To help realise Africa’s projected food and agriculture market value of over $1 trillion by 2030, the African Development Bank (AfDB) says it has embarked on a number of initiatives to boost the continent’s agricultural productivity.
The Vice President, Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex of AfDB, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, who disclosed this while addressing the opening session of the Second Interactive Workshop on Developing Bankable Business Proposals/Plans for Youths and Women In Agriculture on Monday in Abuja, said the bank was committed to supporting all efforts to realise this target.
Akin-Olugbade, who represented the AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, identified the $25 billion Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) among some of the initiatives.
She acknowledged the consensus among experts and analysts that Africa was home to more than 65 percent of the world’s arable land, adding that this was enough to feed about 9.5 billion people that make up the world population.
“This is why we (AfDB) launched transformative initiatives like our $25billion Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme to revolutionise Africa’s agriculture. Through this initiative, we are providing cutting-edge agricultural technologies to over 40 million farmers in our quest to make Africa food secure by 2030.
Citing an example of the success story of the initiative, Akin-Olugbade said in Nigeria, over 6,750 tons of certified seeds of heat-tolerant wheat varieties were delivered to 118,000 farmers in the 2023/2024 planting season, leading to the planting of over 120,000 hectares of wheat.
“In all, 277,000 hectares of wheat was planted, while Nigeria harvested over 600,000 tons of wheat grain this year, the largest in the country’s history,” she said.
Giving assurance that the Bank was not stopping there, she said its Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) initiative was also bringing economic infrastructure to rural areas of high agricultural potential to attract investments from private agro-industrialists and entrepreneurs, enhancing productivity, and transforming lives in rural areas.
“With $4.5billion mobilised for 28 zones across 11 countries, we are not just growing crops, we are cultivating the entire value chains, creating jobs, and stimulating rural economies.
Specifically, she said Nigeria, together with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), provided $520 million to support the establishment of Special Agricultural Processing Zones in seven States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to ensure allow private agribusinesses to establish industries that process and add value to agricultural commodities.
“The African Development Bank Group provided $134 million to Nigeria for emergency food production to help reduce food price inflation by boosting local production of wheat and cassava under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme,” she added.
With a large population of youth (21.5%) and women (50.8%) and a vast arable land, the AfDB Vice President noted that Africa should have no business importing food to feed her people.
She recalled that by 2015, the continent was spending about $35 billion every year on food imports, pointing out that the figure was racing towards $100 billion in the near future if nothing was done about it.
Besides, with the population of women and youth expected to hit 830 million by 2050, Akin-Olugbade said that presents an unprecedented opportunity for socio-economic transformation, particularly in the area of agriculture, which she noted was a fertile ground for innovation, wealth creation, and transformative impact.
She challenged policymakers across Africa to take bold steps to boost the production capacity of the agricultural sector of the continent’s economy.
“The time for bold action is now. Every policy should ask: Are we going beyond empowering to investing in our youth? How does this support our women farmers? How does this move us closer to food sovereignty?
She urged that priority attention should be given to innovations like Samson Ogbole’s “Soilless Farm Lab”, using cutting-edge aeroponics technology to grow crops without soil; Femi Adekoya’s “Integrated Aerial Precision”, leveraging drone technology to revolutionise crop management, or Atinuke Lebile’s “Cato Foods”, addressing malnutrition through biofortified crops.
“These are not just businesses. They are blueprints for Africa’s agricultural future. They represent the innovation, resilience, and vision that we aim to nurture through initiatives like this workshop – Initiatives that can beat global hunger that affects 783 million people, with Africa accounting for 288 million – equivalent to the population of Nigeria,”she said.
“Studies have shown that growth in the agricultural sector is two to four times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in other sectors,” she added.
In his opening remarks, Director General West Africa Region of the Bank, Lamin Barrow said the Bank’s cumulative financing approvals to Nigeria reached $10.9 billion, with the Bank’s portfolio currently at about $4.9 billion to support projects in the public and private sectors.
With a massive youthful population, Barrow they provide a substantial reservoir of talent for innovation, creativity, and boundless energy that could drive the revitalisation of the agriculture sector in the continent.
“The Bank’s 10-Year Strategy (2024-2033) recognizes that Africa’s progress will be driven by the young and dynamic workforce, growing urban consumer markets, integration of national economies, huge clean energy potential and extensive natural resource wealth.
“This is demonstrated by IAPrecision, one of the youths with us here today, in introducing drones to the agricultural sector that provides farmers with integrated drone services for early detection of problems, fight crop diseases and pest infestation.
“The growing of crops using Aeroponics, a process of growing plants in the air without using soil being used by Soilless Farm Lab, cannot be overlooked. These are great examples that demonstrate the capabilities of our youths and their potential to thrive,” he further said.
On his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari assured that the federal government was willing to partner with stakeholders to boost the capacity of women and youth participation in agriculture.
The Minister said such support would help reduce poverty, create jobs and tackle food insecurity in Africa.
“This comprehensive agenda includes objectives related to job creation, poverty reduction, access to capital and inclusivity, among others. The President’s unwavering commitment to achieving the state of emergency of food security is evident in the substantial support so far provided to the ministry. Ultimately, the President’s aspiration is that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry.
He said the government was committed to working closely with bilateral and multilateral development partners in advancing the engagement of youth and women in agriculture in the country.
