As of 2024, one in five people in Africa goes to bed hungry, seven-million children under five years of age are malnourished, and 46 million children, mainly from poor smallholder farming households, do not go to school.
Smallholder farmers feed the majority of the African population. As a continent whose economy depends on food systems to feed people but also create decent jobs for youth and women, we are in this dire situation due to a multiplicity of factors, including low agricultural productivity due to degradation of land, loss of biodiversity, climate change impacts, post-harvest losses, lack of access to markets and a general over-reliance on imports to meet critical food needs.
That is notwithstanding evidence that the continent is has great agricultural potential and resources, including a predominantly youthful population, vast tracts of arable land (65 percent of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land), and climatic conditions and various ecosystems (that favour year-round production.
While continental commitments like the Maputo Declaration of 2003, the Malabo Declaration of 2014, the sustainable development Goals, The Paris Climate Agreement , the African Continental Free Trade Area, the agenda 2063 continue to provide direction on how to harness the resources at our disposal to meet our food needs and transform our food systems into powerhouses employing millions of youth, yet progress remains sluggish because of gaps in engaging the private sector to participate in the continent’s food systems.
Drawing on the private sector’s strengths —agility, access to capital, efficiency, and profitability — we can boost food production, improve distribution networks, reduce post-harvest losses and food waste, and expand market access and opportunities for farmers and other players across food systems.
However, to catch this segment’s attention, we must show how agri food systems value chains offer profitable business opportunities that indeed deserve investment while safeguarding our natural capital.
Presently, many producers are uninspired to increase their output because of insufficient returns on their investments. This issue is particularly acute for smallholder enterprises, where middlemen exploit gaps in market access, offering unfair prices, and because of their very limited access to affordable financing and technology, knowledge and capacity but also markets.
To address such challenges, bold and integrated policies are needed to protect small producers along the entire food systems value chains exploitation within the value chain.
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This includes regulations regarding minimum prices and packaging standards, protections when it comes to contract farming for win wing situation when you have public private and producer partnerships , considerations that are often disregarded, much to the chagrin of farmers.
Simultaneously, rapid investment in infrastructure is crucial to improve access to various markets.
Regional food balance sheets are also required at both the national, regional, and continental levels to map demand and supply, ensure consistent produce flows, and address the post-harvest loss challenge, which currently accounts for 40 percent of the food grown in the continent.
Additionally , it is important to support intentionally local procurement while regulating importation when commodities can be produced locally.
By leveraging digital technologies and data analytics, supply chains can be optimized to mobilize private sector participation in the delivery of nutritious food to where it is needed the most, even in remote and underserved regions.
At the continental level, market opportunities are arising from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), an agreement involving 55 African governments that promises to open up intra-continental trade for mostly agricultural products in a $3.4 trillion market.
Meanwhile, while governments and their development partners lead on the policy and international relations front, all stakeholders must unite to promote agriculture and food systems, especially among the youth and build corridors between to make the AfCTA a reality when it comes to food systems.
Tanzania leadership on rice with program Tanzania’s Building a Better Tomorrow – Youth in Africa (BBT-YIA) with youth at the centre is a good example amongts other on the continent Across the continent, it is important to recognize the youth who are reshaping the narrative on agriculture and their potential to convince their peers of the opportunities in food systems.
There are multiple success stories in this area, including many that have used digital technologies to establish thriving agribusinesses.
For example, Hello Tractor, which functions akin to Uber, connects thousands of farmers to affordable mechanization services through a mobile app while making impressive margins.
Similarly, ventures like Kenya’s KeepITCool address cold-chain storage challenges, particularly for perishable products such as vegetables. In Senegal, alongside JeufZone that promotes leadership in agri food, la Laiterie du berger, a social business son milk industry, we have new MSMEs like Lelionceau that promotes food for babies and toddlers with local ingredients.
Here in Rwanda, Magofarm is working to lower the cost of chicken feed through organic insect protein. All these companies have similarities, including the fact that they were founded by youth as private-owned investments, are exploring technology to solve common food system challenges, and are profitable. There are hundreds more across the continent that can be used to showcase what youth can do in food systems and inspire others to follow their lead.
Finally, beside the enabling environment government should establish for MSMEs and private sector to thrive, it is important to recognize that financing is a key driver of private sector participation, and initiatives aimed at accelerating access to finance by private enterprises go a long way in encouraging involvement.
The Agribusiness Deal Room, a platform at the annual summit of the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFS Forum), stands out in this aspect, as it brings together governments, development organizations, investors, and private sector players in a common space to raise financing for food systems initiatives. Last year alone, 10 governments, 60 SMEs, and 150 capital providers participated in the Deal Room, where each SME had the opportunity to connect with three investors, resulting in a pipeline of $140 million, with $ 3.5 million confirmed at the summit itself. Similar opportunities will be present at this year’s AFS Forum summit, to be held in early September 2-6 in Kigali, Rwanda.
There, Africa’s food system stakeholders will meet for discussions and deal-making under the theme, ‘Innovate, Accelerate and Scale: Delivering Food Systems Transformation In A Digital And Climate Era,’ which underscores the urgent need to radically transform African food systems by prioritizing the participation and leadership of youth and women. It is expected that this year Forum will, as a whole, yield outcomes for enhanced local food production with the digital technologies and innovative solutions, bolstered resilience to climate change, uplifted African livelihoods particularly youth and women, and a heightened potential by Africa to tackle global challenges.
Amath Pathé Sene is the Managing Director of Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF).
