Suboptimal diets are a major risk factor for avoidable death and disease in low- and middle-income countries. Evidence shows that some foods or food components (e.g., processed red meat, saturated fat, salt, sugar) significantly elevate the risk of noncommunicable diseases and mortality, while others protect health (e.g., vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts/seeds, fish, whole grains—referred to in this document as “protective foods”). We used household surveys to compare dietary patterns in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to the EAT-Lancet healthy reference diet and to quantify and explain consumption gaps for nutritious foods. Compared to the EAT-Lancet healthy reference diet, consumption gaps for pulses and nuts/seeds, vegetables, and fruits are large for both poor and rich consumers in rural and urban areas in the four countries studied, while consumption gaps for meat, fish, and eggs and dairy foods are much larger for lower income groups. Food expenditures of most households in these four countries are far too low to allow consumption of the healthy reference diet; animal-source foods and vegetables are the largest cost components of food expenditures, although quantities consumed of both food groups are much lower than the EAT-Lancet healthy reference diet. Income elasticities of demand for pulses and nuts/seeds and vegetables are often low or moderate, suggesting weak consumer preference for these foods, while income elasticities for fruits and animal-source foods are relatively high. Income growth alone will not solve dietary problems in East Africa; in addition to supply-side interventions to improve affordability, special interventions are required to increase consumer demand for underappreciated protective (nutritious) foods such as pulses and nuts/seeds and vegetables.

Supply chains for nutritious (“protective”) foods in Africa south of the Sahara are often poorly developed, especially for perishable crops that are vulnerable to wastage. We used LSMS-ISA surveys and geographic information system (GIS) data to explore which factors predict production patterns of four protective food crops (pulses, nuts and seeds, vegetables, and fruits) relative to cereals and starchy roots and tubers (grouped under staples) in Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda, with a focus on potential inter-ventions to improve production, trade, and consumption of these foods. Plot-level irrigation adoption is the strongest predictor of fruit and vegetable production, along with precipitation, suggesting that water availability is a major precondition for pro-ducing these protective foods. In contrast, pulses and nuts and seeds can be grown in drier and warmer conditions. Better market access is also associated with higher production of fruits and vegetables, but the association is weaker than that of water access. Investing in and expanding irrigation-especially small-scale irrigation-has strong poten-tial to yield high returns in East Africa, especially for poor households that cannot afford to invest in capital-intensive irrigation technologies. Irrigation investments may need to be complemented by investments in roads, rural elec-trification, and cold storage chains to promote efficiency of postharvest supply chains and reduce marketing costs.

This edited volume “Food Security in Africa” is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of food safety and availability, water issues, farming and nutrition. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the public health and food security research area. All chapters are complete in itself but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on Africa’s food security challenges, quality of water, small-scale farming as well as economic and social challenges that this continent is facing. Hopefully, this volume will open new possible research paths for further novel developments.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is the premier public resource on scientific and technological developments that impact global security. Founded by Manhattan Project Scientists, the Bulletin's iconic "Doomsday Clock" stimulates solutions for a safer world.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is the premier public resource on scientific and technological developments that impact global security. Founded by Manhattan Project Scientists, the Bulletin's iconic "Doomsday Clock" stimulates solutions for a safer world.