Since 1990, about a third of African countries have been involved in conflict. While African conflicts, whether local, national or regional, may have various roots, the remnants of colonialism and persistent levels of poverty and unemployment in the continent serve as key sources. For many Africans, the need for security and identity are pull factors for joining conflict movements. These modern conflicts undermine African economic development and deter long-term foreign investments, decreasing respective national per capital gross domestic products (GDPs) by an average of 2.5%. However, agriculture offers a local solution to meet those needs, thus, helping to deter from conflict-driven pull factors.

While Africa undergoes a period of vigorous development through urbanization and industrialization, leveraging accessible resources for job security and poverty reduction are key for sustainable continental growth. Currently, 70% of Africans work in the field of agriculture and 23% of sub-Saharan Africa GDP is rooted in agriculture. As Africa continues to develop, agriculture begins to expand from basic subsistence herding and crop cultivation to commercial agriculture, requiring more intensive irrigation, energy and technology. Not only is this essential to sustainable development on the continent, but it also offers local opportunities in the scientific and knowledge economy, deterring many from joining conflict movements.

The agricultural sector and trading practices can also help to deter conflict movements by encouraging harmonization among institutions on the continent, creating an environment to generate effective and sustainable local socioeconomic growth. It is estimated that during periods of conflict, regional agricultural production drops an average of 12.3% each year. One way to support harmonization is through continental frameworks, which are becoming increasingly essential to support the development of the African agricultural industry. For instance, in 2019, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Policy Framework for Africa was adopted by the African Union’s (AU) Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Development (AU-DARBE) and is now being implemented to facilitate continental harmonization in safe agricultural trade practices among AU member states and Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The Food Safety Strategy for Africa and the Plant Health Strategy for Africa were subsequently developed in 2021 as tools to support the SPS Policy Framework and African assimilation into global markets. The development of these strategies was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service’s (USDA-FAS) SPS Policy Framework Project for Africa, with the help of key partners, such as the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and Development, among others.

The SPS Framework, along with the Food Safety and the Plant Health Strategies for Africa, enable the sharing of best practices and technological advances among countries and regions, diverting Africans from conflict movements through job creation, resulting in the alleviation of unemployment. They can also provide regulatory guidance to RECs and member states that might otherwise lose institutional capacity in times of conflict. The harmonization of agricultural national and regional policy frameworks such as these is one step to ensure an increase in jobs and trade opportunities of agricultural products, leading to economic growth and improved livelihoods across the continent.

Agriculture in Africa can support sustainable development by leveraging its natural resources to increase local opportunities. With effective continental strategies and frameworks in place, the agricultural sector offers Africa a foundation to alleviate poverty and unemployment whilst ensuring its sustainable independent development and prosperity within global markets, thus helping to mitigate the roots of conflicts. As stated by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, “You cannot build peace on empty stomachs.”