Economic Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: Possible Ways to Address New Challenges

Abstract

The observed decline in the level of Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) countries economic security is due to the increasing influence of both external factors (the rising volatility of global financial and commodity markets, changes in the policies of international economic organizations and a number of countries, etc.) and internal factors, largely related to their own socio-economic and, in some cases, political instability. This is manifested primarily in the insufficient food supply in the SSA countries as a consequence of the ongoing agricultural crisis. Possible ways to overcome this challenge are connected with the transformation of the agriculture sectors into productive, profitable, and reliable systems that will allow the SSA countries to reach and maintain food security. The agricultural policy aimed at this must take into account the specifics of the local crops and livestock production, the local climate, and the state of rural infrastructure, while making extensive use of new technologies and digital innovations. One of the most important factors for stable economic development is energy security in the context of the ongoing energy transition. The problematic state of energy supply in the SSA countries is manifested in the insufficient supply of electricity for both industrial sectors and the population, rolling blackouts, and rising tariffs. African countries see a solution to this challenge in implementing the strategy aimed at expanding national and regional networks based on the rational use of all available energy resources, creating off-grid systems and small-scale generation in remote areas using renewable energy sources, which will facilitate access to sustainable and technologically advanced energy. Further expansion of cooperation in almost all areas of the energy spectrum between African states and Russian public and private companies, as well as leading universities, will contribute to solving many problems of economic security in Sub-Saharan Africa.