I think it is determined by technology mainly agricultural technologies like HYV, irrigation, fertilizer and so on. As you said Africa has abundant land, labour and water but resource endowment is nothing unless there are appropriate technologies, institutions and enabling environment

Nutrient limitations pay a crucial role in capping the productive capacity of any ecosystem. When you say "resource rich" for Africa, I assume you are referring to precious metals and minerals, because agriculturally African soils are typically very old and depleted. I think traditionally, particularly before the green revolution, the availability of water and nutrients explained vast majority of the agricultural productive potential around the world.

Much of the "developed" world has encouraged agricultural productivity though policy. These policies include significant subsidisation of agriculture and agricultural technologies (particularly fertiliser, pesticides and GM crops) that have encouraged the commodification of inputs and outcomes whilst leaving the "developing" world in their wake.

Dear colleagues

I believe this issue is more influenced by the market of such products, some local cases other world, that defines what, how and for whom food is produced. Best Regards, Luiz Faria

Dear Dr. Balaji:

Agriculture as you know produces the world’s food. In agriculture, control of the biophysical aspects of food production shifted from a theoretical ambition to an attainable goal due to three interconnected developments: (1) the liberalization of the agrarian markets following the debt crisis in the 1970s, (2) the acceleration and expansion in the use of biotechnologies to control the production and reproduction of life, and (3) the privatization of nature through the extension of intellectual property rights to agriculture products. In order to have a better answer for your question, you should examine how the corporate management of food (agribusiness) folds into bio-political strategies for managing life and how their commercial interests supplant human needs.

Hi, among the reasons that govern food production with reference to Africa is policy making, in Africa most countries doesn't have have a good policy (e.g subsidy and ready made market). this is largely not because we Africans are not wise enough to make good decisions, but the leaders are not ready to do so. another reason is that African is made to be the market place for the commodities of the developed world such as USA, England etc. so if Africa is to produce to its demands, then there will be no market for them.

Food science has a role to play to achieve food security, but its importance is often seen too high. The assumption that too little food is produced to feed everybody on the planet is incorrect. Actually enough food statistically is around, but not everybody has access to what is available. Food science can cause increase in the cost of food making it unaffordable for poor people. The Green Revolution is an example for this. High Yielding Varieties cost money, fertilizers, pesticides and other high costs for external inputs make agriculture costly. Still plant science can help to better adapt agriculture for example to a changing climate.

One aspect that brings issues around food security together is the sustainable livelihood approach. The e external aspects of these approaches include seasonality of all sorts that can threaten people's livelihood security. Of course livelihood security is a concept much broader than food security, but there are a lot of overlaps, especially in times of climate change.....

Crucial is to keep the basis of food production is good shape. Environmental degradation is very dangerous from such perspective. Second is the distribution / access to food, which is to remove poverty. To better understand what is needed one needs to be aware of the different facets of food security.

Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life

This is how the FAO defines food security. It combines food production, distribution and consumption, looks into cultural and individual food preferences and also at quality aspects of food both from a nutrition perspective as well as from the perspective of food safety. Climate / environmental changes can have impacts on all these aspects, on food production, food distribution / access and food consumption.

Food production and climate change

all food crops have their optimum what climatetic conditons such as temperature, rainfall, etc are concerned. Especially extremes (too cold, too hot, too wet, too dry) can have devasting impacts. Some plants can tolerate a wide range of conditions, while other plants are rather little flexible to adapt to changing climatic conditons. In addition natural hazards (floods, cyclones, droughts) can have devasting impacts destroying crops in the fields. This all does not mean that only negative impacts are from climate change to agriculture. E.G. the temperate zones towards the poles will have warmer climates allowing longer vegetation periods, longer for crops like wheat. The impacts thus have to be established in regional or even sub-regional dimensions.

Access to food and climate change

this addresses in particular the changes of food prices as a result of climate change. Here in particular countries are effected that already now import big parts of their food requirements, like Kiribati, Tuvalu and other atoll states. Already today food imports make much of their imports and have very negative impacts on their BoP situation. On the micro-level afford rising food prices. They have to change to cheaper foods, often of lesser quality.

McCarthy, J. F., & Obidzinski, K. (2017). Framing the food poverty question: Policy choices and livelihood consequences in Indonesia. Journal of Rural Studies, 54, 344-354.

Cramer, L., Huyer, S., Lavado, A., Loboguerrero, A. M., Martínez Barón, D., Nyasimi, M., ... & van Wijk, M. (2017). Methods Proposed to Evaluate the Potential Impact of Climate Change on Food and Nutrition Security in Central America and the Dominican Republic.

Moragues-Faus, A., Sonnino, R., & Marsden, T. (2017). Exploring European food system vulnerabilities: Towards integrated food security governance. Environmental Science & Policy, 75, 184-215.

Chandra, A., McNamara, K. E., Dargusch, P., Caspe, A. M., & Dalabajan, D. (2017). Gendered vulnerabilities of smallholder farmers to climate change in conflict-prone areas: A case study from Mindanao, Philippines. Journal of Rural Studies, 50, 45-59.

It's four years. Have you attended to McNamara's nexus? SeePreprint Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Africa: Harking the Holonomic

In simple terms, Productivity improvement.

1. Risk(s) involved

2. Credit availabiity for inputs

3. Ready market for output

4. Profit

4. Subsidy by government