This Week, on African Farms

South Africa’s agricultural sector recorded a first-quarter trade surplus of $1.55 billion in 2026, representing a 16.1% increase compared to the first quarter of 2025. This performance was driven by a 10.6% reduction in imports to $1.76 billion, while exports held steady at $3.30 billion. Horticultural products, including grapes, citrus, apples, pears, wine, berries, and tree nuts, made up 55% of the export value.

The Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA), which represents approximately 170,000 women farmers across Southern Africa, is continuing its advocacy for land rights and agroecological farming methods. While the group promotes organic production to reduce reliance on commercial inputs and support household incomes, cultural and inheritance practices continue to limit women's formal land ownership, restricting their access to agricultural credit and to independent farm management decisions.

The Nigerian Ministry of State for Health and Social Welfare has reported that the country experiences approximately 50 million cases of foodborne illnesses and more than 53,000 related deaths annually. According to data presented to mark World Food Safety Day, these cases result in 4.26 million years of healthy life lost to illness, disability, or early mortality. Children under the age of five carry more than 80% of this health burden.

Kenya is continuing discussions with Portugal to support its $4.6 billion National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan, which aims to bring 400,000 additional hectares under irrigation by 2035. The proposed cooperation focuses on technical expertise and infrastructure financing for dams, water extraction systems, and irrigation canals to reduce dependence on rain-fed cultivation.

Ghana has launched the Nkokor Nkitinkiti poultry program in Ho, Volta Region. The initiative is distributing 180,000 four-week-old chicks to rural households, with each participating family receiving 50 birds, feed supplies, and veterinary support to develop local poultry production and supplement household incomes. We recently covered how poultry farming in Ghana is booming.

Tanzania and Belarus have held discussions in Minsk to expand agricultural cooperation. The bilateral talks focused on increasing trade for Tanzanian exports such as coffee, tea, cashews, and horticultural products, alongside implementing technical exchanges for agricultural machinery and exploring joint ventures in regional fertilizer production.

The Blue Food Innovation Summit highlighted opportunities for aquaculture development in Africa, where domestic production currently accounts for less than 2% of the global total. While the continent remains highly dependent on seafood imports, investors are targeting infrastructure gaps in feed, seed, and cold-storage logistics, highlighted by projects such as land-based salmon farming in Namibia.

Algeria and Qatari dairy firm Baladna have signed a $635 million contract package to begin the construction phase of an integrated dairy farm in Adrar province. The contracts cover farm infrastructure, irrigation systems, livestock procurement, and supporting services.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved $72.8 million for eight agricultural and climate resilience projects across Botswana, Eritrea, Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Togo.

Liberia and Nigeria's JR Farms Group have signed a $60 million, 20-year public-private partnership concession agreement. The project aims to develop 250,000 hectares of coffee plantations and plant 200 million coffee trees across Nimba, Lofa, and Bong counties.

Cameroon's Plantain Banana Sector (FBPC) and five private higher education institutions have launched an incubation program, distributing 250,000 high-yield plantlets to 500 students as a starter kit. The first phase of the program has an estimated output value of $1.4 million (855 million CFA francs).

The BOA National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme is accepting applications in Nigeria. Run by the Bank of Agriculture in partnership with Heifer Nigeria, the program provides youth and women agripreneurs with access to 2,000 tractors under a structured lease-to-own and Pay-As-You-Go payment framework.

The World Bank GAFSP Grants have launched a new $163 million grant program. The funding is available to support climate-smart agriculture, food security, and smallholder innovation in vulnerable and low-income countries.

The Crop Trust is calling for proposals for its $2.39 million (€2.2 million) Power of Diversity grants. The project is looking for initiatives in Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda that strengthen the value chains of nutritious, climate-resilient, and underutilized crops. The application deadline is July 3, 2026.

The Women in Tech Accelerator 2026 is offering $600,000+ in collective grants, mentorship, and global investor networks for early-to-mid-stage startups in agritech, AI, and fintech. This is open to founders in Africa, the Middle East, and Pakistan. Applications close on June 30, 2026.

The Äänit Prize by the Mandela Rhodes Foundation is accepting applications from African-led social impact ventures. They are offering up to $100,000 in funding for active projects in climate, agriculture, health, and education. The deadline is June 17, 2026.

The Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge is open for applications, offering Seed Grants of $25,000, Growth Grants of $100,000, and Grand Prizes of $250,000 for scalable innovations in food security and climate resilience.

The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition 2026 is now open, offering young African agribusiness founders a chance to win up to $50,000 in funding alongside mentorship and investor exposure. According to the organisers, the initiative is focused on identifying scalable and impact-driven agribusinesses across the continent.

The Youth4Climate Call for Solutions 2026 is accepting applications for youth-led climate-smart agriculture and sustainable food system innovations, offering up to $30,000 in funding.

The Global Youth Empowerment Fund (YEF) 2026 is open for applications. They are offering up to €5,000 in funding for social-impact projects that promote sustainable agriculture in Eastern Africa. The deadline is May 22, 2026

The School of Agricultural Policy has opened applications for its next cohort. The training program is designed to equip young Africans with the policy analysis skills needed to tackle food systems, climate, and development challenges on the ground.

The Resolution Foundation is recruiting for three research and policy roles focused on economic and livelihood issues. If you’re a policy worker looking to make a difference, check out their open positions.