Conflict, Food Security and Development in Africa

Conflict has recently emerged as a key barrier to development in developing countries.  Unlike other well-understood barriers that development policies have historically sought to address, the role of conflict in development is not well understood. Conflicts range from simple (e.g., protests, demonstrations, riots & electoral violence), complex (e.g., kidnappings, ethnic violence, & pastoral violence) and wicked (e.g. battles, domestic terrorism, trans-national terrorism, etc.) conflicts, and depending on their complexity and virulence, they can result in a vicious cycle of destruction and poverty, thereby reversing advancements from past development investments. For example, as reported by the FAO (FAO et al. 2017., those countries that have not met their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are mainly those that are struggling with conflict, violence and fragility and over 50% of the 815 million undernourished people in the world live in such countries. Based on recent research, Dr. Adelaja will review what we know and what we don’t about conflicts in Africa, particularly highlighting his recent research on domestic and transnational terrorism, transhumance-related violence, battles, demonstrations and riots and their impacts on agriculture, food security and land use decisions. He will also review his efforts to predict various forms of conflict and the impacts of food insecurity on the fomentation of conflict. He will further present recommendations about future priority research and policy needs to address the growing wave of violence in developing countries. Presenter: ​Soji Adelaja, Ph.D., John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food & Resource Economics, Michigan State University