About this Research Topic

Background

Overcoming Africa’s development challenges cannot be uncoupled from the need to transform the continent’s food systems. One in four people in sub-Saharan Africa faces food insecurity, and Africa will need to produce 80% more food by 2050. The challenge is complicated by the interrelationship between agriculture and environmental sustainability. In addition, agriculture also remains one of the most effective pathways out of poverty on the continent.

As agriculture both contributes to, and is affected by, climate change, there is a pressing need for innovation in climate-smart agriculture that considers the environment as integral to the food system. However, access to nutritious, safe food and improved livelihoods does not solely depend on boosting agricultural productivity. Food systems encompass the activities and actors involved in all aspects of the food supply chain, from production through to consumption and disposal of food. A food systems research approach recognises the importance of interactions and relationships between activities/actors and thus the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for achieving transformative change.

The concerted and coordinated actions of the food industry (agriculture, production and processing, retail, food service sector, and waste disposal) and consumers are crucial to promote sustainable consumption and production, with a focus on reducing all forms of food losses throughout the entire supply chain. Food systems transformation needs to focus not just on increasing production, but on access to food and markets, nutrition diversity and security, climate resilience, and adaptation of both agro-ecological systems and the food system more broadly.

This Research Ttopic focuses specifically on transformation of African food systems. While comprising many similar activities/actors to other food systems, African food systems also have activities, actors, and conditions that are specific to the African context. These contextual factors include: a shared history of colonisation that creates specific historical, demographic, political, and socio-cultural drivers of change; value chains that are often short and reliant on informal exchange and small-scale operations; distinct territorial imbalances that create significant inequalities; and normative and cognitive institutions that create diverse cultural beliefs and values while influencing the roles of women and youth in food systems.

We welcome submission of original research articles, case studies, systematic reviews or meta-analysis that offer new insights and perspectives on African food systems transformation. This topic will bring together interdisciplinary research and practice and provide a platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and collective action for transforming African food systems so that they are equitable, resilient, and sustainable.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Food Systems, Africa, Interdisciplinary Approaches, Resilience, Adaptation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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