Cross-border environmental impacts of agri-food systems and potential solutions towards sustainability: a case study of trade between Europe and Africa.

Some nations and regions, such as the European Union (EU), use food ingredients and agri-food products that are not produced within their borders while being essential for their food security and food systems. This product flow through international trade means that these regions are connected to water resources outside their borders. It also means they create subsequent environmental and social effects in the original production locations, a phenomenon called ‘cross-border impacts”.  For example, these imports can be a substantial part of existing problems of water depletion and pollution in producing regions since every step in the food system such as growing, harvesting, transportation, production, packaging, and retail consume and pollute water. Furthermore, agricultural production in exporting regions provides the lion’s share of greenhouse-gas emissions from the food systems.

This study first maps the cross-border environmental footprints of agri-food systems in Europe (water and carbon footprints) along the supply chain of major imported agri-food products from Africa. Second, it determines the vulnerability of these agri-food systems to climate change. Third, it identifies potential solutions to minimize the vulnerabilities and environmental impacts of the agri-food systems that are connecting Europe and Africa.

The study shows that the cross-border environmental impact of European agri-food systems on Africa is largely related to imports of oranges, potatoes, grapes, tangerines, and tomatoes. For example, the water footprint of this trade is approximately 5 km3 per year.  These products originate from water-scarce areas such as North Africa (Egypt, Morocco) and South Africa. Furthermore, climate change will reduce water availability in these regions, e.g., 20% less water is expected in North African countries by 2050.

Minimization of food loss and waste along the supply chain of the Europe-Africa trade is investigated as a potential solution to reduce the environmental footprint of this trade. It is found that around a 30% reduction in water footprint can be achieved by eliminating food waste at the consumer level in Europe. Further reductions in environmental impacts can be achieved if manufacturing and transportation losses are minimized as well, up to 10% and 20% reductions in the water footprint and carbon footprint, respectively. Another solution to reduce the footprint of agri-food systems is to source relevant products locally instead of importing from Africa. This option significantly reduces carbon footprints (up to 60%) but not much for water footprints (around 10% reduction). For some food items such as oranges, more water can be saved if they are imported from Africa rather than locally produced in Europe.

This study concludes that the sustainability of agri-food systems has a cross-border dimension, which is mostly neglected in national policies of sustainable production and consumption. The sustainability of such imported agri-food products can be understood by assessing their environmental impacts at production locations. Improving production efficiencies at exporting regions (e.g., reduction of production losses and waste) and minimizing waste of these products at consumer levels can help reduce the environmental consequences of this trade and help achieve our sustainability goals.