African Agriculture: A Catalyst for Economic Development and Job Creation

Africa hosts roughly two-thirds of the world’s uncultivated arable land and enjoys about 300 days of sunshine each year. While many advanced economies face stagnant or declining populations, Africa’s 1.6‑billion inhabitants make it the second‑largest continent, with the fastest‑growing population and a median age of just 19.5 years.

Approximately 60 % of Africans work in agriculture, and the continent is a leading producer of cocoa, coffee, tea, cassava, cotton and sweet potatoes.

Economic growth for 2026 is forecast at 4 % this year and 4.2 % next, well above the global average of 2.7 % and outpacing many of the world’s fastest‑growing economies such as Ethiopia, Guinea, Rwanda and Uganda.

The 54 African nations are establishing a $3.4 trillion single market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to dismantle internal tariffs and non‑tariff barriers and raise intra‑African trade from its current level of around 15 % of total African trade.

Despite these promising signs, Africa’s agricultural sector remains far from its potential. According to UNCTAD, 794 million Africans — about 60 % of the continent’s population — suffer from food insecurity, even though the region possesses abundant fertile land and imports more than 80 % of its food.

Cereal output has risen 37 % over the past decade, yet yields remain only about 40 % of the global average. This gap is unlikely to close as fertilizer prices keep climbing; nitrogen‑based fertilizer costs have risen more than 30 % since the Middle East war began, and urea prices have jumped 47 % since late February.

African governments, the African Union and the African Development Bank recognise this challenge. The obstacle is not a lack of will or resources but the absence of a coordinated global strategy that enables governments, farmers, forest managers and fishers to design programmes suited to local conditions. With 54 distinct economies, political systems and societies, a one‑size‑fits‑all approach will not work; each country must be empowered to craft its own solutions, backed by partner institutions.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) can play a pivotal role in shaping agriculture policy across Africa and beyond. Leveraging technical, political and strategic expertise from its 193 member states, FAO can facilitate cooperation between African policymakers and international bodies such as the World Bank, the European Union, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.

If I were selected to lead this organisation, my first priority would be to decentralise operations and deploy more FAO staff on the ground in Africa and the wider developing world, where problems can be identified and addressed swiftly.

Securing food security must lie at the heart of any action plan. A 60 % food‑insecurity rate is unacceptable; political and economic stability cannot be achieved while people go hungry.

Key objectives on Africa’s agricultural agenda — eradicating hunger and food insecurity, promoting sustainability, boosting value‑added production and creating jobs — are interlinked. Technology offers a common platform to raise productivity, which in turn lifts incomes, generates employment and fosters greater equity.

Technology also provides the most effective means of mitigating climate change. Volatile weather threatens the livelihoods of African producers, just as it does farmers in Latin America. As the world prepares for another El Niño episode — the periodic pattern that brings drought and torrential rains — market forecasts already anticipate weather‑driven supply disruptions. Historical precedent shows the impact: a strong El Niño in 1982‑83 cut cocoa output by 12 %, and the 2023‑24 event reduced it by 13 %.

The threat extends beyond crops; drought is jeopardising African forests that sustain the livelihoods of more than 500 million people and serve as a vital carbon sink.

Expanding solar‑powered water pumps in African agriculture offers a clear remedy. Such systems can increase yields while cutting water use; in some cases tech‑savvy farmers have seen yields rise 32 %, water consumption drop 35 % and input costs fall 28 %.

Spatial mapping can improve resource allocation, and innovative processing techniques can lower energy consumption by 40 % and water usage by 35 %.

Business‑to‑business information platforms now deliver pricing and market data to 45 million African farmers. Blockchain and artificial intelligence can streamline payments and enable end‑to‑end traceability of agricultural products.

Enhancing integration into global supply chains and moving producers up the value‑added ladder remain priorities for African governments. Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire together supply 60 % of the world’s raw cocoa, yet only about one‑third of Ghana’s output and less than half of Côte d’Ivoire’s are processed domestically. In the $165 billion global chocolate industry, African capture just 6 % of profits — a pattern repeated for East African coffee and tea, Southern African fruit, and Nigerian and Sudanese nuts, oilseeds and spices.

By increasing value‑added processing, African governments can raise incomes and create jobs, especially for women who form the bulk of the agricultural workforce. Cassava processing exemplifies this potential: a $5.8 billion sector producing high‑quality flour, industrial starch and ethanol directly employs roughly 3.2 million people and supports another 8 million indirectly, with women leading 45 % of small‑ and medium‑scale enterprises.

Technology also drives progress in processing. In 2023, 35 % of medium‑ to large‑scale processors adopted automated systems and digital supply‑chain tools, resulting in a 30 % reduction in post‑harvest losses among those firms.

In Rwanda, AI‑guided drone spraying and IoT‑enabled irrigation — which can slash water use by 30 % by adjusting to real‑time weather — are spreading across a sector that still employs 60 % of the workforce, while platforms such as the Smart Nkunganire System streamline input distribution.

In Kenya, drones have cut pesticide use by up to 30 % and water needs by 40 %. A single drone can treat ten acres per hour — ten times the rate of manual spraying — yet only 5‑7 % of smallholders have access to this technology, underscoring the persisting equity gap.

Innovation is also emerging in the continent’s smaller, more climate‑vulnerable states. The Seychelles, for example, are testing aquaponics systems that recycle fish waste to fertilise vegetables, alleviating pressure on limited land and water resources.

The lesson applies across East Africa and the continent as a whole: equitable deployment of technology, backed by patient investment, will transform agricultural potential into food security, jobs and resilience, with benefits reaching smallholder farmers, women and youth alike.

Without sufficient financing, none of these initiatives can get off the ground. Governments and international aid agencies already provide funds; the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) offers a framework for continent‑wide technical and financial assistance. In 2025 the AU launched the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan to mobilise over $100 billion in financing over the next decade.

In 2022 total investment in African agriculture reached $49 billion from public, private and development sources. That amounts to roughly $140 per African farmer each year, compared with a global average of $1,300 per farmer. Consequently, African farmers receive less than 3 % of worldwide development funds and under 4 % of total investments flowing into Africa from all sources.

Engaging private‑sector partners is essential. The AfCFTA’s rollout, the shift toward higher‑value products and technology‑driven yield gains create real investment opportunities. FAO can help bring investors and producers together.

The world is undergoing rapid, profound change. To meet these challenges, FAO must evolve as well — focusing political attention on food and nutrition security as a cornerstone of global stability. We need to reform the traditional development‑cooperation model so it also tackles climate volatility, economic shocks, supply‑chain disruptions and rising inequality.

Above all, a renewed FAO for a new era must place farmers, rural communities and nations at the centre of everything it does.

Phil Hogan is former European Union Commissioner for agriculture. He is a candidate to become the next Director‑General of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

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