Industrial Policy for a Just Transition to a Green Economy – The Importance of Regional Food Value Chains in Southern Africa

This paper builds on the theme ‘climate change, industrial development, and a just transition and green industrial policy’ as part of the working paper series of the SARChI Chair in Industrial Development. The paper underscores the importance of regional food value chains, and the role of industrial policy in supporting a just transition within the SADC region. Climate change requires rapid, major and systemic economic changes at the local, national and global levels. In particular, these changes need to happen in food, energy and transport. At the same time, the increasing concentration of ownership and control of businesses means many are excluded from meaningful economic participation. Inclusion and sustainability must be addressed together, as the changes needed to respond to climate change require broad-based support from widening economic participation if they are to be implemented. Through in-depth assessment of three value chains and six selected countries, this paper addresses two key challenges. First, what are the changes necessary in food value chains to respond to climate change in Southern Africa? As witnessed in the last decade, climate change is manifesting as extreme weather conditions and is affecting the SADC geographical space in different ways, with Southern Africa being a global climate ‘hotspot’. The shocks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic have further highlighted the need to invest in stronger regional food value chains. The second major challenge is to support industrial development linked to food. Urbanisation has meant a growing demand for processed food products. Understanding changes in food production and consumption requires adopting a regional value chain approach to assess the development of capabilities throughout the levels in the value chains – from the agricultural production and manufacturing of food to the wholesale and retail of products. This paper draws on a growing body of research to set out the key factors that have driven the development of regional value chains over the past ten years and identifies the key industrial policy challenges that need to be confronted for a structural transformation of regional food value chains