A pen for a gun – realizing the potential of home-grown school-feeding for peace and security
The Need For Resilience
"Africa's failure to deliver on the Millenium Development Goals is closely tied to a lack of resilience. The data show contrasting progress in delivering the MDGs across Africa, particularly in poverty reduction and related key indicators, such as achieving primary education. Contrasting patterns emerge in SubSaharan Africa (SSA) and Northern Africa. While poverty levels in SSA decreased, they were not halved as targeted by the MDGs. Although the region made some progress, nearly 50 per cent of its population still lived on less than $1.25 a day by 2015. Northern Africa saw a more significant reduction, with the number of people living in extreme poverty approaching single digits by 2015.
Africa's struggle exposed fundamental structural issues that have hampered the continent's ability to tackle current and future challenges. With the global focus now shifting to the more ambitious SDGs, Africa’s progress remains a concern. Early monitoring of the SDGs reveals that the continent's lack of resilience continues to leave it susceptible to various vulnerabilities. An evaluation report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDNS), which monitors and ranks countries' progress towards achieving the SDGs, highlights a sobering trend: among the 20 lowest-performing countries globally, 17 are African. The least-performing countries are also characterized by fragility, conflict, and high poverty levels. This trend is similar to the progress observed during the MDGs era. Africa's inability to build resilience during the MDG era has left it ill-equipped to deliver the more ambitious SDGs. Without significant improvements in resilience building across various sectors, Africa risks falling further behind in its development trajectory" .
Three key paradoxes hamper Africa’s sustainable development. The continent is rich in financial resources but in debt distress; rich in energy resources but with persistent deficits in access to electricity; rich in agricultural resources but with high levels of food insecurity.
These three paradoxes intersect and feed one another.
Therefore, solving them will require a holistic and integrated approach, recognizing their interconnectedness and the multiplier effects of interventions. The report positions domestic resource mobilization (DRM) as a game-changer. Energy and food systems are drivers of the sustainable economic transformation required, while strong institutions are enablers to accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs.
The Absence of The State
"Many African countries’ inability to fully achieve the MDGs was correlated with a lack of resilience stemming from a combination of state absence or weakness, lack of effective governance, and inadequate service provision. This connection between resilience, governance, and development outcomes is crucial for understanding Africa’s challenges in meeting global development targets. Overall, challenges to peace and development in Africa arise from a complex mix of external and internal factors. Historically, colonial administrations prioritized security control and revenue extraction, limiting state presence to economically or strategically important areas. This left vast territories ungoverned with minimal state involvement.
The relationship between state absence and service delivery has complex implications for state legitimacy. In fragile states, where government institutions are weak or ineffective, non-state actors often fill the vacuum to provide essential services. While this can address immediate needs, it may inadvertently undermine the state’s authority and perceived competence.
In addition to the historical aspect, several interconnected contemporary factors contributed to the absence of effective state structures in many African countries. This hindered these countries’ abilities to achieve the MDGs and build resilience."
The Triple Paradox
"The absence of effective state structures in Africa, stems from a complex interplay of resource-related challenges. Central to this problem is Africa's Triple Paradox.
The first paradox revolves around Africa’s financial constraints. Despite being resource-rich, the continent remains in debt distress, with many African countries heavily reliant on external financing mechanisms like debt relief and debt suspensions. This external dependence has stifled the capacity of states to generate their own revenue and build strong institutions, leaving them vulnerable to external shocks.
Africa is also rich in energy resources, from vast oil and gas reserves to a significant potential for renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Yet, paradoxically, the continent remains largely "in the dark." Around 600 million people in Africa lack access to reliable electricity, limiting industrialization and economic development.
The third paradox is Africa’s struggle with food insecurity despite its vast agricultural resources. Although Africa possesses large tracts of fertile land and a significant agricultural workforce, it faces frequent food shortages and lacks the infrastructure to connect smallholder farmers to markets.
Addressing these paradoxes requires capacitating the state to exercise its primary functions by enhancing its ability to deliver development and creating a systemic path to effective, impactful nation-building.
The Case for School Feeding
"Home-grown school feeding is a model designed to provide children with safe, diverse, and nutritious food sourced locally from smallholder farmers. During the MDG period, school feeding was redefined as a comprehensive development intervention in acknowledgement of its contribution to four dimensions of development: (1) education, by increasing enrollment, attendance and enhancing children's learning capacity; (2) nutrition, by addressing malnutrition and undernutrition; (3) health, thanks to complementary interventions provided in parallel such as deworming and vaccinations; and (4) gender equality, by reducing girls’ dropout rates dramatically.
Building on this, OSAA has identified four new dimensions to integrate into the HGSF value chain as an SDG stimulus: (1) Building stable societies by fostering peace and security; (2) Improving access to clean and renewable energy; (3) Promoting climate adaptation, and (4) Enhancing Africa’s food systems transformation.
These dimensions constitute targeted short-term interventions that catalyze development and accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs and the African Union's Agenda 2063. They expand on the traditional dimensions of school feeding, including education, health and nutrition outcomes, localized agricultural systems and gender empowerment."
Initiatives such as locally grown and sourced school meal programmes can be effective not only as drivers of sustainable development, but also as vehicles for increasing the presence of State institutions in remote areas and strengthening the trust and cohesion of local communities. They have proved to contribute to social cohesion, the integration of displaced populations and the reduced exposure and recruitment of children to armed groups.
Promotion of Durable Peace through Sustainable Development, United Nations 2022
Content Highlights
Through four new dimensions—Peace and Security, Energy Access, Climate Adaptation and Food Systems Transformation—home-grown school-feeding can be leveraged to address basic needs while serving as a lever that can be harnessed to tackle the Triple Paradox hampering Africa’s development. This approach can restore state functions and drive sustainable development across the continent. Join us in supporting the transformative role of home-grown school-feeding!
© Synthex / Adobe Stock Photo
Energy Access
By expanding the role of community-based school management committees to off-grid energy solutions, they can act as intermediaries between local communities and the private sector. This model addresses a critical gap that has prevented scaling up renewable energy investments.
© IOM Photo
Climate Adaptation
Reliable and affordable energy allows for powering irrigation systems, processing and storing agricultural products, and facilitating weather forecasting. Through HGSF programmes, schools can become hubs for disseminating climate-smart practices, serving as centres for education and innovation in climate resilience.
© Vincent Tremeau / World Bank
Food Systems Transformation
HGSF programmes create a stable market for smallholder farmers by sourcing food locally. This reliable demand encourages farmers to invest in their production capacities, adopt modern agricultural techniques, and diversify their crops, leading to food systems transformation.
Social Cohesion
HGSF helps restore trust and legitimacy in government institutions, reinforcing the social contract between the state and its people by delivering essential services and promoting local economic prosperity. From a public finance perspective, this is a strategic intervention to address spending inefficiencies and visibly demonstrate the state’s commitment to the well-being of its citizens, particularly in marginalized and underserved communities.
The School Meals Publications
HGSF from a hot meal to macroeconomic tool
Prioritize consolidating robust domestic resource mobilization systems for de-risking SDG investments.
How Home-Grown School Feeding Crowds in Development and Crowds Out Instability
Promote sound regulatory frameworks in the energy sector for innovation and competition.
Achieving Energy Access through HGSF
Implement the AfCFTA to unlock the potential of Africa’s agri-food value chains.
Promoting Climate Adaptation through HGSF
Invest in frontier technologies to mainstream African products in global green technology value chains.
Transforming Food Systems through HGSF
Invest in human capital for the right knowledge and skills in agricultural transformation.