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The number of food-insecure people has been on the rise with sub-Saharan Africa having the greatest number of individuals who are both hungry (about 237 million people) and malnourished (almost 23% of the population). Beyond hunger, a growing number of people have had to reduce the quantities and quality of the food they consume. This makes it almost impossible to have a world with zero hunger by 2030 and achieve SDG 2 target 2.1 of ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food for all people and target 2.2 of eradicating all forms of malnutrition. Most governments globally have pledged to eradicate hunger in their nations by 2030, and one of their solutions is to increase agricultural productivity to meet the needs of all their people. Consequently, with other factors such as extreme weather variability leading to droughts and flooding, economic recessions leading to increased poverty and unemployment and political crisis (to name a few); many communities become exposed to these and may face a food crisis challenge and the food environment (where people meet the food system) is greatly affected. This highlights a recurring challenge in many African communities, especially in South Africa and the complexity of the food system within many low-income countries.

Chair: Liam Riley, Wilfred Laurier University and Balsillie School of International Affairs (LRiley@balsillieschool.ca) Godfrey Tawodzera, (godfreyltawodzera@yahoo.com). University of Namibia The Role of the Informal Sector in Epworth’s Food System Gamuchirai Chakona (g.chakona@ru.ac.za). Rhodes University Households’ dietary patterns and food security challenges in peri-urban South Africa: a reflection of high unemployment and high good prices in the context of female-headed households Jordan Blekking (jblekking@iu.edu). Indiana University Spatial Complexity as a characteristic of urban food systems in Secondary African Cities Lovemore Zuze, University of Livingstonia (itaizuze@gmail.com) The implications of rural migrants to the food retail market system in secondary cities: A case of Mzuzu city in Northern Malawi Issahaka Fuseini, University of Ghana (issahaqf@yahoo.com) ‘We eat everyday but I’m perpetually hungry’: Interrogating food system transformation and (forced) dietary changes in Tamale, Ghana