JSPES, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Winter 2013)
pp. 441 –461

The Persistence of Famine in Sub-Saharan Africa

Kema Irogbe

Claflin University
Orangeburg, South Carolina

This paper examines the problem of famine in postindependence
sub-Saharan Africa with a view toward determining
appropriate remedies. Some scholars place the problem on the
legacy of imbalanced economic development under colonialism, on climate change, on extremely rapid population growth resulting from global disease control measures, on excessive urbanization, and on natural disasters such as drought. This paper takes a holistic approach by contending that food shortages in post-independence sub-Saharan Africa have been caused by not only these factors but also by a shortage of modern agricultural machinery, by governmental mismanagement and corruption, by wars, by a brain drain to more prosperous countries, and even by food aid which serves as a disincentive to local production. It is further argued that the pervasiveness of famine will continue until a genuinely transparent, accountable, and responsive governmental system that recognizes the values of the rule of law and good governance has been firmly established throughout the region.