The role of innovation and technologies in supply chain management addressing food insufficiency in Africa

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Introduction

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).  Studying the Food Supply Chain is important, specifically in Africa where food insufficiency has been recognized as prevalent and where the population, according to the UN, is expected to reach 3 billion in 2050. The challenge to feed this population is daunting. 

Governments and firms operating in Africa face several obstacles in meeting this challenge. These include poor and underdeveloped transportation infrastructure and erratic energy supply in spite of large availability of resources and poor economies.

According to the World Bank, Africa has nearly 600 million hectares of uncultivated arable land – approximately 60% of the world’s total. However, this potential remains largely underutilized due to the local populations' limited access to daily food needs. African firms and governments can leap frog in innovations and technologies implementation. This situation highlights the need for academic discourse and empirical research on how effective supply chain management, supported by appropriate technologies, can help alleviate food insufficiency.

Food supply chains in Africa are characterized by the presence of many vulnerable participants, such as smallholder farmers and purchasing clerks (Bai et al., 2022) who generally rely on collaborative practices and transparency to respond to economic pressures and to achieve greater coordination in the chains (Matopoulos et al., 2007).

However, the use of Western-centric supply chain models, like logistics planning models, common in developed countries may be ineffective in Africa due to its unique contextual characteristics. The originality of this Special Issue lies in its focus on examining a food supply chain management model tailored to Africa. 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.

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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