Cracking the Value Chain

Hi, Maryann here,

Every ecosystem has a “middle step.” That moment when raw potential turns into real value.

For African agriculture, that middle step is processing.

Africa owns 21% of the world’s agricultural land, and over 80% of it is farmed by smallholders.

But while the farms are small and scattered, the processing systems are designed for big plantations.

We grow tons of food, but too often it never leaves the farm.

Half rots before it reaches a market. 

Much of what survives is exported raw.  So the real profits from processing and value addition are made outside Africa.

As a result, Africa loses close to $50 billion every year on food imports.

Like cocoa.  

Africa grows 70% of the world’s beans, yet captures less than 5% of the $100 billion chocolate market.

Or tomatoes.

Nigeria produces 1.8 million tonnes annually, yet still imports most of its tomato paste from other countries.

To unlock this $50 billion potential, Africa needs processing that works closer to smallholders.

Across Africa, small farms earn less than $3,000 per year. That’s barely enough to cover basic needs.

But the bigger problem starts before the money even reaches their pockets.

In Africa, existing storage facilities cover less than 20% of crops, leaving up to 40% to rot before leaving the farm.

The crops that survive often get sold raw at low prices. 

Farmers lose money they could have reinvested.

Without cash from their harvest, farmers can’t afford better tools or processing.

And processing is where most of the value disappears.

Factories cost millions, need reliable power, and years of financing.

For a smallholder with just a few hectares, they’re out of reach.

The result? Crops rot. Income stays low. And the cycle repeats.

The roots of today’s struggles are easy to see in Nigeria’s palm oil industry.

Between the 1950s-1970s, Nigeria was the world’s palm oil giant.

It controlled over 40% of the global market and supplied 645,000 metric tonnes annually.

At independence in 1960, palm oil made up 82% of Nigeria's export earnings.

The country also boasted the richest collection of oil palm seed stocks.

Then, in 1958, crude oil was discovered in the Niger Delta, marking the start of the oil boom.

The boom of the 1970s shifted government focus away from agriculture. 

At the same time, a civil war destroyed oil palm plantations and mills that were never rebuilt.

Now, in 2025, Nigeria’s share of global palm oil has collapsed to less than 2%.

And only about 42% of oil palm farmers in Nigeria’s Awka zone make more than $25 a month. 

Indonesia and Malaysia, who started later, now control over 80% of the market, thanks to research, modern factories, and farmer support.

In Nigeria, processing never caught up. Outdated tools can’t even meet local demand.

This is the broken middle.

Without scalable processing, value slips away from farmers and the economy.

But what if palm oil processing worked differently, not just to revive the industry, but to finally let smallholders keep the value they create?

When Releaf Earth founders Uzoma Ayogu and Ikenna Nzewi returned to Nigeria from the U.S. in 2017, they saw just how stuck smallholder palm oil farmers were at the bottom of the value chain.

They toured 20 of Nigeria’s 36 states, looking for gaps where technology could make a real difference.

What they found was a $3 billion industry producing far less than the demand. 

Four million smallholders produced most of Nigeria’s palm oil, but lacked tools and access.

Farmers struggled to transport their crops to distant factories, and did not have modern equipment to process palm nuts efficiently themselves.

So the founders built Kraken.

The patented machine deshells nuts 25x faster than local tools with almost no waste. The palm kernels go into vegetable oil, and the shells become biochar, a nutrient for soil.

Releaf buys nuts directly, processes them, and sells oil to manufacturers.

But even a machine this powerful couldn’t fix the system alone. 

Farmers still needed reliable access, logistics, and ways to capture the full value of their crops, which is exactly what Releaf set out to solve next.

To solve this, Releaf partners directly with farmers instead of owning farms.

Farmers use Releaf’s sourcing application to report the volume of palm nuts they have for sale and confirm prices.

The company then coordinates collection and processing, making sure crops reach the factories efficiently.

By connecting directly to smallholders, Releaf has:

Behind the numbers is a bigger story: farmers who no longer sell at a loss, but finally share in the profits their labor creates.

Releaf isn’t the only company tackling Africa’s food processing challenges.

These companies are evidence that technology can help farmers keep more of the value they create and reduce food loss. 

They show that….

Releaf proves what happens when you redesign processing for smallholders. 

Value stays closer to farms. Crops stop rotting. Rural economies grow.

Nigeria’s palm oil story shows the model works.

But what about cocoa in Ghana, cashews in Côte d’Ivoire, or maize in Kenya?

Scaling will take dozens of Releafs, each tuned to local crops.

But the opportunity is clear.

Africa’s $50 billion food import bill isn’t destiny.

With the right processing, value can stay on the continent.

Which other innovators are solving Africa’s processing problems?

👉🏾Tell us here.

Cheers,