Abstract
Maize has become the second most produced crop in the world. Specifically, in sub-Saharan Africa, global statistics show that more and more land is being used for (small-scale) maize production to meet future food demands. From 2007 to 2017, the area on which maize is grown in sub-Saharan Africa has increased by almost 60%. This rate of expansion is considered unsustainable and is expected to come at the expense of crop diversity and the environment. Based on available literature, this paper explores the political and economic processes that contributed to the increased use of land for maize production in sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses population growth as an important driver. Moreover, it unravels some of the politics and narratives triggered by climate change that have paved the way for policy measures that aimed to boost maize production in the region. These measures, which often emphasize the need for increased production, the need for new technologies and resource scarcity, overlook the largest group of maize producers that are least powerful, but most crucial for food security in sub-Saharan Africa: smallholder farmers.
Highlights
One of the most important global challenges of our time is meeting future food needs and tackling hunger and malnutrition in a context of climate change and growing populations
This paper explores the political and economic processes that contributed to the increased use of land for maize production in sub-Saharan Africa
This paper explored the increased use of land in sub-Saharan Africa for maize production and several factors that have contributed to this area expansion
Summary
One of the most important global challenges of our time is meeting future food needs and tackling hunger and malnutrition in a context of climate change and growing populations. This paper will elaborate on the political and economic processes that contributed to the increased use of land for food production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), maize. Can lead to, shape, and contribute to the land-based investments and their outcomes and form the basis for some of the policies and market instruments used by large international, regional, and national actors (discussed in Section 4) to regulate the maize sector and push for increased production of maize. I argue that these policies and instruments tend to neglect the interests of the largest group of maize producers, namely smallholder farmers In addition to this literature study, three months of fieldwork within selected maize growing areas in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda will explore the politics, drivers, and outcomes that shape the expansion of maize production in sub-Sahara Africa’s food system, as well as its effects on local food systems. Improvement Center (CYMMIT), on the political economy of land-based investments in maize and their impact on local livelihoods in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda
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