Europe’s maize crops have been hit hard by this summer’s heatwaves and ongoing drought, with French producers saying almost half of this year’s harvest is unusable. To prepare for hotter, drier conditions, some cereal farmers are experimenting with sorghum – a crop from sub-Saharan Africa that requires less water than maize – although making a…
Kigali — Agriculture remains underfunded in Africa as governments struggle to deliver on decades-old promises to dedicate 10% of national income to agriculture. But for many farmers, mobilising finance is only half the battle. Reaching smallholder farmers in the last mile with the little available finance remains a challenge. Some of the funding is heavily…
Farmers are rebuilding a seed bank destroyed during Israel’s war on Gaza to preserve local crop varieties and help cultivate what farmland remains. The collection has grown to about 32 varieties, but farmers say the project remains far smaller than Gaza’s agricultural needs. Published On 3 Sep 20263 Sep 2026 Share Gaza farmers restore seed…
Agriculture is the foundation for Africa’s economic takeoff, but without land tenure reform, its potential will remain untapped. Africa’s quality of governance has largely stagnated or declined over the past decade, as reflected in the World Bank’s Governance Effectiveness Index, Afrobarometer surveys across countries and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. Africa’s youthful population is…
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s two largest cocoa producers, have signed a joint declaration pledging closer cooperation on pricing, local processing, environmental protection and scientific research, as the two countries seek to secure better incomes for millions of cocoa farmers The declaration was signed at a high-level bilateral summit in…
A scheme tested in Uzbekistan could let African cotton farmers earn twice over, once for the fibre and once for the carbon stored in the soil beneath their fields. Cotton has always paid farmers for what they harvest. Its next payout may come from what stays in the soil, as carbon held on African farms…
China has become one of Africa’s largest development financiers. Since 2000, Chinese and other state-backed institutions have committed more than US$180 billion in loans to African countries. The money has been used to finance roads, railways, power stations, ports, water infrastructure and industrial projects. Agriculture has also become part of this expanding partnership. Food systems…
Insurance is helping farmers recover from droughts and floods before crises deepen – as climate shocks intensify and the shadow of El Niño threatens. Farmers Aminata Tambedou and Hafia Salim have watched extreme weather rolling across their homelands, crippling harvests and killing dreams. Both have braced for business setbacks and growing hunger. But both Tambedou…
Globally, agriculture faces mounting pressures. These are driven by climate change, land degradation, labour shortages, supply chain disruptions and the demand for food from a growing population. At the same time, productivity is uneven. For example, maize yields in the US often exceed 10 tons per hectare. These high yields are driven by mechanisation, improved…
Agricultural experts, lenders and corporate executives are calling for increased investment in rural logistics and transport systems across Africa, warning that weak infrastructure is preventing millions of smallholder farmers from accessing profitable markets despite gains in farm productivity. Speaking during the 2026 Africa CEO Forum 2026 in Kigali, panelists said post-harvest losses, inadequate cold storage,…
