Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa after COVID-19

At the #SummerUndod2022 event in Swansea on 15^th July, Carol Adams, Africa Portfolio Lead at the Sub-Saharan Advisory Panel and Managing Director at Food Adventure, chaired a panel discussion on sustainable livelihoods in Africa in the post-COVID era.

The panel consisted of Lenshina Hines, Co-Manager of Fair and Fabulous and Chair of the Board at BAFTS Fair Trade Network UK; Dr Krijn Peters, Associate Professor of Politics, Philosophy and International Relations at Swansea University; and Lettie Chimbi, founder of Chomuzangari Women’s Co-operative.

Carol asked the panel and audience to consider the main challenges and possible solutions to creating sustainable livelihoods in Africa today. The following rose to prominence:

Challenges:

• COVID-19 has been detrimental to travel and tourism in Africa
• Increased costs and delays to shipping has affected craft businesses
• One in two African countries relies on imported grain from the Ukraine and fertiliser from Russia, both of which have been severely affected by the Russo-Ukrainian War
• Workers need tools that could be produced sustainably in their own countries but it is often cheaper to import them from India and China instead
• Climate change is wreaking havoc on rainfall for food crops
• Soaring inflation in countries like Zimbabwe means basic goods are becoming unaffordable

Potential Solutions:

• Find better and more frequent ways of telling consumers the stories of producers
• Help consumers make better informed decisions when buying – “buy less, buy better, buy well”
• Advocate for institutions and organisations
• Raise more funding for community-led projects across Africa
• Increase levels of research for evidence-based solutions