The impact of sustainable organic agriculture on food security in sub-Saharan Africa: a mixed methods systematic review with meta-analysis

This study aimed to undertake a comprehensive mixed methods systematic review to examine the effectiveness of sustainable organic agriculture (SOA) in improving food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Medline (Ovid), Embase, Web of Science, ProQuest, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, and SCOPUS/ Elsevier were searched from January 2000 to July 2024. The impact of three types of SOA was evaluated: sustainable intensification practices (SIPs), climate-smart agriculture (CSA), and nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA). Weighted standardised mean differences (SMD) and 95% CIs were used to assess between-group differences using random effect models (I2 > 50%). Seventy-eight studies were eligible for inclusion. Compared to non-adopters of SOA, adopters experienced a 16.33% lower prevalence of food insecurity (95%CI: − 21.62, − 11.03, p < 0.001) and a 5.24% lower prevalence of coping strategies (95%CI − 9.06, − 1.41; p < 0.01). They recorded an additional 1019 kg/ha in cereal yield equivalent (95%CI: 397.05, 1641.39, p < 0.01), USD 155.60 in per capita farm food yield revenue (95%CI 89.40, 221.81; p < 0.001), and USD 57 in per capita income (95%CI 17, 97; p < 0.01). They also reported USD 14 higher per capita food consumption expenditure per year (95%CI 6, 21; p < 0.001), a 10.4% increase in food and nutrient intake (95%CI 6.5, 14.3, p < 0.001), 687.4 kcal higher calorie intake (95%CI 302.0, 1072.9; p < 0.001), a 0.90-point increase in dietary diversity score (95%CI 0.62, 1.19, p < 0.001), a 0.14 standard deviation improvement in children’s height-for-age z-scores (95%CI 0.053, 0.225, p < 0.001), and a 0.28-point increase in women’s BMI (95%CI 0.272, 0.292; p < 0.001). Overall, results were significantly consistent across all sub-Saharan regions as well as SIPs and CSA. SOA practices significantly improve food security among smallholder farming households.