East African countries need to show more cooperation in addressing food security challenges that could likely get worse if unforeseen external crises continue to pop up and disrupt supply chains across the world, according to a new study published this week.
The findings on the impact of such crises on food availability within the East African Community warn that without coordinated mitigation measures the entire region could soon find itself swamped by perennial global shocks akin to the climate change, Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
These combined challenges have exacerbated risks in global food access and trade leading to rising inflation, production and import costs, and increasing nutrition challenges for EAC country populations, the study says.