Imports are central to national food security.

Based on myths surrounding African food supply chains imports are
not leading consumer purchasing habits across the African continent,
recent research published in the Applied Economic Perspectives
and Policy journal finds. The paper shows that of the 850 million
tons of food consumed in sub-Saharan Africa in 2017, African farms
produced 765 million tons and 612 million tons of those (or 80%) are
purchased domestically. The emphasis on imports can overshadow
the success of domestic production and internal trade.
Lawrence Haddad of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
(GAIN), believes everything matters. Looking through the details of
the report, he continues:
“…so it is important to keep trade barriers open during crises as this
is a critical countervailing force for maintaining food flows, indeed
trade closures can be catastrophic and lead to price spikes that do a
lot of damage to livelihoods and hunger. In addition, access to export
markets is very important for growth among the larger farmers and
traders. But to overly focus on imports undermines the importance,
success and further potential of domestic production.”
The realities of food security in this context are not commonplace
in all countries as the many challenges faced by small island states
such as Barbados, Cuba and Dominica in the Caribbean and Fiji,
Samoa and Kiribati in the Pacific.