The midday sun beats down on the red earth of Mgaza village, Katerero in Bukoba Tanzania. In the middle of the field, Allen Fedrick works with steady hands, his fingers pressing soil. Beside him, his wife moves in rhythm, her hoe slicing the ground with quiet determination. To an outsider, this is just another farming couple tending their crops but the journey that brought Allen here is one of extraordinary grit and reinvention.
A few years ago, Allen’s life took a devastating turn. A horrific accident left him with severe injuries and ultimately cost him his leg after a very bad road accident. The doctors told him amputation was the only option. “When they said they had to remove my leg, it felt like my whole future had been cut away too,” Allen recalls. “For a while, I didn’t know where to begin again.”
But quitting was never in Allen’s nature. After months of recovery, he decided to restart life with what he had – his hands, his determination, and his will to survive. He began small, selling pineapples by the roadside, learning the market and building relationships with customers.
It was during this time that Allen crossed paths with the YEFFA program under AGRA—an initiative aimed at empowering youth in agriculture. The program trained him in modern farming methods, provided quality seedlings, market linkage and equipped him with essential farming inputs. For Allen, this was more than training, it was a second chance.
Armed with new skills, he transitioned from a simple pineapple vendor to a grower and distributor. He now cultivates his own pineapples and, thanks to the transport link between Kagera and Mwanza, he regularly sends his produce to Mwanza. This isn’t about massive cargo it’s just small but he makes the journey about three times a month, ensuring that his pineapples reach markets while they’re still fresh.
On average, each trip yields him a net profit of 100,000 to 200,000 Tanzanian shillings after paying workers and covering transport. In a good month, that amounts to roughly 300,000 shillings from Mwanza sales alone, plus an extra 10,000 shillings daily from local sales in his own community.
Allen’s progress has been more than financial. Within a short period, he has married, built his own home, and established a respected name in his village. While he hires laborers for heavy tasks, he still chooses to work on the farm himself, moving along the rows with the help of a crutch. His presence in the field sends a message that disability does not mean inability.
“People think that when you have a disability, your life slows down or you are supposed to start begging,” Allen says, brushing dust from his palms. “For me, it pushed me to move faster towards my dreams.”
Allen’s has moved from point zero to one point, his story is more than a tale of survival, it is a blueprint for turning hardship into opportunity. With the right training, resources, and unwavering willpower, he has transformed a moment of deep loss into a life of growth, purpose, and abundance. In every pineapple he sells, there is a piece of his resilience and a reminder that no obstacle is too great to overcome.
As global leaders, innovators, and changemakers converge in Dakar September for the Africa Food Systems Summit 2025 (AFSS25), Rwanda’s Niyitanga Grace will be among 17 youth agri-preneurs chosen to showcase how young Africans are transforming agriculture from the ground up. Her story—rooted in resilience, innovation, and purpose—is not just a personal success; it’s a beacon for the continent’s agricultural future.
When Niyitanga Grace stepped off the bus in the rural fields of Nzige Sector, Rwamagana District in early 2023, she wasn’t just leaving behind the bright lights of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital—she was stepping into a bold new chapter. With just 1.5 million Rwandan francs (about $1,000 USD) and a vision seeded by a visit to a friend’s thriving farm, she decided to pursue agriculture full time.
“I tried different businesses in Kigali, but nothing seemed to work,” she recalls. “The day I visited my friend’s farm, I saw something I had never seen before—potential, growth, life. That was the turning point.”
Armed with a passion for building something meaningful and a determination to succeed, Grace moved to Rwamagana and began farming on rented land, benefiting from an irrigation scheme developed by the government in collaboration with the SAIP (Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Project). The results were immediate—and transformational.
A Seed of Opportunity that Sprouted Success
Her first season’s investment of 1.5 million RWF yielded a staggering 7 million RWF. Encouraged by this breakthrough, she reinvested her earnings to acquire her own land and shift from traditional open-field farming to greenhouse agriculture—a climate-resilient solution offering higher yields, quality produce, and year-round production.
Her first greenhouse alone generated 8 million RWF per season. Today, she owns four greenhouses, each built with a cost-effective combination of local and imported materials—cutting construction costs from 20 million to 5 million RWF per unit.
“I realized that relying only on rain-fed farming was limiting,” she says. “Greenhouses gave me consistency, quality, and the ability to control my environment. That’s how I started scaling.”
Chili Peppers, Market Savvy, and a Growing Enterprise
Grace’s flagship crop is chili peppers—a lucrative export product with growing demand across Africa and beyond. Through training and mentorship provided by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), she was equipped with critical skills in value chain development, market research, and marketing strategy.
“AGRA didn’t just teach me how to grow chili—they taught me how to understand markets and operate like a businesswoman,” she says.
She has since diversified into tomatoes, bell peppers, and green beans, ensuring steady supply for both local and regional markets. Her business, now valued at over 30 million RWF, is a testament to how quickly a small idea can grow with the right support.
A Champion for Youth in Agribusiness
Beyond her own success, Grace has become a mentor and role model for others. As an active member of the Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF), she represents greenhouse farmers at national platforms and works to mobilize young people into agriculture.
“I always tell young people: Agriculture is not a last resort—it’s a first-class opportunity,” she says. “With the right mindset and tools, it can be more profitable than you ever imagined.”
So far, she has helped friends launch farms and created jobs for young people in her community, contributing directly to youth employment and rural economic empowerment.
Looking Ahead: A Vision That Reaches Across Borders
Now preparing to represent Rwanda at Africa Food Systems Summit 2025, Grace sees the event as a powerful platform to connect with fellow young innovators and international partners.
“I’m eager to share my journey—but more importantly, to learn from others,” she says. “Africa is full of young farmers doing amazing things. If we join forces, we can transform the continent’s food systems. “
Her future plans include:
Acquiring more farmland
Expanding greenhouse infrastructure
Launching chili value-addition units (e.g., sauces and powders)
Tapping into export markets and strengthening brand presence
Why Investors and Donors Should Take Note
Grace’s story is not just inspiring—it’s investable. She represents the kind of climate-smart, youth-led agricultural enterprise that can drive Africa’s food security, employment, and economic transformation. With strategic investment and support, her model can be scaled across regions, benefiting more farmers, creating jobs, and boosting local economies.
She is currently open to partnerships that can support:
Expansion of greenhouse farming systems
Establishment of chili processing and packaging facilities
Access to regional and international markets
Training programs for youth and women in modern agribusiness
A Final Word from the Farm
Standing beside rows of vibrant chili plants under the morning sun, she reflects on the road she’s traveled.
“My journey started with failure. But I turned it into fuel,” she says. “Today, I farm with purpose—not just for profit, but to feed, employ, and inspire.”
Bekelech’s Journey and the Future of Women Farmers
In the quiet highlands of Darga Kebele, deep in Kembata Zone, in the Central Ethiopia Regional State, Wro Bekelech Anitu has worked her land with enduring strength and persistent hope. A widow and mother of seven, she has long cultivated her two hectares not for profit, but for survival. For years, her carefully gathered harvests were lost to fire, consumed by rodents, or sold hastily at low prices to meet urgent household needs.
But on 24 June 2025, Bekelech stood before a national audience at Addis Ababa’s Skylight Hotel—honored as a model farmer and recognized as the voice of a new chapter in Ethiopia’s agricultural transformation. She was celebrated at the “She Stores – She Gains” workshop, a national platform promoting the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) as a tool to unlock finance, improve storage, and empower smallholder women farmers across the country.
Through the WRS, Bekelech now stores her grain in a certified warehouse, preserves its market value, and accesses short-term credit using her harvest as collateral—a financial mechanism she once believed was never meant for someone like her.
“Now I can store my harvest. I can wait. I sell when prices are fair. And I have hope again,” she shared. “I now have a TIN number, a land certificate, and all the documents banks ask for. But still—there are long procedures, delays, and too many steps. We do everything we’re told, but the system isn’t moving fast enough for women like me.”
Her story drew heartfelt applause—not only for its honesty, but for what it symbolized. Bekelech’s journey embodies the rationale behind Ethiopia’s scale-up of the WRS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (MoTRI), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and AGRA: to modernize rural markets, improve livelihoods, and close the gender gap in agricultural finance.
At the event, Mr Tarekegne Shibeshi, Head of Market Infrastructure and Marketing Facility Desk at MoTRI, emphasized the system’s alignment with Ethiopia’s Ten-Year Development Plan, which aims to strengthen value chains and drive inclusive rural growth.
“Over 2.2 billion Birr in loans have already been accessed through the WRS by actors across the agricultural value chain,” he stated. “This is not just a financing tool for women—it’s a pathway to economic prosperity, especially for women whose labor has long been undervalued.”
Yet Bekelech remains an exception. Today, few WRS loan recipients are women. The barriers they face are systemic and deeply embedded—rooted in restrictive gender norms, institutional blind spots, and structural exclusion.
In many communities, social norms often constrain women’s financial decision-making power. Banking systems continue to favor conventional, asset-heavy collateral requirements—rendering women ineligible due to limited access to immovable assets. Even when eligible, women face gaps in awareness, outreach, and financial services that rarely communicate through channels accessible to them.
“No one explained that I could use my crops as collateral,” Bekelech said. “No one came—until recently. We only heard about it through neighbors.”
There is also a persistent capacity gap. Most women lack training in financial literacy, loan negotiation, and business planning—skills essential to navigating the WRS, managing repayment timelines, and building long-term creditworthiness. Even with documentation and eligibility, many lack proximity, confidence, or timely support.
Dr Yihenew Zewdie, AGRA Ethiopia Country Director, emphasized that systems must go beyond providing access—they must be intentionally redesigned to include those long left out.
“This system puts real economic power into the hands of producers,” he said. “But if it’s to work for women, our banks, cooperatives, and extension agents must unlearn the rules that kept women out for so long.”
As the workshop concluded, Mrs Meskerem Bahiru, Chief Executive Officer of Export Promotion and Market Facility at MoTRI, reinforced the government’s commitment to making the system work for all.
“This initiative is part of Ethiopia’s Ten-Year Development Plan—and we will implement it with synergy,” she affirmed. “Government, partners, cooperatives, and financial institutions must work together so that farmers like Wro. Bekelech are no longer the exception, but the norm.”
If Ethiopia’s Warehouse Receipt System is to fulfill its promise, it must do more than modernize infrastructure—it must unlock national productivity. Reaching rural women farmers is not merely a matter of equity; it is an economic necessity. When women gain secure access to certified storage and tailored finance, the impact is measurable: reduced post-harvest losses, improved price realization, greater resilience, and stronger participation in formal markets. Enabling women to store, plan, and trade effectively increases household incomes, stabilizes rural economies, and drives inclusive GDP growth.
This is not social spending—it is a high-return investment in Ethiopia’s economic transformation.
In the heart of Ethiopia’s verdant highlands lies Jimma — a region celebrated not only for the savour of its coffee but as a living symbol of ecological richness and cultural heritage. For centuries, Jimma and Bunno Bedele Zones in Oromia Regional State have sustained communities, nourished livelihoods, and fostered a harmonious relationship between people, food, and nature. Today, these fertile landscapes are witnessing a new agricultural awakening — one driven not by the aroma of coffee, but by the resolve of young farmers determined to redefine the future of Ethiopian agriculture.
Across rural Ethiopia, young people are reclaiming their rightful place in agriculture. In the rolling valleys of Jimma and Bunno Bedele, amid the mounting pressures of climate change, economic uncertainty, and rural inequality, a new generation of farmers is rising — not merely to till the soil, but to rebuild the crucial connection between the environment, livelihoods, and national development. Yet, the ecological balance that has sustained these communities for generations is under threat. Erratic rainfall, soil degradation, and limited access to modern agricultural technologies continue to erode productivity and resilience.
Recognising these challenges, the Government of Ethiopia, in collaboration with the AGRA, has launched a youth and women-centered agricultural transformation agenda to tackle systemic barriers and unlock the potential of young and women small holders farmers (Government of Ethiopia, 2020–2030; Ministry of Agriculture Ethiopia, 2023; AGRA, 2023).
Subtle yet meaningful changes are unfolding in these rural towns, driven by young people who are actively embracing their role in shaping the future. Rehima Gena, Project Coordinator at Lersha, is working to bridge the gap between youth unemployment and digital agriculture. “Many young people in these communities complete their education only to return home with no clear job prospects,” Rehima explains.
Rehima Gena Photo courtesy, Rehima Gena, 2025
Through Lersha’s program, young graduates are being trained and equipped as Lersha Agents — essential connectors between smallholder farmers and digital agricultural services. “These young people are no longer waiting,” she stresses. “They are becoming part of the solution.”
The initiative does not stop at employment. It opens pathways to financial services, agribusiness opportunities, and technology-enabled advisory services. To date, 20 young people have completed the training, with an additional 50 preparing to follow — building on the success of 60 others who completed the program last year. Full-scale service delivery is expected to begin in April, marking an important step towards transforming the rural economy and empowering youth and farmers alike.
At the heart of this agricultural shift are young farmers like Saliya Aba Jihad, a 21-year-old from Nedi Gibe Woreda. “Agriculture changed my life,” she says. “But without proper training, access to inputs, or reliable markets, it is an uphill battle.” Miftahi Aba Maccaa, a
27-year-old from Dacha Nadhii wereda, echoes this sentiment. Farming has enabled him to build a livelihood, but he stresses the pressing need for greater recognition, resources, and skills. These young farmers are not passive recipients of aid; they are custodians of Ethiopia’s agricultural heritage and catalysts for rural economic development.
Saliya Aba Jihad Photo courtesy, Getahun Kuriya, 2025
However, their ambition is constrained by systemic challenges. Young farmers continue to face limited access to credit, quality seeds, fertilizers, machinery, and market information. Environmental shocks — droughts, floods, and pest outbreaks — further erode their progress. Development practitioners and agricultural economists alike observe that societal perceptions still frame farming as a career of last resort, deterring many young people from pursuing agriculture. In Ethiopia, over 28% of the youth population is unemployed, and only 13% of young people are engaged in agriculture as a primary occupation (FAO, 2022; Mastercard Foundation, 2024).
Miftahi Aba Maccaa Photo courtesy, Getahun Kuriya, 2025
As agricultural experts and development specialists, we have witnessed first-hand that while young farmers demonstrate extraordinary resilience and ingenuity, their success cannot depend on individual effort alone. Meaningful progress requires coordinated, systemic change — a collective commitment by government institutions, the private sector, financial actors, and development partners to create an enabling environment. This sentiment is echoed by Ewunetu Hirko, agricultural expert in Oromia Regional State, who works with over 23,000 farmers in Jimma Zone. “Young farmers are adapting,” he says. “But without targeted training, tailored financial services, and strong support systems, their progress will remain limited.”
Primary Occupations of Youth in Ethiopia Graphics courtesy Biruk Gebremedhin, 2025
Unlocking the full potential of Ethiopia’s young farmers demands deliberate and strategic action. Youth-friendly financial services must be established. Access to affordable agricultural credit and quality inputs must be scaled up. Capacity development programs should equip young farmers with practical skills in climate-smart, market-oriented agriculture. Strengthening rural infrastructure and value chains is essential to enhance market access and competitiveness. Equally important, digital platforms and advisory services must connect young farmers to timely information, technology, and innovation. Above all, a concerted effort is needed to shift societal perceptions — positioning agriculture as a dignified, modern, and profitable career for Ethiopia’s youth.
The improvement unfolding in Jimma and Bunno Bedele Zones is not merely an agricultural project; it is an ecological, economic, and social awakening. These young farmers are reimagining their communities, blending ancestral knowledge with modern technologies, and laying the foundations for sustainable food systems. The Ethiopian Government’s Ten-Year Agricultural Development Plan (2020–2030),AGRA’s EthiopiaStrategic Plan (2023–2027), and a growing network of development partnerships provide a strong platform for this transformation. However, sustaining this momentum requires long-term investment, collaboration, and shared responsibility.
In places like Jimma and Bunno Bedele, something inspiring is taking root. A new generation of young farmers is stepping forward — bringing fresh ideas to the land while staying deeply connected to their communities. Youth-led innovations and cooperatives are gaining strength, and young women and men are beginning to speak up about their hopes for the future. Bit by bit, they are helping to reshape how farming is seen — not just as a tradition but as a pathway filled with promise and purpose.
Their ambition is not small. It is to build a future where farming is not a fallback option, but a respected, sustainable, and rewarding profession. It is to prove that agriculture can deliver prosperity without compromising the environment, and that rural communities can thrive when young people are empowered with the tools, resources, and recognition they deserve. From the highlands to the farmlands, a new agricultural future is taking root in Ethiopia — powered not only by policy but by the energy, ingenuity, and vision of young farmers like Saliya Aab Jihad and Miftahi Aba Maccaa. With determination and purpose, they cultivate more than crops; they nurture dignity, prosperity, and the seeds of lasting change. It calls for concerted action — to recognize, support, and invest in the young minds shaping Ethiopia’s tomorrow.
It began with a handshake—deliberate, optimistic, and quietly historic. Inside Nairobi’s PrideInn Azure Hotel, a quiet but transformative shift in East African trade was taking root. Across rows of negotiation tables, Ethiopian exporters and Kenyan pulses buyers engaged in structured, face-to-face talks. By day’s end, contracts worth more than USD 12.8 million had been signed on June 18, 2025. What unfolded was not just a business transaction—but a demonstration of what it means to bridge borders through beans.
The high-level Stakeholders Validation Workshop and Business-to-Business (B2B) Forum, convened by the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) and strategically supported by AGRA, aimed to advance regional pulses trade between Ethiopia and Kenya. But its deeper ambition was more profound: to connect smallholder producers with formal markets, shift fragmented trade toward structure and transparency, and build commercial trust between neighboring economies.
Kenya’s Ministry of Trade, represented by Deputy County Commissioner Benson Kagunda, opened the forum with a message that captured the spirit of the occasion.
What we are witnessing here today is not just trade—it is trust,‖ she said. ―Borderlines should no longer divide markets, but connect opportunity.‖ Her words set the tone for two days of focused exchange where business cards were exchanged as eagerly as ideas, and contracts signed not as symbolic gestures, but as actionable commitments.
The economic logic was clear. Kenya faces an annual shortfall of over 200,000 metric tons of pulses, driven by growing domestic demand. Ethiopia, on the other hand, boasts a surplus of beans, renowned for quality but constrained by access. Historically, trade between the two countries has been hindered by mismatched quality and packaging standards, transport inefficiencies, a lack of certified warehousing at key border points like Moyale, and Ethiopia’s non-membership in the East African Community (EAC). This forum sought to turn that friction into flow.
Beyond the negotiation tables, the forum offered a rare opportunity for deeper engagement. The Ethiopian delegation embarked on a field visit to two of Kenya’s leading agribusinesses—Unibrain and Echemiplus. There, they observed the full food processing chain in motion the opportunity gave Ethiopian exporters to see how the product they shipped converted to final product and off course to meet actual buyers of their products apart from traders they deal in a daily bases.. Standing inside a cool, meticulously organized facility, Hyder Kemal, board member of the Ethiopian Pulses,
Oilseeds and Spices Processors–Exporters Association (EPOSEA) remarked quietly,
This is what we need, meeting actual users of our products and discuss challenges face to face to increase exporting with confidence.‖
The exposure was catalytic. It allowed the Ethiopian team to see not only the demand for their products but the standards expected by modern, formal buyers. The visit fuelled a vision of what’s possible with the right investment, policy support, and institutional coordination. It turned abstract talk of regional trade into a tangible business imperative.
Still, constraints were not ignored. Ethiopian exporters largely operate with 100kg sacks, incompatible with Kenya’s market preferences of 50Kg. Trucking standards differ significantly. Border infrastructure remains insufficient. Informal trade routes persist. And a lack of policy harmonization continues to frustrate exporters ready to compete. Hyder Kemal further explained, ―Our exporters are not short on product—they are short on predictability. This forum gave us space to raise the right issues. Now it is time to act.‖
In that call to action, the theme of bridging borders through beans returned—not just as a slogan, but as a strategy. Participants collectively urged their respective governments to reduce non trade barriers; harmonies trade standards, invest in border infrastructure, and accelerate Ethiopia’s alignment with AfCFTA, COMESA, and EAC frameworks. They called for regional policies that recognise agricultural trade not merely as economic activity, but as a lever for inclusive growth.
For AGRA, the forum reaffirmed its catalytic role—not as a market participant, but as a connector, enabler, and amplifier of local enterprise. By bringing producers, buyers, and policymakers to the same table, AGRA helped transform pulses from a commodity of subsistence into a symbol of scalable, structured, and strategic trade.
In East Africa’s trade story, beans have become more than a staple crop. They have become a bridge between producers and processors, between policy and practice, between one border and the next.
And in that bridge lies the future of African trade.
By Cheick Kane, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer – AGRA Mali
Across the Sahel, farmers stand at the frontlines of climate change. Erratic rainfall, soil degradation, and water scarcity continue to threaten agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. Yet, in Mali, a centuries-old land restoration method is gaining renewed relevance—this time, powered by farmer training, local innovation, and structured support systems.
Half-Moon Technology: Traditional Wisdom, Modern Impact
Half-moon technology—locally known as demi-lune— is a simple but powerful land restoration technique that involves digging crescent-shaped basins in degraded fields to trap rainwater, restore soil fertility, and create microenvironments for crop production. In the regions of Koulikoro, Ségou, and Sikasso, this traditional technique is being revitalized and scaled through community mobilization and institutional backing, enabling smallholder farmers to rehabilitate barren lands and boost yields without costly inputs.
In practice, semi-circular basins ranging from one to two meters in diameter are dug on sloped or degraded land with the open side facing uphill. This design allows maximum rainwater capture. Drought-tolerant crops, trees, or grasses are planted within and around the structures. Over time, organic matter accumulates in the basins, improving soil structure and fertility while reducing erosion.
Its impact is both practical and profound. Farmers engaged through the project “Strengthening the resilience capacities of small farmers through the development of vegetable value chains,” led by ALPHALOG-YEREDON, and the initiative “Empowering Women and Youth: Strengthening Smallholder Farmers and Ecosystems Against Climate Change,” implemented by AMEDD, have shown that combining traditional knowledge with modern agronomic support can deliver measurable outcomes. In demonstration plots, similar exeperinceds have demonstrated that the half-moon structures helped retain up to 30% more soil moisture during dry spells. Also, farmers using the technique have reported yield increases of 60 to 100% compared to untreated fields. This is to say that with basic training, a single farmer can rehabilitate up to one hectare of land per season—boosting productivity, generating income, and creating opportunities for local employment.
Fatoumata Coulibaly, a farmer from Marobougou in Ségou, puts it simply: “My land was barren for years. Now I grow millet and sorghum. I even have grass to feed my goats.” Her experience is echoed across dozens of communities, where restored land is translating into improved food security, stronger livelihoods, and renewed hope.
A Scalable Model for the Sahel and beyond
While the technique itself is straightforward, its success lies in the way it is applied—through farmer-led action, shared learning, and effective collaboration between communities and technical partners. It is not only helping farmers cope with climate shocks but also shifting how degraded land is valued and managed.
This model is gaining traction beyond Mali. From Niger to Burkina Faso, and even across semi-arid regions of India and Latin America, water-harvesting techniques like the half-moon are being used to support regenerative agriculture, proving vital support for landscape restoration and food production. What distinguishes Mali’s experience is the way the practice has been embedded in wider efforts to strengthen local systems—combining agronomic training, data-informed decision-making, and supportive land management practices.
Despite its simplicity, half-moon technology is labor-intensive. To scale effectively, it requires strong community mobilization, local government support for incentives and land tenure clarity, and consistent technical guidance on design, spacing, and planting strategies. AGRA is working with partners such as IFDC’s Soil Value program to embed this technique within broader soil health and climate resilience programs—making it a central part of long-term strategies to strengthen food and water systems in the Sahel. These initiatives are part of a strategic vision to ensure that smallholder farmers are not only adapting to change but leading the way in restoring degraded ecosystems and building sustainable food systems.
A pathway to a sustainable and greener future
In the face of escalating climate risks, half-moon technology offers more than just a survival mechnism. It represents a practical, scalable pathway to regeneration. As Mali advances its Vision 2063 agenda, anchored in climate-smart agriculture and sustainable land use, these simple crescent-shaped trenches may well become symbols of resilience, opportunity, and transformation—shaped by the hands of farmers and nurtured by the collective will to restore the land.
Join the conversation. Did you find this blog helpful? Share this story with your network and fellow farmers, and spread awareness about climate-resilient farming techniques.
By Alice Ruhweza, AGRA President, and Boaz B. Keizire, Director, Policy & State Capability
In the heart of Brasilia, during the recent II Brazil-Africa Dialogue on Food Security, we stood at a pivotal moment in the global fight against hunger and poverty. This gathering brought together 44 African ministers and leaders from international organizations, underscoring a shared commitment to transforming food systems across the continent.
The dialogue was not just a meeting; it was a call to action. As Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated, “Africa is part of Brazil, and Brazil is part of Africa.” This sentiment reflects a profound historical connection and the potential for collaboration in addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time—food and nutrition insecurity.
Our journey revealed compelling Brazilian models in agriculture where innovative practices have transformed semi-arid regions into thriving agricultural hubs. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) showcased its pioneering work in sustainable agriculture, emphasizing the importance of science, technology, and knowledge transfer. Initiatives like the School Meals Program, which feeds 40 million children while supporting local farmers, exemplify how Brazil integrates food security with local agricultural production.
We also explored the transformative impact of advanced irrigation technologies and drought-resilient solutions in areas like Petrolina. The AgroBrasília Fair further showcased cutting-edge advancements, including AI-driven farm mechanization and livestock breeding. These experiences serve as a blueprint for African nations striving to enhance agricultural productivity while highlighting the critical role of national agricultural organizations.
As we engage with policymakers and civil society, it is crucial to amplify the voices of those often overlooked in this discourse. Farmers, community leaders, and local organizations must be at the forefront of the conversation about food systems transformation. Their insights are invaluable in shaping effective and inclusive policies, particularly for youth and women.
The Kampala Declaration on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) calls for a robust commitment to agricultural transformation, aiming for a 45% increase in food production by 2035. However, we face significant challenges, particularly in increasing research and development funding. Current data reveals that technology adoption among smallholder farmers remains below 30%, primarily due to asset poverty and limited access to resources. This critical barrier can be addressed by embracing Brazilian models that empower farmers and enhance sustainable productivity.
Key Priorities for AGRA and Partners
Bridging the Asset Trap for Smallholder Farmers: We must implement programs that enable farmers to achieve at least three metric tons per hectare. By providing access to improved seeds, fertilizers, and training on best practices, we can help farmers increase their productivity and income, allowing them to invest further in their operations.
Enabling Private Sector Participation: Policies should be established that encourage private sector involvement in delivering sustainable and affordable services to farmers. This includes investment in agricultural technology, logistics, and market access, transforming farming into a viable business and enhancing the efficiency of agricultural practices.
Collaborating with Universities for Practical Knowledge: We must challenge universities to partner with the agricultural sector and train students in practical skills that translate into profits and planetary protection. By integrating hands-on training with academic learning, we can prepare graduates to contribute effectively to sustainable agricultural practices.
As we move towards the G20 Presidency in South Africa, we have a unique opportunity to elevate the conversation around food systems transformation and drive actionable change. We invite all stakeholders—governments, civil society, private sector actors, and individuals—to join us in this critical mission. By leveraging AGRA’s agri-business consortia approach, we can scale successful models that integrate public and private sector ecosystems, fostering innovation and sustainable practices.
Let us remember that the fight against hunger and malnutrition is not just a policy issue; it is a moral imperative. The time to act is now, and decisive action is essential for creating a more sustainable and equitable food future. Through strategic partnerships, shared knowledge, and bold actions, we can create a future where every child is nourished, every farmer empowered, and every nation resilient.
In the village of Goala, in the Centre-West region of Burkina Faso, a young woman is confidently reinventing rural farming with passion and an entrepreneurial spirit.
At 25, Rasmata Kientega is part of a new generation of rural women farmers who see the land not as a burden, but as a promise of dignity and a future.
An active member of the women’s cooperative Songre la Panga, Rasmata cultivates moringa, baobab, tomatoes, onions, and okra in the community nutrition garden established with support from the PRORES project, implemented by TREE AID and supported by AGRA. This garden not only feeds the village families but also generates real and steady income for 35 women. “This year, I sold 23,250 CFA francs worth of agricultural products,” says Rasmata. “Just with the leaves, we earned 22,500 francs. With tomatoes and onions, 115,000 francs. And with the okra, 35,000 francs.”
But for her, agriculture goes far beyond subsistence. It’s a source of personal pride, a path to economic independence, and a vision for the future. “I want to start a small ruminant livestock business,” she declares, standing among her 20 sheep. “It’s a profitable and promising activity. We just need a little boost to go further.”
Thanks to the project’s support, she has already gained access to land, hands-on training, and maize threshers. Her call now is clear: targeted support for local livestock farming to strengthen incomes, create jobs, and keep youth rooted in rural areas. Rasmata sees her future here, on her land, alongside her peers, transforming her community through smart and integrated agriculture.
Her journey shows that with the right resources, training, and confidence, young rural women can not only feed their villages but also build resilient agricultural micro-enterprises. It’s also a direct response to today’s challenges: food insecurity, climate change, and youth unemployment.
Where some see a need to migrate to cities or abroad, Rasmata sees an opportunity for local growth.
Her message is simple but powerful: agriculture is not a last resort. It’s a real profession. An ambition. A path to leadership.
“I want other girls to know that we can succeed right here, at home, with our land, our ideas, and our courage,” says Rasmata Kientega.
Zambia, poised to be a significant regional food basket and trade corridor, currently faces a stark reality: over 14.2 million people (72%) were food insecure by 2024, accompanied by a concerning 32.3% average stunting rate. While various factors contribute to this situation, recurrent and intensifying climate change shocks stand as a primary driver, leading to a drastic 50-75% decline in crop production.
This vulnerability is further amplified by underutilized agricultural potential. Despite possessing 43.6 million hectares of arable land, only 15% is cultivated, with a mere 5.7% benefiting from irrigation. Compounding these issues are low crop productivity due to limited infrastructure, constrained market access, financial limitations, and inadequate extension services (with a challenging 1:1,200 extensionist-to-farmer ratio).
However, within these challenges lies a significant opportunity for transformation. The Zambian government recognizes the pivotal role of a competitive agri-food sector in driving economic transformation and job creation, a vision clearly articulated in the 8th National Development Plan 2022-26 (8NDP), which anchors Zambia’s overarching Vision 2030 to become a prosperous middle-income country. The Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Support Programme 2024 – 2033 (CATSP) serves as the strategic anchor for this plan, aiming to enhance production and productivity in key priority value chains, aligning with the Dakar II Compact’s focus on maize, soybeans, and wheat by 2028. These commodities are strategically prioritized due to their significant contribution to national food security, economic growth potential, and alignment with national development objectives.
To therefore, effectively tackle the complex challenge of food insecurity in Zambia and inform impactful policy reforms, a cohesive and multi-faceted approach involving government bodies, farmers (especially smallholder farmers – SHFs), the private sector, civil society organizations, research institutions, and development partners, is essential to create a sustainable and resilient agri-food system. This is can be achieved by focusing on key areas for Multi-Stakeholder Interventions, including:
Creating a Robust Enabling Environment for Agricultural Competitiveness. This foundational effort necessitates the government’s diligent implementation of the CATSP and the development of strategic flagship programs aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of Zambia’s agri-food sector. This requires proactively reforming pertinent macro and micro-sector policies to streamline regulations, incentivize investment, and foster innovation. For effective implementation, strengthening the intricate web of sector coordination mechanisms among various ministries, agencies, and stakeholders, alongside significantly enhancing the operational capacity of both state and non-state actors, are paramount.
Furthermore, a strategic investment in advanced data and analytics infrastructure will provide the crucial evidence base for informed policy decisions, effective program design, and monitoring of progress. Complementing these governmental actions, development partners such as AGRA play a vital catalytic role by providing crucial technical and financial support for these policy endeavors and by actively facilitating the mobilization of essential public and private sector resources towards the goals of CATSP and enhanced sector competitiveness.
Building upon this foundation, enhancing sector competitiveness and ensuring robust market access, particularly for smallholder farmers who constitute the majority of producers, requires a strategic policy focus on streamlining trade processes and dismantling non-tariff barriers that impede agricultural commerce within Zambia and across regional trade corridors. Fundamentally, establishing clear and consistently applied quality standards and certifications for both domestic and regional market development, will enable Zambian produce to compete effectively. Policies that actively support the development of affordable and accessible agricultural finance, coupled with effective risk mitigation strategies tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers and agribusinesses, are therefore important to stimulate greater investment across the value chain.
Moreover, strategic investments in infrastructure that strengthens market linkages, including feeder roads, storage facilities, and market information systems, are key for efficiently connecting producers with consumers and reducing transaction costs. The private sector’s ingenuity in developing innovative market-based models that directly link farmers to reliable markets and deploying advanced post-harvest technologies to minimize losses, alongside the creation of tailored financial products by financial institutions, can significantly enhance overall market efficiency and reduce risks for all actors. Recognizing the pivotal role of farmers’ organizations, policies aimed at strengthening their capacity to aggregate produce, negotiate fair prices, and adopt best practices will empower producers and ensure their greater participation in remunerative markets.
Achieving long-term food security equally demands policy support for innovation and the adoption of sustainable, climate-resilient practices to mitigate the impact of climate change. This necessitates policies that actively promote the work of research institutions in developing and disseminating climate-resilient and nutrient-dense crop varieties tailored to Zambia’s diverse agro-ecological conditions. Facilitating the efficient commercialization and widespread accessibility of these high-quality seeds through effective last-mile delivery systems, often spearheaded by private sector initiatives and supported by enabling policies, will be crucial for adoption at scale.
Government and development partners should then prioritize policies that support the scaling up of proven sustainable farming models, including climate-smart agriculture, conservation agriculture, and efficient water management techniques like improved irrigation scheme management and the appropriate adoption of mechanization and digitalization in farming operations. Recognizing the vital role of knowledge transfer, policies aimed at strengthening extension services with well-trained personnel, leveraging digital tools, and promoting platforms for knowledge sharing on successful resilience-building practices are essential for driving widespread adoption of improved techniques and enhancing adaptive capacity at the farm level.
Finally, achieving impactful change necessitates targeted value chain development for key national priority crops, particularly maize, soybeans, and wheat as identified in the CATSP, alongside a strategic emphasis on diversification for enhanced resilience and nutrition. For maize, policies should prioritize the transition towards more resilient farming systems that can withstand climate variability, improve farmers’ access to quality inputs and effective extension services focused on climate-smart practices, promote the adoption of context-appropriate mechanization and digitalization to improve efficiency, and advocate for stable and fair pricing mechanisms that incentivize production.
Critically, policies and investments aimed at significantly reducing the high levels of post-harvest losses (currently at 30%) are paramount to ensuring greater food availability. For soybeans, policy interventions should focus on enhancing access to quality and affordable inputs (including climate-resilient varieties and inoculants), mitigating post-harvest losses through improved management practices and infrastructure, expanding access to finance and well-functioning markets, and addressing specific production challenges such as disease management through research and extension support. Concurrently, promoting crop diversification through policies that support access to improved seeds and robust market linkages for nutritious and resilient alternative crops like beans, sorghum, cowpeas, and groundnuts is essential for enhancing long-term food security, improving dietary diversity, and creating additional income-generating opportunities for farmers, thereby building overall resilience to shocks.
Looking ahead, addressing food insecurity and building a competitive agri-food sector in Zambia requires a long-term commitment and a coordinated effort from all stakeholders. By fostering an enabling environment, enhancing sector competitiveness, boosting productivity and resilience, and strategically developing key value chains, Zambia can transform its agricultural sector and achieve its goal of becoming a regional food basket and a key trade corridor. Continuous dialogue, shared learning, and mutual accountability among all actors will ensure that interventions are effective, sustainable, and ultimately lead to a food-secure and prosperous future for all Zambians. The national targets set forth, such as significantly increasing the production of maize and soybeans by 2028, are achievable with a unified and strategic multi-stakeholder approach underpinned by sound policy reforms.
The COMESA Business Council (CBC), in collaboration with National Cross-Border Traders Associations (CBTA) and the COMESA CBTA Youth Forum, will host a two-day regional workshop aimed at increasing youth participation in cross-border agricultural trade across the COMESA region.
The workshop, themed “Deepening the Involvement of Youth, particularly Young Women, in the Cross-Border Agricultural Goods Trade in the COMESA Region”, will be held on April 28th to 29th , 2025, with participants from Zimbabwe, Malawi and the host Zambia.
Supported by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the workshop comes at a critical time when Africa’s youth population is expanding rapidly. With over 70% of Africa’s population under the age of 30 and youth expected to constitute 42% of the world’s young people by 2030, harnessing this demographic dividend has become a regional priority.
Cross-border trade stands as a cornerstone of economic development across the COMESA region, accounting for an estimated 40% of intra-regional commerce and providing livelihoods for millions of citizens. According to recent economic studies, strengthening cross-border trade could potentially increase intra-COMESA trade by up to 25% within the next five years, adding billions to the regional economy.
The agricultural sector is a major source of income in Africa and in particular represents a significant portion of this trade, with staple foods, fresh produce, and value-added agricultural products comprising nearly 60% of informal cross-border exchanges. This sector offers immense potential for growth, especially if modern techniques, digital technologies, and improved market access are made available to traders.
Agribusiness, which ranges from SMEs to transnational companies, together with agriculture, is projected to be a US$ 1 trillion industry in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 compared to US$13 billion in 2010, and as such, are indispensable elements of economic transformation and development in the COMESA region (according to COMESA statistics).
The workshop will bring together 36 participants from Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, including representatives from national cross-border trader associations, youth organisations focused on trade and agriculture, small-scale farmers’ cooperatives, women’s organisations, and relevant government agencies.
Key objectives include identifying barriers affecting youth in cross-border agricultural trade, assessing their impact, reviewing progress on addressing these barriers, and developing concrete action plans. The workshop will also strengthen collaboration between various stakeholders, including regional business associations, border agencies, and policymakers.
The youth participation in trade is currently hampered by various challenges, including limited access to education, skills development, financial resources, and restrictive land ownership. The workshop aims to unpack these challenges and propose workable solutions through presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions.
The outcome of this workshop is expected to be an action plan that will guide the implementation of measures to address barriers to youth participation in cross-border agricultural trade within the COMESA region.
