Walk through Nairobi’s Kangemi Market, Mile 12 Market in Lagos or Makola Market in Accra, and you will see stalls filled with fresh produce. Yet behind this abundance lies a difficult reality. Farmers struggle to earn enough from what they grow, traders lose produce before it reaches consumers, and many families cannot afford a nutritious meal.
This is one of the biggest problems facing Africa’s food system. Food can be available in the market and still be out of reach for those who need it. According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 report , 309 million Africans experienced hunger in 2025. The same report found that 66.6% of people on the continent could not afford a healthy diet. That means roughly two in every three Africans struggled to afford the food needed for a balanced diet.
There is some encouraging news. The share of Africans experiencing hunger fell slightly from 20.3% in 2024 to 20% in 2025 . But progress remains slow, and millions of families still face difficult choices about what they can afford to eat.
Recently, I had the opportunity to help plan the plenary sessions for the 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali, Rwanda. As I worked on the programme, bringing together discussions on investment, jobs, nutrition and climate resilience, I kept returning to one question: what needs to change for the millions of Africans whose livelihoods and daily meals depend on agriculture?
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
The discussions we planned went well beyond increasing food production. We looked at how Africa could create more jobs through agriculture, attract investment, improve nutrition and help farmers deal with changing weather patterns. What became clear to me was that these issues cannot be addressed separately. A farmer can produce a good harvest and still make a loss. A country can grow more food while families continue to struggle to afford it.
Consider what happens after harvest. In Kenya, farmers growing tomatoes, potatoes and other fresh produce often face problems with storage, transport and access to markets. When several farmers harvest at the same time, prices can fall sharply. Without proper storage, they may have little choice but to sell at whatever price is offered or risk losing their produce altogether.
In Nigeria, traders face similar problems. Fresh produce travels long distances from farming areas to markets such as Mile 12 in Lagos. Poor roads, high transport costs and unreliable electricity make it harder to keep food fresh. By the time it reaches consumers, some of it may have spoiled, while the cost of transporting what remains is passed on to buyers.
These are problems that can be addressed. Better roads, affordable cold storage, irrigation and local food processing would help farmers protect their harvests and reach more buyers. Innovation does not always have to mean introducing a new app or expensive technology. Sometimes it means making sure a farmer can store tomatoes for a few more days or transport vegetables to the market without losing part of the harvest.
There are examples of progress across the continent. At this year’s AFSF, the African Development Bank shared results from its African Emergency Food Production Facility, which had reached nearly 15 million farmers across 34 African countries and helped produce an additional 45 million metric tonnes of food . The programme has helped improve access to seeds, fertilisers and other support needed to increase production. It shows what can happen when investment reaches farmers and responds to the challenges they face.
But producing more food is not enough. We must also think about the quality of food people eat. In many households, having enough maize flour, rice or another staple does not necessarily mean having a nutritious meal. Vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk and other foods remain too expensive for many families. This is particularly worrying for children, pregnant women and other people who need a balanced diet to stay healthy.
Conflict, disease outbreaks and changing weather patterns are making food security even harder. In Sudan, war has disrupted farming and food markets, while the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has raised concerns about cross-border trade and livelihoods. Across the continent, droughts, floods and unpredictable rainfall continue to affect harvests, making it harder for families to access affordable food. These challenges show why improving food security must also involve protecting livelihoods and helping communities prepare for difficult seasons.
There is also an opportunity to create more jobs, especially for young people. Too often, discussions about youth in agriculture focus on encouraging them to take up farming. Yet there are opportunities in food processing, transport, storage, packaging and selling agricultural products. Supporting young people to build businesses in these areas would create jobs while helping food move more easily from farms to consumers.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Governments have an important role to play. Agricultural investment must go beyond distributing seeds and fertilisers. Farmers also need reliable roads, water, storage facilities, affordable loans and access to markets where they can earn fair prices. Businesses, too, need to develop services that smallholder farmers can afford, rather than solutions designed only for large commercial farms.
Planning the Forum’s plenaries gave me a better appreciation of how much work is already happening across Africa to improve agriculture and nutrition. It also reminded me that we must judge progress by what changes in people’s lives. For farmers, that means earning enough to support their families. For parents, it means being able to buy nutritious food without giving up other basic needs.
Africa’s food problem does not end when crops leave the farm. It ends when farmers can make a decent living from what they grow and families can afford good food throughout the year. That is where our attention, investment and efforts should be directed.
Kingsley Ochieng is a strategic communications professional who advises organisations working across development, agriculture, health and sustainability in Africa.
