Food security of the staple food in Africa: A focus on rice, maize (corn), millet, cassava, and yam

Food security remains a critical challenge in Africa, where staple crops such as rice, millet, cassava, and yam sustain livelihoods and nutritional well-being. This chapter adopts a detailed, contemporary definition of food security, emphasizing consistent physical, economic, and social access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that satisfies dietary requirements and cultural preferences for a healthy and active life. This perspective highlights diet quality, food safety, and the resilience of the entire food system as essential components of sustainable nourishment beyond caloric adequacy. This chapter examines staple food security in Africa by analyzing its nutritional significance, regional production and consumption disparities, prevailing threats, relevant agricultural initiatives, and policy responses. The findings reveal distinct regional and temporal variability, with certain areas facing deficits that intensify food insecurity. This chapter advocates integrated, nutrition-sensitive strategies, including climate-smart agriculture, enhanced access to superior inputs and technologies, fortified value chains, and improved storage and processing infrastructure to support staple food security. It also calls for crop diversification and policies that empower smallholder farmers and facilitate equitable market participation. Addressing these intricate, interrelated challenges through multi-stakeholder collaboration is essential for advancing the well-being of African populations and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2: ending hunger, securing food and nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture in Africa.