As the food industry plays an important role in providing the basics and necessities for supporting human activities and behaviors (Zhong et al., 2017), food safety remains a concern of almost every consumer, and government (Beske et al, 2014). It therefore aims to identify and theorize on supply chain best practices in the food sector within a context that is characterized by high social pressure and economic disruption.

This Special Issue explores the dynamics of technologies and how such technologies can match the supply chain processes with local needs and enabling African economies to move toward food self-sufficiency. Furthermore, understanding how the different nodes are interconnected within the African supply chains would not only help in identifying improvement points but also strengthen local collaborations to face the challenges of globalization.

This Special Issue aims to address the following key questions:

• What are the difficulties facing food supply chains in Africa?
• How is the issue of food insufficiency related to inadequate agricultural production?
• What roles does transportation and storage of crops play?
• What role does inadequacy of food transformation and/or conservation units play?
• How can technology contribute to improving food supply chains in the African context?
• What are the opportunities and barriers to implementing technologies in Africa’s food supply chains?

List of Topic Areas

We are interested in papers that advance the debate on the supply chain practices and strategies to cope with insufficiencies and disruptions to food supply in Africa.

Topics should include but are not limited to the following six areas:

1. The use or adaptation of new technologies in supply chains to improve food sufficiency in Africa;
2. Collaboration and cooperation within local supply chains to minimize the negative effects of food disruptions;
3. The role of innovation in African food supply chains and logistics;
4. Integration and inter-relationships between food supply chains, knowledge sharing, and learning;
5. Agrofood supply chains in a disrupted environment, exploring how they adapt to disruptions and crises;
6. Last-mile challenges for perishable goods in an uncertain environment.

Guest Editors

Elock Son Célestin, Université de Lorraine (France), Celestin.elock-son@univ-lorraine.fr

Micheline Juliana Naude, University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), naudem@ukzn.ac.za

Adegoke Oke W.P., Carey School of Business, Arizona State University (USA), Adegoke.Oke@asu.edu

Innocent Senyo Kwasi Acquah, School of Business, University of Cape Coast (Ghana), iacquah@ucc.edu.gh

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Author guidelines must be strictly followed.

Submit via ScholarOne

Author Guidelines

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”.

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 21st February 2026

Closing date for manuscripts submission: 21st July 2026

For more details refer here

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