This Week, on African Farms

Uganda allocated $610.8 million (UGX 2.26 trillion) in its 2026/27 budget toward agro-industrialisation. The government opened a meat and beans processing factory as part of its effort to increase local crop and livestock processing.

Nigeria has partnered with Morocco, OCP Africa, and Ground Truth Analytics to build a geospatial agricultural intelligence platform. The system will track crop locations, land availability, and yield forecasts, beginning with a six-month pilot across three states before expanding nationwide.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is distributing seeds, fertiliser, livestock feed, and poultry to 210,000 conflict-affected people in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states in Nigeria. The input distribution is funded by Norway, Switzerland, and Japan to help restore farming during the lean season.

Egypt and Tanzania plan to launch a joint agricultural reclamation project in Tanzania. The initiative was announced by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a visit to Dar es Salaam with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan to support bilateral food production.

Zimbabwe has sent its first shipments of fresh blueberries to China following a 2025 trade agreement on plant health standards. The country expects total blueberry exports to grow from 9,500 tonnes in 2025 to 12,000 tonnes in 2026.

The Upper East Farmers’ Cooperative Credit Union in Ghana has asked the government to enforce stricter food import quotas and reduce illegal imports. The union recommends sourcing more local maize and rice for the National School Feeding Programme to help clear unsold farm inventory.

Cold chain operator IFRIA has started construction on a $20 million (11.5 billion CFA) refrigerated warehouse at the Diamniadio Industrial Platform in Senegal.

Dutch development finance institution FMO has committed $12.5 million to the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund II (ARAF II). Proparco, the private-sector arm of the Agence Française de Développement, has also committed $12 million.

Heifer Nigeria has awarded $40,000 in grants to three youth-led agritech startups. Kyoko Foods received $20,000 for waste-reduction processing, Agrigoo Trades received $12,000 for supply chain software, and Yemert Nigeria received $8,000 for input distribution tools.

The Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility, managed by Village Capital with funding from FMO and RVO, has invested $500,000 across three Ghanaian startups: Built Financial Technologies, GrowForMe, and SAYeTECH.

The World Bank GAFSP Grants has 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 window closes on September 15.