded, but the baskets are light. Families walk past stalls of maize, cassava, rice, and yams, counting coins that no longer stretch far enough. The continent that feeds the world struggles to feed itself.
Economic hardship now shapes the daily life of millions of Africans. Reports show more than one in five go to bed hungry, while over three hundred million live with undernourishment. In West and Central Africa alone, more than forty million face food shortages this year, and lean seasons may push that number far higher.
The reasons are familiar: soaring food and fuel costs, wages that stand still, currencies that weaken, and debts that crush national budgets. Droughts and floods sweep through villages, while conflicts break the supply of grain and milk. Each hardship alone is heavy. Together, they leave families choosing between half a meal today or none tomorrow.
Yet there are glimmers of what works. When farmers are given good seed, storage, and water, the harvest is steady. Where aid arrives on time, children are spared the worst of malnutrition. Roads that connect farmers to markets lower prices and lift villages. Cash transfers, modest but steady, have kept many households afloat.
What fails is equally plain. Promises without funding. Imports that make families dependent on foreign markets. Corruption that drains what little should reach the poor. Hunger is not born of fate but of decisions—some taken, some neglected.
The hunger crisis is Africa’s open wound, seen in every skipped meal and every child with an empty bowl. It is not enough to wait for better seasons. The call is urgent: invest in farmers, protect families, strengthen markets, and build systems that endure.
Because the continent that works harder each day deserves more than hunger at night.
Africa feeds the world. Who feeds Africa?
Food for Africa News is calling on people across Africa to come forward with their stories. Too often, the hardships of daily life go unreported or are lost beneath other headlines. We will listen. We will print your voice. news@foodforafrica.news
Featured photo attribution: Léo Torréton, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
