Open Letter on Urgently Addressing the Potential Food Security Crisis in Southern Africa
To relevant international organizations, governments of Southern African countries, concerned institutions, and colleagues from all sectors:
The food security situation in the Southern African region is currently under sustained pressure, with increasingly severe risks. The United Nations World Food Programme has issued a specific warning concerning the regional food crisis. Drawing on its long-term, region-wide agricultural monitoring system and field research, the World Academy of Agricultural Sciences assesses and confirms that the present food risk has entered a critical window for response. Should the international response be delayed and preventive and control measures be absent, systemic risks—such as regional food supply shortages, gaps in livelihood security, and disruptions to regional social order—may be triggered.
Food security is the fundamental cornerstone for safeguarding people's well-being and maintaining long-term regional stability. Under the combined impact of multiple adverse factors, including frequent global extreme weather events, weak regional agricultural infrastructure, and disruptions in cross-border food supply chains, the food self-sufficiency capacity of Southern African countries continues to decline, while the food security gap affecting vulnerable groups keeps widening. This food risk is characterized by its broad coverage, prolonged duration, and high potential for derivative risks, making it difficult for any single country to address effectively on its own. It is therefore urgent to establish a multilateral, coordinated response mechanism and to pool international efforts to address the regional food security crisis in a concerted manner.
In order to actively respond to the deployment of United Nations food security early warnings and to effectively prevent and resolve major food security risks in Southern Africa, the World Academy of Agricultural Sciences hereby issues an urgent initiative to relevant international organizations, governments of Southern African countries, and agriculture-related institutions, calling on all parties to swiftly activate emergency response mechanisms, deepen multilateral coordination, and precisely implement various emergency food safeguard measures.
1. Activate specialized emergency response and solidify the bottom line of livelihood security.
The governments of Southern African countries are urged to prioritize emergency food security safeguards as a key current task, comprehensively assess the stock levels of domestic grain reserves, structural supply-demand gaps, and the baseline of key assistance groups, introduce precisely targeted localized emergency safeguard policies, effectively prevent abnormal fluctuations in regional food prices, and resolutely avert the occurrence of large-scale regional food shortages.
2. Expand and upgrade grain reserves and improve the emergency safeguard system.
Scientifically expand the scale of regional emergency grain reserves, optimize the variety structure and storage layout of reserve grains, and establish a regular rotation and renewal mechanism. Strengthen the entire workflow of cross-regional grain allocation, emergency distribution, and designated delivery, refine emergency response plans under extreme disaster scenarios, and comprehensively enhance the regional capacity for emergency grain supply and resilience against risks.
3. Deepen multilateral coordination and cooperation and pool international assistance efforts.
Relevant international organizations should fully leverage their platform coordination advantages, promote the sharing of global food resources, mutual learning from governance experience, and exchanges in agricultural technologies. They should coordinate special efforts such as humanitarian food aid, agricultural technology empowerment, infrastructure construction assistance, and supply chain optimization, thereby building an integrated, efficient, and synergistically linked regional food crisis response system.
4. Strengthen the foundations of modern agriculture and establish long-term security mechanisms.
Adhere to the integrated advancement of emergency relief and long-term governance. Vigorously promote high-yield, stress-resistant, and stable-yield crop varieties, upgrade agricultural infrastructure such as farmland irrigation, water conservancy, and disaster prevention and reduction, systematically enhance the comprehensive agricultural production capacity of the Southern African region, address regional food security risks at their root, and achieve sustainable regional food security.
Safeguarding global and regional food security is a common responsibility of the international community. The World Academy of Agricultural Sciences will continue to fulfill its functions as a professional think tank, technical support provider, and overall coordinator, integrating and mobilizing high-quality agricultural resources worldwide to fully assist Southern African countries in stabilizing their agricultural fundamentals and strengthening the bottom line of food security. We call upon all relevant parties to uphold the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and the spirit of mutual assistance, swiftly implement all work arrangements, deepen practical multilateral cooperation, and work together to resolve regional food security risks, thereby jointly maintaining stability in Southern Africa and the security of the global food supply chain.
We hereby solemnly issue this letter, hoping that all parties will work together in governance, collaborate to overcome difficulties, and tide over the crisis.
Official contact email: waascn@163.com
World Academy of Agricultural Sciences
August 8, 2026
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