A sustainability assessment framework for the African green revolution and food sovereignty models in southern Africa

Abstract

Two vastly different approaches to food security and sustainability have become increasingly prominent in Sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade. One is the African Green Revolution model, implemented by a consortium of partners comprised of African governments, the private sector, philanthropic donors, and multilateral institutions. The other is the food sovereignty model, headed by Africa’s peasant unions and civil society organizations. This paper examines how the ontological backgrounds of these two agrarian models inevitably inform and influence their respective approaches to food security and sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa. On one hand, the African Green Revolution favors modern rationalist notions of economic structural transformation and agricultural development. On the other hand, food sovereignty is inspired by historical structural ideas rooted in sociology that tackle issues of power and (in) justice embedded within global political and economic institutions. These diametrically opposed ideological foundations help to explain the polarization and tensions that exist between the two agrarian models. Such tensions, however, also hinder fruitful discussion about how to effectively address key concerns in food and agricultural systems. In response, this paper draws insights from sustainability assessment literature to propose a framework comprised of key sustainable food system indicators that are important for merging food security and sustainability goals in southern Africa.

Keywords

• african green revolution
• food sovereignty
• sustainability assessments
• food security
• southern africa