logo
African countries ranked among world's 50 most food self-sufficient countries

African countries ranked among world's 50 most food self-sufficient countries

Feeding your own people everything they need, from fruits and vegetables to dairy and fish, is harder than it sounds. Out of 186 countries studied, just one, Guyana, hit the mark for full food self-sufficiency across all seven major food groups. That's according to a new study published in Nature Food (May 2025), which compared national food production to recommended dietary guidelines.
Researchers examined food self-sufficiency across countries, assessing national production against dietary needs in seven essential food groups: fruit, vegetables, legumes, starchy staples, meat, fish, and dairy.
The study, titled Gap between national food production and food-based dietary guidance highlights lack of national self-sufficiency, found that only Guyana met 100% self-sufficiency across all categories.
While European nations struggled particularly with fruit and vegetable production, and many Asian countries fell short in dairy, several African countries made a surprising appearance among the top 50 most self-sufficient nations.
Eight African countries made the list, including the military-led countries of Mali and Niger, both of which remain in a state of political transition.
Their inclusion shows the continued strength of subsistence and small-scale agriculture despite governance challenges. Cameroon and Senegal also featured among the continent's top performers, with strong domestic production of starchy staples, legumes, and fish helping them meet internal food demands.
The study emphasised that self-sufficiency scores below 100% indicate import needs, while scores above suggest a surplus suitable for export.
Below are the African countries ranked amongst 50 most food self-sufficient countries in the world:
Rank Country Fruit Starchy staples Dairy
1 Mali 107% 236% 69%
2 Niger 29% 142% 101%
3 Cameroon 296% 193% 15%
4 Senegal 23% 82% 20%
5 South Sudan 61% 107% 303%
6 Tunisia 188% 18% 170%
7 Malawi 243% 221% 17%
8 Morocco 161% 22% 65%
Most African nations still rely on imports for dairy and meat products, but tend to perform better in crop-based categories, particularly legumes and staples like cassava, maize, and millet.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Photos show the extreme inequality between rich and poor Americans during the Gilded Age
Photos show the extreme inequality between rich and poor Americans during the Gilded Age

Business Insider

time20 hours ago

  • Business Insider

Photos show the extreme inequality between rich and poor Americans during the Gilded Age

The Gilded Age was a period of enormous wealth for some and extreme poverty for others. Photos show how the poor lived in cramped tenements while the rich built multiple mansions. The Gilded Age's wealth inequality eventually led to reforms in the Progressive Era. All that glitters is not gold. The Gilded Age, a period of rapid industrialization and extravagant displays of wealth, gets its name from Mark Twain's 1873 novel about greed and corruption. While gilded ceilings and furnishings are coated in gold, appearing shiny and luxurious, they serve as a metaphor for the dark underbelly of exploitation and inequality that allowed the richest 0.01% of Americans to hold 9% of the country's wealth by monopolizing entire industries while the poor sank deeper into poverty. Photos show the gaping economic disparities that existed during the Gilded Age. During the Gilded Age, Fifth Avenue in New York City was known as "Millionaires' Row." Wealthy families like the Astors, the Goulds, and the Vanderbilts built enormous homes on " Millionaires' Row" modeled after European palaces and chateaus to display their riches. Manhattan's Eighth Avenue, however, was full of slum dwellings. Members of high society owned several homes and rotated between them throughout the year. Newport, Rhode Island, was a popular location for summer "cottages" like The Breakers, a 138,300-square-foot mansion built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, and Marble House, a mansion with 140,000 square feet of living space built by William K. Vanderbilt and Alva Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, many itinerant workers experienced homelessness. The term "homelessness" was used in the US for the first time during the Gilded Age in the 1870s, according to a 2018 study published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The rapid period of urbanization and industrialization made some business tycoons rich and spurred others from less fortunate circumstances to move to cities in search of work, where they slept in shelters or on the streets. Gilded Age mansions featured dozens of rooms for entertaining, dining, and sleeping. The Breakers mansion, which was completed in 1895, featured 70 rooms, including the Great Hall, Billiard Room, Music Room, Morning Room, and Library, as well as bedrooms for the Vanderbilts and their 40 staff members. In New York City's tenement apartments, entire families crammed into one room. The poor hygiene, sanitation, and ventilation in tenement dwellings made disease outbreaks spread quickly. Photographer Jacob Riis documented the squalid conditions in slums and tenements in New York City, which he published in a book titled "How the Other Half Lives" in 1890. Business tycoons like Jay Gould commuted to their New York City offices via train or steam yacht. Gould refused to ride the railroad tracks near his Lyndhurst Mansion estate in Tarrytown, New York, because they were owned by his archrivals, the Vanderbilts. Instead, he commuted into New York City via the Hudson River on his steam yacht, the Atalanta, with his 100-pound Wooton desk in tow. Others worked in sweatshops. In addition to photographing tenements and slums, Riis took photos of sweatshops to show the difficult conditions workers endured. Members of high society attended galas at opulent settings like the Hotel Astor. The Hotel Astor was built in Times Square in 1905 after the neighboring Waldorf and Astoria hotels merged into the Waldorf Astoria in 1897. Hotel staff members who kept the silver gleaming and the liquor flowing remained largely out of sight. Workers were photographed buffing and polishing silver tableware in the kitchens of the Hotel Astor in 1905. Children of the wealthy, like Consuelo Vanderbilt, lived privileged lives, though they didn't always have personal autonomy. Consuelo Vanderbilt, daughter of William K. Vanderbilt and Alva Vanderbilt, grew up in the height of luxury, but was largely dominated by her mother. In 1895, Alva Vanderbilt forced her daughter to marry the Duke of Marlborough despite her love for another man. Among poor populations, child labor was commonplace. Around 18% of children aged between 10 and 15 in the US were employed between 1890 and 1910, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, often in factory and mining jobs. The extreme inequality of the Gilded Age led to political and social reforms in the Progressive Era that followed. The Progressive Era ushered in changes such as women's suffrage, labor unions, and laws such as the Clayton Antitrust Act designed to prevent a select few companies from amassing monopolies. The age of the "robber baron" began to fade, and their mansions on "Millionaires' Row" were torn down to make room for New York City's continuing expansion.

My Neighbors Stared. I Cut My Lawn With a Scythe Anyway.
My Neighbors Stared. I Cut My Lawn With a Scythe Anyway.

New York Times

time2 days ago

  • New York Times

My Neighbors Stared. I Cut My Lawn With a Scythe Anyway.

Finally, after months of fiddling and frustration, my scythe was actually cutting something. The massive blade on this ancient mowing tool sliced through row after row of overgrown weeds with nice, easy swings. And it was quieter and worked faster than a modern-day string trimmer. Up to this point, I'd been hacking and grunting my way around the yard. I'd heard that scything could be relaxing, even meditative, but all I'd done was curse and sweat, and repress the mild embarrassment I felt when the neighbors stared. Who would enjoy this? Maybe struggle and self-denial were the point, and inner peace would blossom from the pain of living like a medieval peasant. But social media videos from scything celebrities including Slåttergubben and Scythe Dad made it look so smooth and productive — a healthy workout, for sure, though nothing like the punishment I'd been inflicting on my back and arms. So I sank another $100 into yet another piece of gear, dedicated another hour to learning yet another ancient technique, and took one last crack at this goofy experiment. Here was the payoff. The flow state I'd been promised was finally setting in. Then an old SUV rumbled up, and the driver called out, 'Wow, a real-life grim reaper. Nice scythe, kid.' Transcendent. Your neighbors will stare, but a scythe is a beautiful, meditative tool. If used correctly, it's very effective at cutting grass or an overgrown area. $197 from Lee Valley Tools For a European-style scythe (like the one we recommend), you'll need to shape the blade's edge before you can really sharpen it. This peening jig is the easiest way to do that. Once the blade was properly sharpened, my scythe made quick work of the overgrowth. A neighbor even stopped to show his appreciation. Liam McCabe and Aubrey Patti/NYT Wirecutter My quest had been inspired by Wirecutter's guide to string trimmers, into which my colleague Doug Mahoney snuck a scythe recommendation. He called it a 'beautiful, meditative tool' for those who are 'constantly looking for a 'different way,' and don't mind being seen as a little odd.' I definitely got my neighbors' attention — some stared, others pretended not to see me, and a few seemed concerned. But there were also people who struck up friendlier conversations and shared their own scything stories. The guy in the SUV told me about the one time he'd used a scythe. Another neighbor talked about watching her Central European grandfather swing a scythe around the garden — even after the Soviet Union had dissolved and lawnmowers became easier to find. Your neighbors will stare, but a scythe is a beautiful, meditative tool. If used correctly, it's very effective at cutting grass or an overgrown area. $197 from Lee Valley Tools As far as actually cutting the grass? Occasionally I bludgeoned the tips off of some leaf blades, but mostly I huffed and puffed without much to show for it. A couple times I convinced myself that I was working more efficiently due to a small adjustment I'd made to my scything stance or the angle of the blade. But that was wishful thinking. After a few weeks, I still hadn't gotten the hang of it, and my front yard was becoming an eyesore. I didn't want to give the neighbors too much to talk about, so I went back to managing it with my mower and string trimmer. Time away from the mower gave me a renewed appreciation for how fast and neat it is to use one. A lawn mower is louder than the scythe, but my front yard sits next to a busy state road, and the traffic is louder than most yard equipment anyway. My mower also runs on batteries, so to the extent that I care about minimizing its impact on the local environment, I'm perfectly comfortable with that setup. As for the string trimmer, meh: It's slow and uncomfortable, and it makes a mess. But it does the job where the mower can't. Still, I'd already spent almost $200 on the scythe setup, and at least it was decent exercise. So I resolved not to give up entirely, and I let my backyard grow into a wild scything laboratory while I tried to figure things out. Some successful scythers suggest that the quickest way to pick up all of the necessary skills is to attend a workshop. But I couldn't find any within driving distance of my house. It was only after I turned to another primordial technology — printed books at a public library — that I finally figured out my problem: I'd never properly sharpened the blade. Scythe Dad — or Sebastian Burke, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania — told me that he'd gotten into scything about a year ago, basically the same way that I did. 'It started as sort of a joke with a friend,' he said. In Burke's viral scything TikToks (filmed and posted by his wife, Lyndsey), each smooth swing of the scythe completely clears a neat semi-circle of grass, so it almost looks like it's lying down and taking a nap. A key difference between us is that Burke spent hundreds of dollars and put in hours of research and sweat equity over several months in order to learn how to sharpen his scythe. I, on the other hand, had tried to save a few bucks. Why buy some obscure sharpening tool — useful only for scythe blades — until I figured out whether I enjoyed scything in the first place? Scythe blades come in a wide range of sizes. I chose a 30-inch blade, which is a good length for slicing light grass and thicker weeds alike. The entire kit weighs only a couple of pounds. Liam McCabe/NYT Wirecutter But that's not how it works. If you're scything, you're also sharpening. European-style blades, like the one I bought, usually need to be 'peened' first. Peening is the process of hammering the business end of the blade's malleable steel into a fine edge. So as much as I tried to hone the fresh factory edge with a whetstone (and later a bastard file), it remained hopelessly dull. For a European-style scythe (like the one we recommend), you'll need to shape the blade's edge before you can really sharpen it. This peening jig is the easiest way to do that. If you don't commit to buying a full set of peening and sharpening gear on day one, and then practice how to use it — essentially an entire hobby on its own — then scything is a waste of time. There's no dabbling. You either need to go all in or stick with your lawnmower and weed whacker. As Burke and I had to do, you'll probably need to teach yourself every aspect of scything: stance, setup, sharpening, all of it. I eventually found great video tutorials on all of those topics. But because scything is such a niche pursuit, the advice didn't land in my feeds with the sort of algorithmic serendipity I'd grown accustomed to for, say, gardening or DIY home improvement. My scythe was hopelessly dull until I hammered it out with a peening jig, which smushes the malleable steel blade into a thinner edge. Everyone I watched on YouTube had mounted the jig in a stump, so that's what I did too. Liam McCabe/NYT Wirecutter The handle, or 'snath,' that I bought wasn't very good (it's not from the kit we recommend). And I've struggled to get a good cutting angle even after some modifications. If I could do it again, I'd spend extra on a better setup. Liam McCabe/NYT Wirecutter My scythe was hopelessly dull until I hammered it out with a peening jig, which smushes the malleable steel blade into a thinner edge. Everyone I watched on YouTube had mounted the jig in a stump, so that's what I did too. Liam McCabe/NYT Wirecutter Burke said he ended up learning a lot through trial and error. He's tried out a few snaths (handles), a half-dozen blades, and other accessories. After experimenting with different peening and honing tools and techniques for a couple of months — going so far as to check the edges under a microscope — he could finally get the blades sharp enough that scything started to feel easy. 'Once I got a feel for it, then it was like, 'I can't go back,'' Burke said. 'It's even starting to dictate how I garden now.' Since a scythe is so much quieter than a lawnmower, he usually cuts the grass before his family wakes up in the morning or after they go to bed. Burke said he finds it easier to scythe the slopes of his property than to push a lawnmower up and down them. The long, neatly cut grass makes a great mulch. He's happy that he's not spraying spools' worth of nylon string trimmer shards into the ecosystem every year. And then there's the vibe: 'The meditative satisfaction is really rewarding … the texture, the feel of it, the sounds — you hear birds all around you.' I'm still chasing that bliss. Even after I bought a peening jig and hammered out the edge of the blade well enough to glide it through all of those overgrown weeds, my scythe still wasn't cutting grass very well. Should I change the angle of the blade? Do I need an even-sharper edge? I need to do more research, and there's probably more gear that I need to buy. Did I mention I like my lawnmower? This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Maxine Builder. Clean up your lawn's ragged edges, awkward corners, and steep slopes with a string trimmer. Keep your lawn looking great with these low-hassle, high-performing mowers. A version of Ego's powerful, efficient, cordless lawn mower has been our top pick since 2019.

Growing up, I called myself Chinese. A high school project helped me understand the difference.
Growing up, I called myself Chinese. A high school project helped me understand the difference.

Business Insider

time2 days ago

  • Business Insider

Growing up, I called myself Chinese. A high school project helped me understand the difference.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ginny Wu, 32, a Taiwanese-American UCLA graduate living in Taiwan. Her words have been edited for length and clarity. For my dad's generation, the American dream was about building a better future for their kids. My uncle was the first in his family to get a green card. He eventually sponsored his siblings, including my dad, to leave Taiwan and move to the US. I was born and raised in the States, and never expected that, decades later, I'd end up moving in the opposite direction — back to Taiwan, where their journey had begun. I grew up in a small town Both of my parents are from Taitung, a rural county in southeastern Taiwan. My paternal grandpa was the county magistrate there, and my grandma ran a rice mill business. My dad moved to America in the late 1970s. A job opportunity brought him to Santa Clara, before he moved to Anaheim and then Texas, where he co-ran a motel and even managed an emu ranch. He traveled back to Taiwan to get married, and in 1988, my mom joined him in the US. I was born and raised in Norco, a small, rural town in Southern California. My dad loved the countryside and bought a house there. The town wasn't very diverse, and I was often one of just a few Asian kids in my class. I feel fortunate that I never really experienced racism growing up. At home, we spoke Mandarin. I hated studying the language as a kid, but now I'm grateful — I use Mandarin every day. An assignment changed the way I view identity Growing up, I didn't think much about what being Asian actually meant. I'd say I was Chinese — partly because we spoke it at home, partly because that's what teachers checked on school forms. That changed in high school, when I started the International Baccalaureate program. I wrote my extended essay on how Japanese colonization shaped Taiwanese identity. None of my previous history classes had covered that Taiwan was occupied by Japan for 50 years — my parents never went through it in depth either But the topic hit home. It helped explain why my dad said Japanese phrases before meals, and why my parents used Japanese loanwords without realizing. Exploring the Japanese influences helped me make sense of it all. Exploring that influence deepened my understanding of Taiwan's story, and my own. That essay planted a seed. A few months after graduating from UCLA with a degree in economics, I was hired by Northrop Grumman, an aerospace and defense company. Over the next four years, I worked as a financial analyst in a professional development program rotation. In my last rotation, I pivoted to a different track, taking on a role as a business process analyst in aerospace systems. Despite having a stable job, I started to feel boxed in. I'd never lived anywhere else, and I wanted to see what life outside Southern California could be like. The first move That desire led me to join Anchor Taiwan, a one-month startup immersion program, in 2018. I took time off work to attend, and it changed everything. Experiencing Taiwan as an adult, without my parents and surrounded by peers, helped me imagine building a life here. By the end of the year, I'd quit my job, packed up, and moved to Taipei. I didn't have a job lined up at first. I enrolled in Mandarin classes while job hunting and eventually landed a role at Taiwan Startup Stadium. That was my entry point into the local tech world. When I told my parents I was moving, my mom wasn't thrilled. Having grown up during financially unstable times in Taiwan, she valued career stability and didn't love the idea of me quitting. But she also knew I hadn't felt fulfilled. While they weren't exactly enthusiastic, they were supportive. I was lucky to have extended family in Taiwan — I stayed at my aunt's place while getting settled. I also applied for full Taiwanese citizenship so I could vote and now have my Taiwan ID. Taipei reshaped me I used to be a homebody, like my parents, but the city has drawn out a more social, spontaneous side. My closest friends are mostly locals who speak incredible English, and I feel more connected to my extended family than ever. Work-wise, the transition's actually been smoother than I thought. I'm not at a traditional local company, though — I've heard those can be pretty hierarchical and intense. Taipei has pushed me out of my bubble in the best way. It's clean, convenient, and safe. I walk or bike alone at night without a second thought. I take the bus to work, meet friends for dinner or to go rock climbing, and sometimes jog around the track near my office. Of course, there are things I miss about the US. My parents — now in their 70s and 80s — are still there, and they've never visited me in Taiwan. But I used to get anxious about the smallest things, like mailing a package or ordering a meal. Now, I navigate life in a new language, in a system I didn't grow up in. I've built something from scratch, and that feels like home. I dream of launching a business here one day.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store