Four ways South Africa can use to lift the global food security matters in the G20

Loading player...
South Africa, the only African country that is a member of the G20, holds the
presidency of the grouping until the end of November 2025. During this time, it could help drive the African continent’s food security agenda.

For agriculture, South Africa has set four G20 priorities:
* the promotion of policies and investments that can lead to improved food and nutrition security
* empowering youth and women to participate in agrifood systems
* fostering innovation and the transfer of useful technologies in agriculture
industries
* building climate resilience for sustainable food production.

These priorities could benefit the African continent, especially as many other African countries have long struggled with food insecurity and low agricultural productivity.

Based on my work as an agricultural economist, I would argue that South Africa could make use of its G20 presidency to support other African countries in building food security and raising the productivity of their agricultural sector.

Listen to the podcast for more insights.

Richard Humphries and Sam Mkokeli produce this podcast.
12 Apr English South Africa Investing · Food

Other recent episodes

Another boost to SA's 2024-25 summer grains and oilseed harvest

We are ending South Africa's 2024-25 summer grains and oilseed production season on an optimistic note. We now have eight production estimates with two more to follow, which are unlikely to change the positive picture we have. The data released at the end of September 2025 by the Crop Estimates…
3 Oct 10 min

Kenya's maize production has recovered

Similar to the improvement in maize production witnessed in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and other countries in the Southern African region, Kenya's maize crop has also shown signs of recovery. The latest estimate by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) places the country's harvest at 4.4 million tonnes. This…
27 Sep 11 min

South Africa's food price inflation eases

We see a constructive picture of South Africa's food price inflation, easing at 5.2% in August 2025, from 5.5% in the previous months. South Africa has an abundant harvest of grains, fruits, and various vegetables, and the benefits of this are starting to show in prices. It is these products…
17 Sep 10 min