Roles of Government on Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems in Africa: Convivial Food System

Roles of Government on Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems in Africa: Convivial Food System

Lere Amusan & Kolawole Sunday Ajibola

Issue: Vol.6 No.14 Article 59 pp. 4202 – 4214
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561459| Published online 30th December, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

30 Downloads

DOWNLOAD PDF

ABSTRACT

Despite huge global food production, global hunger and malnutrition are on the rise. Several attempts at improving food production geared towards combating food insecurity and malnutrition in Africa had been made, but with little success. Challenges abound in providing a healthy and sustainable food system. The United Nations (UN) has made some progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), though not much success has been registered because of the enormity of the damage already created by destructive capitalism modes of the food system. The neutralization of organic foods and the introduction of genetically modified (GM) seeds in supporting agricultural production in Africa promote unhealthy food. In line with SDGs 2, 3, 10, and 13, this paper explored the roles of governments on healthy and sustainable food systems: the convivial food system. Qualitative method through employing an explanatory sequential design was adopted. Data was collected using documentary analysis. Successful government-led food system reforms were reviewed. A convivial food system theory was employed in the study. The study found that countries of the world are still far away from achieving most of the SDGs concerning the provision of quality and quantity of food in a sustainable manner. The study recommends several roles of government on a healthy and sustainable food system, such as efforts towards reducing food insecurity among low-income earners, decolonizing the food system, encouraging entrepreneurs to engage in the provision of a healthy and sustainable convivial food system, a tax cut on convivial food production, and the pursuit of strategic training and development of human resources.

Keywords: Convivial Food System, Human Resource, Sustainable Development, Food Security, Convivial Theory

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adloff, Frank. “Practices of Conviviality and the Social and Political Theory of Convivialism.” Novos Estudos CEBRAP 38, no. 1 (2019): 35–47.

Altieri, Miguel A, and Clara I Nicholls. “Agroecology Scaling up for Food Sovereignty and Resiliency.” In Sustainable Agriculture Reviews: Volume 11, 1–29. Springer, 2012.

Amusan, Lere. Food Security and Food Sovereignty Challenges in Africa. London: Ethics Press, 2023.

Amusan, Lere. “Imposed Socially Responsible Pricing on HIV/AIDS Drugs in Developing Areas.” Indian Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs 71, no. 1 (2015): 67–79.

———. “Multinational Corporations’(MNCs) Engagement in Africa: Messiahs or Hypocrites?” Journal of African Foreign Affairs 5, no. 1 (2018): 41–62.

Amusan, Lere, and Kolawole Sunday Ajibola. “Human Resources and Food Insecurity in Africa: Adventure in Africa Solution for African Problems.” Journal of Gender, Information & Development in Africa 3 (2019): 63–82.

Amusan, Lere, and Siphiwe Mchunu. “An Assessment of Xenophobic/Afrophobic Attacks in South Africa (2008–2015): Whither Batho Pele and Ubuntu Principles?” South African Review of Sociology 48, no. 4 (October 2, 2017): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2017.1411744.

Amusan, Lere, and Marilyn Setlalentoa. “An Assessment of Socio-Cultural Aspects of Large Scale Food Production Policies and Politics in Africa.” Transylvanian Review 17, no. 25 (2017): 4347–56.

Australian Government. “National Food Plan: Our Food Future,” 2013. https://www.agriculture.gov.au.

Ballantyne-Brodie, Emily. “Designing Convivial Food Systems in Everyday Life.” ServDes2018-Service Design Proof of Concept, 2018.

Ballantyne-Brodie, Emily, and Ida Telalbasic. “Designing Local Food Systems in Everyday Life through Service Design Strategies.” The Design Journal 20, no. sup1 (2017): S3079–95.

Bhatia, H. L. History of Economic Thought. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1978.

Brian Pearce. “The Inter Faith Network and the Development of Inter Faith Relations in Britain.” In Religion and Change in Modern Britain, 6. Routledge, 2012.

Brue, S. L., and R. R. Grant. The History of Economic Thought. Mason, OH: Thomson Higher Education, 2007.

Campbell, Hugh. “ Spurlock’s Vomit and Visible Food Utopias.” In Food Utopias: Reimagining Citizenship, Ethics and Community, edited by Paul V. Stock, Michael Carolan, and Christopher Rosin, 195–217. New York, 2015.

Carmody, Padraig. The New Scramble for Africa. London: Polity Press, 2011.

Cohen, Juliana F.W., Scott Richardson, Ellen Parker, Paul J. Catalano, and Eric B. Rimm. “Impact of the New U.S. Department of Agriculture School Meal Standards on Food Selection, Consumption, and Waste.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 46, no. 4 (April 2014): 388–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.11.013.

Comstock, Gary. “Concerning Cattle: Behavioral and Neuroscientific Evidence for Pain, Desire, and Self-Consciousness.” In The Oxford Handbook of Food Ethics, edited by A. Barnhill, M. Budolfson, and T. Doggett, 139–69. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Conceição, Pedro, Sebastian Levine, Michael Lipton, and Alex Warren-Rodríguez. “Toward a Food Secure Future: Ensuring Food Security for Sustainable Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Food Policy 60 (2016): 1–9.

Cribb, Julian. Food or War. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Dagevos, Marianne J, and Esther J Veen. “Sharing a Meal: A Diversity of Performances Engendered by a Social Innovation.” In Exploring Food and Urbanism, 116–32. Routledge, 2021.

Danish Agriculture & Food Council. “Organic Denmark: Facts and Figures,” 2018. https://www.agricultureandfood.dk.

Donati, Kelly. “‘Herding Is His Favourite Thing in the World’: Convivial World-Making on a Multispecies Farm.” Journal of Rural Studies 66 (2019): 119–29.

Ehrlich, Sean D. The Politics of Fair Trade: Moving Beyond Free Trade & Protection. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Elshater, Abeer. “Food Consumption in the Everyday Life of Liveable Cities: Design Implications for Conviviality.” In Exploring Food and Urbanism, 68–96. Routledge, 2021.

FAO. “ The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2014.

———. “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.” Food and Agriculture Organization, 2018.

FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, & WHO. “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017. Building Resilience for Peace and Food Security.” Rome, 2017.

Fassi, Davide. “Growing Food in Universities.” In Universities as Drivers of Social Innovation. Research for Development., edited by D. Fassi, P. Landoni, F. Piredda, and P. Salvadeo, 69–79. Cham: Springer, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31117-9_5.

Fierke, K. M. Critical Approaches to International Security. Cambridge: Polity, 2015.

Figueroa-Helland, Leonardo, Cassidy Thomas, and Abigail Pérez Aguilera. “Decolonizing Food Systems: Food Sovereignty, Indigenous Revitalization, and Agroecology as Counter-Hegemonic Movements.” Perspectives on Global Development and Technology 17, no. 1–2 (February 13, 2018): 173–201. https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341473.

Food and AgriculturalOrganization. “ State of Food Insecurity in the World,” 2015. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4671e%0A.pdf.

Fukuyama, Francis. The End of History and the Last man. London: Penguin Books, 1992.

Glough, E. “The Politics of Food Labelling and Certification.” In The Oxford Handbook of Food, Politics, and Society, edited by R. J. Herring, 615–43. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Goldberg, R. A. Food Citizenship: Food System Advocates in an Era of Distrust. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Gonzalez, Carmen G. “Climate Change, Food Security, and Agrobiodiversity: Toward a Just, Resilient, and Sustainable Food System.” Fordham Environmental Law Review, 2011, 493–522.

Hart, R. M. Vertical Vegetable & Fruit. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2011.

Hawkes, C., S. Friel, T. Lobstein, and T. Lang. “ Linking Agriculture and Health: Toward a New Research Agenda for Addressing Food Insecurity and Chronic Disease.” Food Policy 22 (2015): 142–53.

Hiss, T. “ How Now, Drugged Cow? .” In Khow That What You Eat You Are, edited by E. Rosenbush and G. Melucci, 83–98. New York: Franklin Square Press, 2017.

Howard, P. H. Concentration and Power in the Food System: Who Controls What We Eat. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.

Illich, Ivan. Tools for Conviviality. New York: Harper & Row, 1973.

Kennedy, Emily Huddart, Josée Johnston, and John R. Parkins. “Small‐p Politics: How Pleasurable, Convivial and Pragmatic Political Ideals Influence Engagement in Eat‐local Initiatives.” The British Journal of Sociology 69, no. 3 (September 30, 2018): 670–90. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12298.

Kshetri, Nir. Fourth Revolution and the Bottom Four Billion: Making Technologies Work for the Poor. University of Michigan Press, 2023.

Latouche, Serge. Farewell to Growth. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2009.

Mawere, M., and A. Nhemachena. GMOs, Consumerism, and the Global Politics of Biotechnology: Rethinking Food, Bodies, and Identities in Africa’s 21st Century. Mankon, Bamenda: Langaa Research & Publishing CIG., 2017.

McLaughlin, C. Vertical Vegetable Gardening. New York: Alpha Books, 2013.

McMichael, P. Development and Social Change. London: Sage, 2017.

MINAGRI (Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda). Annual Report on Crop Intensification Program. Kigali: Government of Rwanda, 2014.

Moran, M. Private Foundations and Development Partnerships: American Philanthropy and Global Development Agendas. New York & London: Routledge, 2014.

Naser, M. “ Seeds of Hope/Destruction.” In Food Democracy: Critical Lessons in Food, Communication, Design, and Art, edited by O. Vodeb, 426–28. Bristol, UK & Chicago, USA: Intellect Books, 2017.

Nestle, M. Safe Food: The Politics of Food Safety. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2010.

Paarlberg, Robert L. Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press, 2023.

Pollan, M. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. New York: Penguin Books, 2008.

Roach, S. C. “Critical Theory.” In International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity, edited by T. Dunne, M. Kurki, and S. Smithpp, 145–60. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Rocha, Cecilia. “Developments in National Policies for Food and Nutrition Security in Brazil.” Development Policy Review 27, no. 1 (2009): 51–66.

Schneider, Benjamin, William H Macey, Karen M Barbera, and Scott A Young. “The Role of Employee Trust in Understanding Employee Engagement.” In Handbook of Employee Engagement. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010.

Thompson, Merisa S., Alasdair Cochrane, and Justa Hopma. “Democratising Food: The Case for a Deliberative Approach.” Review of International Studies 46, no. 4 (October 13, 2020): 435–55. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210520000017.

UNESCO. Global Education Monitoring Report: Migration, Displacement and Education – Building Bridges, Not Walls. UNESCO, 2019. https://doi.org/10.54676/XDZD4287.

United Nations Economic and Social Council. “ Secretary-General’s Report on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals,” 2019.

Vivero, J. “Transitions towards a Food Commons Regime.” In Perspectives on Commoning, edited by G. Ruivenkamp and A. Hilton. London: Zed, 2016.

Walters, R. Eco Crime and Genetically Modified Food. New York & London: Routledge, 2011.

Weber, A. “Objectivity.” In Biopoetics, 100–116. Springer Netherlands, 2016.

Williams, D. “ Constructing the Economic Space: The World Bank and the Making of Home Economicus.” In The World Bank: Development, Poverty, Hegemony, edited by David Moore, 95–120. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2007.

World Bank. Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle. Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank, 2019.

Zakaria, F. “ The Future of American Power.” Foreign Affairs 87, no. 3 (2008): 18–43.

———. The Post-American World and the Rise of the Rest. London: Penguin Books, 2009.

ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Lere Amusan, PhD, is of AGOPA, North West University. He is also of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Bowen University, Nigeria Email: Lere.amusan@nwu.ac.za and Lere.amusan@bowen.edu.ng

Kolawole Sunday Ajibola, Ph.D. is a lecturer in the Department of Employment Relations and Human Resource Management, Osun State University, (Okuku Campus), Osun State, Nigeria. Email: ksajibola@gmail.com and ksajibola@uniosun.edu.ng

TO CITE ARTICLE

Amusan, Lere, and Kolawole Sunday Ajibola. “Roles of Government on Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems in Africa: Convivial Food System.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 14 (2025): 4202 – 4213, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561459.