This Week, on African Farms

South Africa’s citrus industry delivered an impressive performance in the 2025 export season, shipping 203.4 million 15kg cartons. This is the highest volume ever recorded and a 22% increase compared with 2024, and marks a major milestone for the country’s leading agricultural export sector.

In more news about South Africa’s citrus industry, the United States has lifted its 30% tariffs on imported oranges. The exemption is expected to really strengthen the country’s export position ahead of the 2026 season by restoring its ability to compete in the American citrus market. Industry leaders are now hoping this lift will be extended to include mandarins, which continue to face high tariffs.

A new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reveals that Africa suffers the greatest relative economic toll from disasters in its agricultural sector. The continent loses 7.4% of its agricultural GDP annually, totalling an estimated $611 billion in losses across three decades (1991–2023) due to droughts, floods, and pests.

The Ghanaian government plans to expand agricultural mechanization in 2026 by deploying more than 4,000 machines and farm implements across 50 districts. The equipment includes 660 tractors and 200 mini-tractors, which will be rolled out through Farmer Service Centres (FSCs) to provide farmers with shared access to modern machinery and inputs.

The Nigerian Minister of Livestock Development has described the country’s inability to feed its over 50 million cattle as a national emergency. He stated that the livestock sector, which currently contributes over $32 billion to the Gross Domestic Product, is capable of generating over $94 billion in 10 years if properly developed and supported.

Egypt set a new record for fresh grape exports, earning nearly $20 million from Italy between January and July 2025. Grapes remain one of Egypt’s top fruit export categories after oranges and frozen strawberries. Italy usually buys a small share of Egypt’s grapes and takes about 1.5 percent of total volumes, until 2025, when imports grew by 34%. While the Netherlands and Spain are at the top of the supplier list and provide more than half of Italy’s import volume, Egypt followed closely behind.

Rwanda lifted its eight-year pause on agricultural and animal imports from South Africa on November 14. Rwanda introduced the ban in 2017 following a listeriosis outbreak, but decided to lift it after health teams confirmed clean conditions, allowing the reentry of meat, dairy, fruits, and vegetables.

Sustainable Growers celebrated the graduation of more than 13,000 women coffee farmers across seven districts in Rwanda. The year-long program on sustainable cultivation and leadership was in partnership with  Bloomberg Philanthropies, and was targeted at promoting women’s leadership and rural livelihoods. So far, Sustainable Growers has supported over 328,000 people regionally.

Ghana’s Minister of Food and Agriculture expressed concern over the persistent suppression of women in agrifood systems, despite them being the backbone of the sector. The Minister noted that closing the gender gap will drive growth in the sector, with data showing that productivity could increase by up to 30 percent if women had equal access to productive resources.

The African Development Bank Group has approved a $310 million financial package for FirstRand Bank to increase financing for micro, small, and medium-sized business enterprises (MSMEs) in South Africa. The package includes a $100 million gender-focused line of credit and a $10 million line targeting women-owned agricultural small businesses.

African startups raised a whopping $441.9 million in October 2025, a 217% increase from the $139.4 million raised in September. Fintech, logistics, and agriculture (6 startups) were the top sectors, with the top 10 deals accounting for 87.9% of the total disclosed funding.

Donors at COP30, including the UK, Denmark, and Canada, committed more than $142 million to CGIAR to accelerate agricultural research and innovation for climate-resilient food systems. The funding is intended to translate research into tools that help smallholder farmers confront greater droughts, pests, and market shocks.

Canada will disburse $13 million to Ghana under the new Climate Resilient Livelihoods for Women in Northern Ghana (CLIMB) program. The six-year initiative will train 200 local agricultural agents to support women farmers in adopting climate-smart and gender-responsive agronomic techniques.

Today is the final day of the Africa Food Show in Morocco. This is an exhibition dedicated to transforming the agri-food industry in Africa.

Global Agriculture Investment Summit will be held from November 23–25, 2025, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The summit focuses on revolutionizing investment strategies for farmers, small businesses, and women-led ventures across the agri, energy, and telecom sectors.

The first Africa Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (SAM) will hold from November 25–28, 2025, in Dar Es, Tanzania. The conference aims to drive regional collaboration and accelerate the adoption of sustainable mechanization practices across the continent