Food Justice in Africa: Protecting the Right to Food in the Climate Crisis
Dullah Omar Institute
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Abstract: This peer-reviewed article investigates the intersection of climate change, food insecurity, and human rights across the African continent. Anchored in legal and policy analysis, it argues that the right to food?encompassing availability, accessibility, adequacy, sustainability, and stability?is threatened by climate shocks, protracted crises, and systemic inequalities such as gender, age, and livelihood disparities. The authors critique the current AU policy emphasis on mechanization and productivity, advocating instead for agroecological, rights-based food systems. They explore key jurisprudence from the African human rights system (e.g., the SERAC and Ogiek cases) to demonstrate state obligations and the need for greater justiciability. The article emphasizes food sovereignty, the agency of smallholder farmers, and the importance of aligning food policy with human rights frameworks amidst a deepening climate crisis.