Agriculture development agency AGRA has emphasized the critical need for enhanced investment in smallholder farmers in Africa, urging stakeholders to rally around agricultural transformation amid global instability and evolving development priorities.
The recent shift in global development funding has disrupted the long-standing financing framework, with the potential to push an additional 6 million Africans into extreme poverty by 2026, according to the Institute for Security Studies. These changes are expected to affect key areas like agriculture, climate resilience, health, and education, threatening progress in these vital sectors.
At a reception event attended by key partners, donors, government officials, and private sector leaders, AGRA’s newly appointed President, Alice Ruhweza, expressed concern over the rapidly changing international development ecosystem. She highlighted the growing need for greater efficiency, innovation, and collaboration to ensure sustained progress in African agriculture. Despite these challenges, Ruhweza reaffirmed AGRA’s commitment to its mission of improving agricultural systems and livelihoods across the continent.
AGRA has worked with African smallholder farmers, governments, civil society organizations, and the private sector to make a tangible impact. Over the last two decades, the agency has reached over 26 million farmers in 11 African countries by providing access to improved seeds, affordable fertilizers, and vibrant market opportunities. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in Africa’s socio-economic development, employing about 65 percent of the continent’s workforce and contributing significantly to GDP in several countries. In fact, agricultural growth is considered three times more effective at reducing poverty than growth in other sectors.
Since its founding, AGRA has supported 26 million smallholder households directly and impacted an additional 21 million indirectly through policy reforms and partnerships. Notable achievements include training over 500 African agricultural scientists, supporting 54 seed companies, and promoting sustainable farming practices that have increased cereal yields by 61 percent on more than 1.8 million hectares.
AGRA’s work focuses on five strategic areas: policy and state capacity, seed systems, inclusive markets, women and youth empowerment, and private sector engagement. For example, in Tanzania, AGRA has supported the development of an agro-industrialization initiative designed to create 1 million jobs. In Malawi and Uganda, targeted programs for women have boosted agricultural productivity by up to 30 percent.
Ruhweza also emphasized the urgency for Africa to pursue bold, locally-driven solutions in response to evolving global priorities and climate change. She underscored the transformative potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which, with its 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of USD 3.4 trillion, offers vast opportunities for intra-African trade. It is projected that intra-African trade in agriculture will increase by over 50 percent by 2025 and up to 574 percent by 2030. This presents a significant opportunity for African farmers and agribusinesses to expand their reach.
Ruhweza highlighted Africa’s demographic dividend and the importance of gender inclusion in agricultural development. With 11 million young people entering the workforce annually, agriculture must be repositioned as a career of choice. Women, who make up 70 percent of the agricultural workforce in Africa, can have a transformative impact on productivity if empowered with land rights, extension services, and better market access. Programs in countries like Malawi and Uganda are already driving these changes.
As global development resources continue to shrink, AGRA calls on African governments, philanthropies, impact investors, and the private sector to step up and fill the funding gap. AGRA’s leadership stresses that the transformation of African agriculture cannot be achieved alone, urging all stakeholders to invest in the continent’s farmers and innovations, ensuring that agriculture becomes a source of hope and prosperity for future generations.
