Africa Hungry for Better Leadership

Serious food shortages and inflation, which in some places have spawned unprecedented riots, protests and
marches across Africa, are due in part to bad local leadership and lack of democracy. It appears the African
and developing countries worst hit by the crippling food shortages are those governed the most autocratically.
Some African countries produce staple food for export, yet their people go hungry. This is similar to that
phenomenon where some African countries export oil, but their countries' citizens experience oil shortages. In
other cases, some African countries produce staple food surpluses, but neighboring countries have shortages.
Regional African political institutions have not only been found wanting in dealing with crises such as the
meltdown in Zimbabwe, but are also failing to steer food from countries with surpluses to those experiencing
shortages. Furthermore, the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa are also now increasingly
stunting food production, and in some countries many small farmers are too ill to produce food. Wars between
and inside countries are still stilting African farming, although there are thankfully fewer such wars in recent
years.

But even countries such as South Africa, which feeds itself and is a major global exporter of food, have recently
experienced rampant food inflation. South Africa has been importing more food than usual the past four years.
In South Africa's case, shortsighted leaders have failed to channel food to the most vulnerable. Yet, for many
African countries poor land reforms have also resulted in a rapid decline in food production. In some cases, for
example Zimbabwe, ruling party politicians or their friends have taken most of the best farming land and left it
fallow. In other cases, foreign-owned game farms or non-food producing crops, such as flowers in Kenya, have
increasingly replaced food production.

Africa’s small farmers have suffered most: they are not usually connected to political elites, and rarely have
government support, access to finance or technology. Yet helping them develop is the solution for African
countries that need to feed their citizens.

African countries are undeniably suffering more proportionally from climate change than industrial nations do.
Climate change has caused increasingly poor environmental conditions in Africa. Decreasing food yield is just
one example of this. The climate change policies of Western countries, for example subsidizing and promoting
the rapid conversion of sugar cane, corn and other food into replacement for oil, also fuel the current food crisis
in Africa. The IMF and World Bank, currently suffering from a credibility crisis in the developing world, should
make fostering and financing sustainable climate change policies their new focus. Nevertheless, better African
and global governance and leadership are integral to tackling the food shortages and inflation.