Thursday, 30 October 2025.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) joins the African continent in commemorating Africa Food and Nutrition Security Day 2025 under the theme: “Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural Commodities and Services.” This day is a solemn reminder that Africa, a continent rich in land, water, and people, continues to face hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity not because of scarcity, but because of dispossession, inequality, and underdevelopment sustained by neocolonial economics.

At the heart of Africa’s food and nutrition crisis lies the question of land ownership. More than 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land lies in Africa, yet over 250 million Africans suffer from hunger and malnutrition every day. In South Africa alone, less than 10% of arable land is owned by Black people, a direct continuation of colonial land theft and apartheid spatial planning. Across the continent, vast tracts of fertile soil have been leased or sold to foreign investors where corporations and foreign governments exploit local resources for export while local communities remain hungry and jobless.

The EFF maintains that expropriation of land without compensation is essential to reverse centuries of exploitation and restore food sovereignty to the people. Land is not a commodity; it is the basis of life, dignity, and independence. Without returning land to those who till it, Africa will continue to be fed by others, dependent on imported food and subject to the interests of foreign markets.

The EFF further recognises that boosting intra-African trade in agriculture is key to ending hunger and building continental resilience. Today, Africa imports nearly US$80 billion worth of food annually, despite its capacity to feed itself. Only 15% of Africa’s total trade happens between African countries which is considered the lowest regional integration rate in the world. Through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Africa has a historic opportunity to build interconnected agricultural value chains that link farmers, processors, and retailers across borders, ensuring that African food sustains African people.

However, this vision cannot be realised without continental infrastructure development. Africa’s roads, railways, and ports remain fragmented and underdeveloped, making it cheaper to import food from Europe than to transport it within Africa. The EFF reiterates our call for massive public investment in regional infrastructure, including rail networks, cold storage systems, and energy grids, to enable efficient agricultural trade.

Equally, Africa’s food revolution depends on the free movement of goods and people. The colonial borders that divide our nations continue to restrict trade and cooperation. The EFF urges the African Union to fast-track free movement protocols, enabling farmers, entrepreneurs, and workers to cross borders freely in pursuit of shared prosperity and continental unity.

Hunger in Africa is not the result of lack, but the result of political choices that favour foreign interests over local development. Food sovereignty is political freedom, and it begins with land in African hands, trade among African nations, and unity among African peoples.

ISSUED BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Sinawo Thambo (National Spokesperson) 072 629 7422

Thembi Msane (National Spokesperson) 061 467 8169

Andiswa Madikazi (Parliament Media Liason) 069 516 4924

Thato Lebyane (Media Inquiries) 078 563 1581