…The latest United Nations food security report shows that Africa has recorded its first improvement in food insecurity in nearly a decade. But with hunger still affecting hundreds of millions and healthy diets remaining unaffordable for most households, the continent’s gains remain dangerously fragile.
BY: PHESHEYA KUNENE | ANALYSIS
MANZINI – For the first time in nearly a decade, Africa’s food insecurity figures are moving in the right direction. That is welcome news. It is not yet a victory.
The 2026 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World estimates that the proportion of Africa’s population facing hunger declined from 20.3 percent in 2024 to 20 percent in 2025.
The improvement is small, but significant. It suggests that progress is possible even in a continent repeatedly battered by drought, conflict, high food prices, weak infrastructure and rising agricultural input costs.
Yet Africa remains the global centre of hunger.
About 309 million people on the continent were undernourished in 2025, compared with 292 million in Asia. Africa now has the highest number of hungry people in absolute terms, while more than half of its population continues to experience moderate or severe food insecurity.
The numbers point to a hard truth: Africa may have stopped losing ground, but it remains far from food secure.
A GLOBAL IMPROVEMENT, UNEVENLY SHARED
Globally, hunger declined for the third consecutive year in 2025.
An estimated 645 million people faced hunger, representing 7.8 percent of the world’s population. This was down from 8.1 percent in 2024 and 8.6 percent in 2022.
The decline means about 43 million fewer people experienced hunger than three years earlier.
Asia and Latin America have driven much of that progress. Africa’s recovery has been slower and more fragile, constrained by population growth, climate shocks, conflict, weak food markets and low investment in agricultural infrastructure.
Broader measures of food insecurity reveal an even deeper problem.
Around 2.1 billion people worldwide experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. In Africa, the figure stood at 56.6 percent of the population, far higher than in Asia, Latin America, Europe and Northern America.
Millions of African households may not be classified as chronically hungry, but they still regularly reduce meal sizes, skip meals or rely on less nutritious food because better options are unaffordable.
THE REAL CRISIS IS AFFORDABILITY
The report’s most important warning concerns the cost of a healthy diet.
Globally, the minimum daily cost of a healthy diet rose to 4.28 purchasing power parity dollars per person in 2025, from 3.44 in 2021.
For local readers, the figure represents roughly E77 per person per day when expressed as a simple currency comparison. However, the original measure is adjusted for purchasing power and should not be read as the exact cost of a healthy diet in Eswatini.
Nearly 2.7 billion people worldwide remain unable to afford a healthy diet.
Africa faces the greatest burden, with 66.6 percent of its population unable to afford the food needed for a balanced and nutritious diet.
This means the continent’s food challenge is no longer simply about producing enough maize, rice or wheat. It is also about ensuring that households can afford vegetables, fruit, dairy products, meat, eggs, fish and other nutrient-rich foods.
The poorest families are often forced to choose calories over nutrition.
THE COST BUILDS AFTER THE FARM
Farmers are frequently blamed when food prices rise. The report suggests that much of the cost is added after produce leaves the farm.
Processing, storage, transport, wholesale distribution and retail account for between 70 and 75 percent of the price paid by consumers. Up to 40 percent of total food costs arise from processing, logistics and wholesale activities.
This is particularly damaging for perishable foods.
Where cold storage is limited, roads are poor and transport costs are high, vegetables, fruit, milk, meat and fish become more expensive before reaching consumers. Post-harvest losses reduce supply further and eat into farmers’ incomes.
The policy lesson is clear: food security cannot be achieved through farm production alone.
Africa needs irrigation, reliable energy, rural roads, storage facilities, cold chains, agro-processing plants, efficient markets and better links between farmers and consumers.
PROGRESS REMAINS EASY TO REVERSE
The decline in hunger remains vulnerable to global and regional shocks.
Conflict in the Middle East, higher fertiliser and energy costs, declining development assistance and extreme weather could reverse recent gains.
The report estimates that between 510 million and 520 million people may still face hunger by 2030. These projections do not fully account for future El Niño events, droughts, floods or other climate-related disruptions.
For Africa, where much of agriculture remains rain-fed, climate resilience is now inseparable from food security.
One failed season can push farmers into debt, reduce national supplies and send consumer prices sharply higher.
ESWATINI’S FOOD SECURITY TEST
The report carries important lessons for Eswatini.
The country has expanded investment in irrigation, mechanisation, climate-smart agriculture, farmer financing and commercial production. Programmes such as LUSIP II and the Comprehensive Agricultural Master Plan aim to improve productivity and reduce dependence on imported food.
These efforts are important, but the country still imports substantial volumes of cereals, vegetables, dairy products and processed foods.
Eswatini’s agricultural challenge is therefore not only to grow more food, but to build stronger value chains around what is produced locally.
Farmers need reliable markets, affordable inputs, storage, processing capacity, extension services and dependable water supplies. Consumers need stable prices and access to healthier foods.
The country’s recent experience with drought, heatwaves and Foot and Mouth Disease also shows how quickly agricultural progress can be disrupted.
Climate-smart farming, stronger animal-health systems, improved seed varieties and better market planning must therefore become permanent features of national food policy.
MORE THAN GOOD HARVESTS
Africa’s improving food security figures deserve recognition. They show that policy, investment and coordinated action can make a difference.
But the next stage will be harder.
Temporary gains can be erased by drought, conflict, inflation or another global supply shock. Lasting progress requires stronger agrifood systems that can withstand pressure without collapsing.
That means investing beyond production.
It means reducing post-harvest losses, improving transport and storage, strengthening rural markets, expanding irrigation and making nutritious food more affordable.
For Eswatini, the opportunity is clear: greater domestic production can reduce imports, create rural jobs and improve food security. But production must be supported by functioning value chains and markets that reward farmers while protecting consumers.
Africa’s food insecurity has finally begun to ease.
The real test is whether governments, investors and development partners can turn one year of progress into a lasting trend.
