CHAPTER SIX
Ways Forward
T
o increase food security in Africa, particularly in food insecure countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), calls for sustainably producing nutritious food and increasing access for all. The circular food economy is a model for achieving this within planetary boundaries and promoting green, resilient, and inclusive development, known as “GRID.” The GRID framework enables social and economic transformations that can reduce poverty and food insecurity and promote equality, resilience, and shared prosperity while leveraging private sector support. The process of implementing a circular food economy based on frontier agricultural technologies is extensive. However, there are two distinct phases in achieving that outcome. The first phase is to establish and pilot the system. Establishing the necessary foundations of institutions and frameworks will carry the effort forward, while piloting the frontier agricultural systems will remove the inefficiencies and demonstrate and enhance the benefits. The second phase is to scale up frontier agricultural production systems at large enough levels to shift existing linear food economies into circular food economies. These two phases would address the major factors that constrain the widespread adoption of insect and hydroponic farming in Africa. Figure 6.1 shows how the two phases—(1) establishing and piloting and (2) scaling—propel the circular food economy. Currently, various factors constrain widespread adoption of insect and hydroponic farming in Africa. These factors create barriers to entry that are specific to a farmer’s location and access to markets and technologies. Many of these factors are a result of the relative newness of both technologies. In Africa, foraging for and consumption of foraged plants and insects are not new, but insect and hydroponic farming are still nascent industries. For example, according to the 231
