This article is part of the US-China Dynamics series, edited by Muqtedar Khan, Jiwon Nam and Amara Galileo.

*Originally published in 2024 and preserved as part of our archive project.Get E-International Relations delivered to your inbox, free of charge. As you sign up, consider becoming a paid subscriber to support our work.

Africa is still affected by hunger and malnutrition, despite its description as the food basket of the global system. This recurrent problem is partly due to the outbreak of COVID-19, climate change (inaction on climate change by African governments), conflicts in some African states, and an unhealthy rivalry between China and America who together largely dominate imported food supplies. By this, Africa is vulnerable to all manners of burdens inherent in the terms of reference embedded in most of the agreements and partnerships from these global giants. Importantly, while China and America compete sternly to partner with Africa as proposed by SDG 17, in a bid to achieve other goals, especially "food for all or no hunger", evidence shows that this gesture is more of competition for power and influence over Africa’s food security sector. Consequently, this leads to the impoverishment of Africa, especially, in food security and by extension, food sovereignty. It has made Africa lose ownership of some of its resources such as medicinal plants (hoodia from San), arable lands and water along coastal lines to China or America all in the name of partnership (Amusan 2017). This is concretised through controversial intellectual property rights (IPRs) (Bond, 2006). Comparatively, Africa contributes the least to the emission of greenhouse gases but suffers the most from and since Africa is largely dependent on agriculture, which is climate-sensitive (Nyasimi et al 2013), its ability to produce food to eradicate hunger and malnutrition is steadily hampered.

Although the global system has proposed SDG 13 (Action on Climate), to combat climate change in a bid to promote food security, African governments seem to be lacking the required technologies, governance, and resources to adequately and urgently take action through climate adaptation and mitigation. This has further pushed Africa to depend on a partnership with countries like China and America; indeed, the two states have extended assistance to Africa in the area of climate change. In 2021, China and Africa collaboratively made a declaration to combat climate change in the continent. Beijing specifically launched over 100 clean energy and green development projects to assist African countries in better utilizing solar, hydropower, wind, biogas and other renewable sources of energy (Forum on China-African Cooperation 2021). China has been committed to investing in Africa, especially on environmental issues, since the late 1990s (Li et al 2013). This investment is made possible because of China’s economic development, though this is not without some challenges due to the contribution of this development to environmental hazards (Economy 2007; Kaplinsky & Messner 2008). 

China's political and economic status, especially in Africa, has continually challenged the US. This, over the years, has constituted a rivalry over which country holds the greatest influence on the global system (Economy 2018; Sutter 2016). Relatedly, through the initiative of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN), the US aimed to transform 50 million Africans from poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2022 (USAID 2021). America had supported Africa to combat the impacts of climate change, especially in areas of mitigation and adaptation. It offered technical support to incorporate Climate-Smart-Agriculture (CSA) into national and regional food security plans and uses climate data, modelling and training to assist African countries in adopting CSA (USAID 2021). Similarly, America had been committed to offering technical support to strengthen the African Union (AU) Commission to empower women in agriculture (AU 2022). America has also been contributing to poverty alleviation in Africa through NAFSN, which increases private sector investment and public-private partnerships for smallholder farming (USAID 2021).

All of these imply that China and America have played a critical role in food security in Africa. However, a tangible proportion of Africa's population still suffers from hunger and malnutrition. These circumstances have partly been blamed on rivalry in Africa's food security sector and the ulterior motive behind most assistance and partnerships from these global economic giants. Thus, when one contextualizes the politics behind food aid in developing areas as discussed by many scholars (Ravenhill 2017; Thomas, Lamy & Masker 2019; Webb & Thorne-Lyman 2007), gestures may be seen as Greek gifts in the long run.

China’s relations with some African countries over loans, financial assistance, and seizures of national assets show that Beijing's partnerships with Africa are largely motivated by investment and profits. Despite China's presence, in terms of assistance and collaborative action on climate change with some African governments, the import of food supplies continues at about 85%, making an annual food bill of $35 billion (Olander 2021). Over-reliance on imported food leaves most African countries vulnerable to China and America's hegemonic rivalry in food security. This vulnerability, before now, has been typically blamed on civil wars (e.g. Liberia and Sierra Leone) and inter-state wars (e.g. Ethiopia-Eritrea). Similarly, climate change is a serious threat to food production in Africa. Greenhouse gases increase tendencies of famine and drought in some African states (Amusan and Olutola 2016).

Exacerbating the situation, the World Food Program (WFP) reports that hunger has increased by 30% since the outbreak of COVID-19, which is the highest level in a decade (WFP 2021). The questions then are, what could have happened to various data and statistics that predicted Africa as the food basket of the world? Could it be that partnerships and supports from China and America are means of consolidating their hegemonic influence and power on Africa’s food security sector? What is the motive behind their hegemonic rivalry in Africa's food security? Could cooperation rather than the rivalry between these global giants be beneficial to food security in Africa? These questions bring to the fore the relevance of this article, which seeks to examine the hegemonic rivalry in food security between America and China in Africa. It specifically advances knowledge about the remote rationale behind China and America's dominance by design in the food security of Africa. Research in this field will enhance understanding of how cooperation rather than conflict between China and America could assist Africa in achieving SDGs 1, 2. 14, and 15 by 2030.

Problematizing China’s and America’s Hegemonic Rivalry

Africa, like other continents, has a target of meeting all the 17 SDGs, globally set to be accomplished by 2030 (UN 2015). One of these goals is “no hunger or food for all”. By this goal, it means that countries must be food secure in terms of food availability, accessibility, affordability, stability, and utilization (UN 2015). However, the combination of factors such as negative impacts of climate change, explosive population, conflicts, poor governance, increased inequalities, and poverty among others have made Africa suffer from hunger and malnutrition (Amusan 2010). Hence, its reliance on food assistance from developed countries. Farmers in Africa, especially women, lack information on climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, which not only contributes to gender inequality in the agricultural sector, or a threat to food production and distribution, but also aggravates poverty situations in the continent (Amusan 2014; Agunyai & Amusan 2023). Conflicts, poor governance, and rapid population growth are partly agents of food insecurity in Africa. Farmers who are displaced from working on their farms, due to conflicts and natural disasters, would contribute very little or nothing to food production and distribution. These circumstances have continually rendered Africa vulnerable to inordinate and unhealthy rivalry practices. This often takes the form of scrambling for food assistance through humanitarian assistance partnerships as dictated by SDG 17 from China and America.  

Despite measures to address Africa’s vulnerability through supposedly assistance and partnership programs from external powers, Africa has continually struggled with the problem of food insecurity (Carmodi 2011; Paarlberg 2013; Agunyai 2023). According to the 2022 Action Against Hunger release, hunger and malnutrition have remained entrenched. China and America have been supporting Africa in critical areas of food security, especially on climate change, adoption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) with emphasis on food and animals, transfer of agricultural technologies, and provision of credit and financial assistance – yet, as noted, positive outcomes remain elusive which questions the motives of both China and America (Ferchen, 2022). Based on the results, it seems that the rivalry for dominance and influence between China and America (under the guise of assisting Africa to achieve food security) has further impoverished the continent. One way to see this is through large scale farming being introduced to the continent – which focuses more on the production of industrial inputs, alternatives to fossil fuels, animal feeds and possible exportation of produced food to the home states of producers (Lymbery and Oakshott 2014; Pearce 2012). Their activities impair the supposed advantages of foreign direct investment (FDI) and corporate social responsibilities that are claimed to be an engine of growth and development in developing areas (Amusan 2015). China and America's hegemonic rivalry looks like the recolonization and impoverishment of Africa to further industrialize their own country (Olander 2022, Ferchen 2022). A further example of this can be seen with the introduction of “terminator seeds” (Amusan 2019; Walters 2011) and GMOs (Howard, 2016).

This article is premised on the fact that, if the current hegemonic rivalry persists, Africa’s target to achieve SDGs 1, 2, 14, and 15 may remain a mirage. Extant studies on China’s and America’s collaborations with Africa have been too focused on rivalry, while a potential cooperation for Africa’s food security goal is rarely examined (The Conversation 2020). This constitutes the major concern of this article, using cooperation between China and America as the basis for the achievement of sustainable food security in Africa from an agroecological perspective.

Mapping the Application of Agroecological Theory

Agroecology holds the view that new standards or models of management remain the basis for carrying out ecologically biodiverse, sustainable, resilient and socially just agrosystems (Altieri 1995). It specifically stipulates that the combination of science with traditional, practical, and indigenous knowledge will adequately boost sustainable agricultural production systems. It sees local communities and farmers as agents of change. The theory advocates for the autonomy and adaptive capacity of local producers in a bid to bring the needed development in systems........

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