Securing Africa’s Food Future: The Urgent Need for Climate Adaptation

Two factors alone should underscore the urgency with which we need to tackle food production in Africa: the oncoming train that is the climate crisis and the continent’s burgeoning population.

In 1960, there were just 283 million people across the continent. According to the UNECA, the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa, that figure passed 1.5 billion in 2024 and is due to reach 2.5 billion around 2050. That means there will be almost nine times as many mouths to feed as there were when African nations started to achieve independence. Add to that the demands of a hungry planet that covets the world’s uncultivated land—65% of which is in Africa—and the pressures on the continent to produce food are spiralling.

At the same time, the challenges facing food production are only likely to grow further. Africans are responsible for just 3–4% of the emissions driving climate change, yet they are set to bear the brunt of its effects.

“On average, African countries are losing 2–5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and many are diverting up to 9% of their budgets responding to climate extremes,” argues the World Meteorological Organization’s latest report on the impact of the climate crisis on Africa.

The prognosis is alarming: extreme weather events such as flooding that destroys crops and severe droughts that force millions to migrate are becoming more frequent. By the middle of the century, the Global Centre for Climate Mobility predicts that one in twenty Africans could be displaced by the climate crisis—that could be 125 million people.

Investing in Climate Adaptation

Professor Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation and Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, emphasises that the response to the crisis needs proper funding.

“If you don’t invest in climate adaptation, how do you capitalise on opportunities for job creation, green growth, and avoided losses? Every project without a climate lens is a wasted project.”

This is a challenge that demands urgent solutions, particularly in Africa’s agricultural sector, where smallholder farmers form the backbone of food production. In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, around 70% of households engage in subsistence agriculture. Similar proportions exist in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda (80%), and Ethiopia (over 60%). These farmers are critical to employment, economic stability, and food security.

What Does Climate Adaptation Look Like?

For agriculture to be resilient in the face of climate change, we must address multiple fronts:

• Water Management: With rainfall patterns becoming more erratic, better irrigation, water storage, and flood mitigation strategies are crucial. Farmers can adopt methods like rainwater harvesting and mulching, while governments and NGOs can invest in larger-scale solutions.

• Sustainable Farming Practices: Agroforestry, organic fertilisers, drought-resistant crop varieties, and diversification can increase resilience.

• Access to Finance: Smallholder farmers need financial tools, including access to banking, emergency funds, insurance against crop failure, and diversified income sources.

• Technology and Innovation: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and agritech solutions are rapidly evolving, offering predictive analytics, climate-smart farming techniques, and digital financial services that can transform agriculture at scale.

At Lantern Comitas, we actively engage with thought leaders, development organisations, and innovative enterprises driving climate adaptation in African agriculture. For example, Heifer Africa’s work in promoting innovative financial products and agritech entrepreneurship provides insights into how smallholder farmers can transition towards more sustainable and resilient farming practices.

The Time for Action is Now

There is hope—hope in knowledge, adaptability, determination, and creativity. But what we do not have is time to waste. Africa stands at a crossroads: it can either become a leader in feeding itself and the world’s growing population or risk becoming a case study in hunger and displacement.

At Lantern Comitas, we are committed to fostering conversations and collaborations that drive sustainable agricultural solutions across the continent. The road ahead demands investment, innovation, and bold leadership. The question is—how are we rising to meet this challenge?