Why is wheat a strategic crop for Africa?

Abstract

In the 1990's, economists considered wheat to be a "minor food" for consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. But wheat is a no longer a minor crop. African countries will spend about US$20 billion to import some 40 million tons of wheat, used mostly to feed the continent's rapidly expanding population. This constitutes more than a third of Africa's total food import expenditures (ca US$ 50 billion). As consumption rates and populations coupled with urbanization increase, the WHEAT CGIAR Research Program is committed to sustainably improving food security in Africa today for future generations. The aim is to reduce the growing dependence on wheat imports by making wheat-based systems more productive and resilient, thus increasing farmers' incomes.