World Food Policy Volume/Issue 2-2/3-1 Fall 2015/Spring 2016 | Page 154

Food Security In an Age of Falling Commodity and Food Prices: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa

Within this overall context, this
article attempts to concentrate on the
impacts of falling prices of food and
commodities on food security focusing
on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). SSA is not
the region that accounts for the most
important number of people suffering
from hunger, but the region which knows
the highest prevalence of hunger.

The article is divided into three
parts: in the first part, the driving forces
of the rising/falling prices of food and
commodities are considered. In the
second part, the impacts of falling food
prices on the food security situation in
SSA are examined. Finally, the main
constraints of food policies and strategies
in SSA are discussed.1

The Driving Forces of the Rising/
Falling Prices of Food and
Commodities
The Food Price Trend

D

uring several decades world food
prices used to be depressed by the
dumping of surpluses by western
nations. But after 2005, and specifically
in 2008, food prices globally rose to
unprecedented levels. Prices increased
again in mid-2011, exceeding 2008 levels
and remaining relatively high through
2011.

There was a strong belief that the
world had entered a new era of not just
high but also rising and volatile food
prices, in contrast to previous decades
characterized by low prices.

Figure 1: Food Price Index in Nominal and Real Terms: 1961–2016

Source: FAO Food Price Index: http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/

1

This article was presented and discussed in a round table at the International Conference on World
Food Policy: Future Faces of Food and Farming; Regional Challenges; Bangkok 17–18 December
2015, organized by The Royal Society of Thailand.
154