This Week, on African Farms

Nigeria recorded a $3 billion in post-harvest losses in 2025 alone, according to the latest data from OTACCWA.

This is about 30 to 40 million metric tonnes of food that rotted away before ever reaching a consumer.

This scale of loss threatens to undermine every other gain in the sector. The situation is becoming so dire that farmers are abandoning their fields entirely.

Between the skyrocketing costs of production and the constant threat of insecurity, losing nearly half of what they manage to harvest is the final straw.

Experts have predicted a severe food crisis in 2026 and said that if Nigeria is to avoid that, the shift from "producing more" to "preserving what we have" needs to happen immediately.

Zimbabwe has broken records with a 352.7 million kg tobacco crop worth roughly $1.2 billion. Huge demand and technical support from China have turned the "golden leaf" into the country's top export again, though analysts are warning about the high levels of debt farmers are taking on to keep production going. Last year, China alone imported$790 million of tobacco crop from Zimbabwe.

The FAO has issued a stark warning that Africa is losing its plant genetic diversity at an alarming rate. Over 70% of wild food plants are facing extinction, and locally adapted seeds are disappearing as farmers switch to commercial varieties. Without these traditional seeds, our food system becomes much more vulnerable to climate shocks and disease.

Rwanda is moving to modernize its entire agricultural system with a new plant production bill. This law is designed to stop counterfeit seeds and chemicals, encourage private sector investment, and help farmers manage fragmented land better. It's a major step toward the "Vision 2050" goal of a high-tech, market-led farm sector.

For the first time in a decade, Africa’s certified organic farmland has actually shrunk, falling by nearly 18% in 2024. This contraction is a direct result of new, stricter EU regulations that require full compliance from exporters, forcing certification bodies to cut land that doesn't meet the new bar. Even though demand in the US is growing, the cost of staying "certified" for Europe is becoming a major hurdle for our farmers.

South Africa’s agriculture sector added a significant number of jobs at the end of 2025, with farm employment rising to 950,000. While horticulture and field crops are booming, the livestock sector is still feeling the pinch from foot-and-mouth disease, which has kept hiring lower than usual.

A new $8.5 million climate-resilient rice program has launched across 14 West African countries, backed by the AfDB and ECOWAS. Based in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, the initiative aims to address the structural gaps that have kept the region from being self-sufficient in rice, providing much-needed technical support for a sector that has struggled for years.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has officially made its first move into Sub-Saharan Africa, granting $153 million in loans for agribusiness in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. A significant portion of this, including a €70 million facility for Valency International, is specifically targeted at cashew processing. The goal is to stop shipping raw nuts away and start adding value locally, creating jobs and helping smallholders get into formal markets.

The World Bank is set to approve a $500 million loan for Nigeria next month. The "AGROW" initiative is designed to boost smallholder productivity and integrate farmers into structured markets across the country.

The AfDB has approved $116.8 million for Burkina Faso to strengthen agricultural production. The project aims to distribute climate-smart seeds and fertilizers to 720,000 people to help the country reach cereal self-sufficiency by 2030.

Sahel Capital has launched a new $55.4 million Private Debt Fund specifically for Nigeria. This fund is designed to provide "patient capital" to agribusiness projects, giving them the breathing room they need to grow without the pressure of high-interest traditional loans.

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has partnered with JICA to launch a $50 million Impact Innovation Fund. This will provide early-stage capital for startups tackling big challenges in agriculture, healthcare, and energy.

The Africa FarmTech Expo Zambia & Southern Africa is scheduled for March 6-8, 2026. The pan-African trade show targets commercial and medium-scale farmers, focusing on food processing, packaging, and agricultural technologies across the Southern African value chain.

Rwanda’s AgriTech4Rwanda Innovation Challenge has received a boost through a new partnership between I&M Bank and the Rwanda Green Fund. They are offering "recoverable grants" and risk-sharing finance to help agritech SMEs become more investment-ready and climate-resilient.

Cameroon is still looking for 275 young entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Livestock is opening applications for young graduates interested in starting businesses in livestock or aquaculture. They are setting up 10 incubation centers across the country to help young professionals turn their ideas into real companies.