Director of Economic Opportunity for Africa at the Gates Foundation, Enock Chikava
The Gates Foundation says AGRA’s revised strategy for transforming Africa’s food systems, which prioritises country-level needs and better connects farmers to markets, is helping strengthen the agrifood sector.
Director of Economic Opportunity for Africa at the Gates Foundation, Enock Chikava, says over the past two decades, AGRA and its partners have helped build key components of the agricultural system that African farmers depend on to succeed.
“By supporting about 35,000 agro dealers and 118 African seed companies—helping bring more than 650 improved seed varieties to market—they have expanded the capacity to develop and supply seeds that can help farmers improve their harvests,” he observes.
Established in 2006 with former Ghanaian UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as its first board chair, AGRA is a pan-African institution focused on scaling agricultural innovations that help small-scale farming enterprises increase incomes, improve livelihoods, and enhance food security.
In an article on the website of the Gates Foundation reflecting on AGRA’s work over the last 20 years, Mr Chikava notes that AGRA’s “investments in agricultural research, advisory services and access to inputs have also helped build the infrastructure farmers need to make better decisions, increase productivity and earn more from their land.”
“These are important foundations for a more productive and prosperous agricultural sector,” he said.
Mr Chikava observes that the challenges facing farmers across sub-Saharan Africa are immense, and no single organisation or approach can address them all.
Crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa are half those in India and one-fifth those in the United States, reflecting significant constraints on soil quality and productivity.
Climate-driven extreme weather, El Niño, conflict and fertiliser price shocks linked to the Iran crisis are adding further pressure. The Hormuz blockade alone disrupted around a third of global fertiliser exports. Scientific assessments also warn that a 2°C rise in global temperatures could reduce crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa by about 10 per cent, he said.
Missed goals and the future of African agriculture
The Gates Foundation official recalls that when AGRA was established in 2006, it set ambitious goals for 2020 such as doubling productivity and incomes for 20 million smallholder households and halving hunger and food insecurity across 20 countries.
“These goals were not met, and civil society organisations have urged accountability for this failure. We agree. As a longtime funder, we share responsibility. Hunger across Africa remains unacceptably high, and progress in agricultural productivity has not translated into the improved food security and farmer incomes that are needed.”
He, however, says the Foundation has continued to fund AGRA because of the change in strategy. “Following a 2022 evaluation that found mixed outcomes for farmers, AGRA adjusted its strategy. We continued investing because its new approach was more closely aligned with countries’ own priorities and placed greater emphasis on connecting farmers to finance and markets,” he said.
“But continued investment cannot mean business as usual. It must mean learning from what fell short, listening to farmers, governments, civil society, and critics, and being willing to change course. Our responsibility is not simply to stay committed to African agriculture, but to ensure our investments deliver better results for the farmers and families they are intended to serve. We remain committed to that work for the long haul.”
AGRA President Alice Ruhweza has previously assured that the institution continues to learn from previous experiences. “We have learned that distributing seeds and fertiliser, while necessary, was never going to be sufficient on its own.”
“The harder, longer work is in building systems that hold together under pressure: linking climate adaptation to market development, connecting public investment to private sector participation, and helping governments strengthen the institutions that turn strategies into results.”
Achieving ambitions will take time
Mr Chikava notes that although hunger has not declined and farmer incomes remain too low, since 2005, cereal yields across Africa have risen by about 40 per cent, and farm output has nearly doubled in real terms.
He says the realities of farming across sub-Saharan Africa are complex, and there is no single path to growth and prosperity. “Our foundation’s approach is to back governments’ own agricultural development plans and give farmers the options and support they need to increase productivity and grow their incomes.”
Mr Chikava assures that despite different perspectives on how best to advance African agriculture, the Gates Foundation shares important ambitions with other organisations and partners. These include reducing dependence on imported inputs, making African countries less vulnerable to global price shocks, and creating more prosperous farming communities.
“Achieving these ambitions will take time and sustained effort, particularly given the many pressures facing farmers. We welcome more partners, ideas and solutions, and take calls for greater accountability seriously,” he said.
“By working together, we can help farming families across Africa increase their incomes and build lasting prosperity,” Mr Chikava concluded.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Source link