Rethinking Food Security in sub-Saharan Africa in the Age of Urbanization
Topics: Food Systems
, Africa
, Migration
Keywords: migration, food systems, urban food security, climate change
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 03:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 05:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 46
Authors:
Cascade Tuholske, Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia Climate School, Columbia University
Catharina Latka, Chair of Economic and Agricultural Policy, University of Bonn
Kathy Baylis, Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara
Jordan Blekking, Department of Geography, Indiana Universityjblekkin@iu.edu
Rachel Green, Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara
Manny Kim, Agricultural and Consumer Economics Department, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Patrese Anderson, Agricultural and Consumer Economics Department, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Kelly Caylor, Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara
,
,
Abstract
Urbanization has long been thought to increase economic development and to strengthen food systems, resulting in urban populations being less poor and more food secure than rural populations. Evidence of "urbanization without growth" in sub-Saharan Africa has debunked the notion that urbanization universally improves economic outcomes. The region has had unparalleled urban population growth, much from rural-to-urban migration, without concurrent economic growth. Yet to date, it is unclear how urbanization has impacted food security for both rural and urban populations across the region. No research has systematically assessed spatial and temporal variation in food security for households across the urban-rural continuum in sub-Saharan Africa. Using more than 20,000 geo-located surveys from the Demographic and Health Survey Program, we measure how household-level child stunting and wasting rates have varied among rural and urban populations since the 1980s across sub-Saharan Africa. We document both spatial and temporal heterogeneity, identifying instances where both stunting and wasting rates for urban populations exceed rural rates. In recognition that urban versus rural presents a false dichotomy, we reclassify DHS surveys for 9 settlement typologies along the urban-rural continuum and further highlight how food security outcomes do not necessarily correlate with settlement type. Given that the planet will add 2.5 billion new urban residents in the next thirty years, and that these residents will live across a vast range of urban typologies, our results add to growing calls for new food security paradigms to ensure food security for all people, regardless of where they live.
Rethinking Food Security in sub-Saharan Africa in the Age of Urbanization
Category
Virtual Paper Abstract
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