The demand for food crops such as cereals, fruits and vegetables, industrial crops and ornamentals is increasing rapidly in Africa to meet the rising population, urbanisation and changing consumption habits.

While Africa remains a net importer of most of its food crops, it is also a significant source of industrial crops like coffee, cocoa, tea, rubber etc. Opportunities exist for the Continent to boost local agriculture to meet the demand internally, with surplus for exports.

The focus across Africa is on improving crop yields through the application of technologies and managing pests and diseases; reducing food loss and waste; enhancing sutainability and climate protection and reducing food imports by localising value addition and trade.

Africa’s demand for animal protein – milk, eggs, meat and related products – is set to more than triple by 2040 to meet the Continet’s rising population, rapid urbanisation and changing consumption habits.

Africa is a net importer of most of its animal food products such as meat, cheese, milk, with projections showing that imports will continue growing in double figures annually in the long term.

The focus across Africa is on enhancing the quality of local and exotic breeds, managing pests and diseases, boosting productivity, sutainability and climate protection; reducing food loss and waste and food imports by localising value addition and trade.

The emerging field of aquaculture offers a ray of hope in Africa’s quest to meet its rapid rise in demand for quality, affordable and nutritious source of protein.

Africa remains a net importer of most of its fish, with projections that with a population set to hit 1.7 billion by 2030 and 2.5 billion by 2050, with fish consumption increasing exponentially, the unmet demand will rise to 6 million tonnes by 2030 and 12 million by 2050.

As Africa joins the rest of the World to tap into aquaculture, the focus across Africa is on yields improvement, enhanving sutainability and climate protection; reducing food loss and waste; and reducing food imports by localising value addition and trade.

Animal feed – affordable, in abundance and in the right quality – is one of the stumbling blocks to Africa’s quest to meet the increasing demand for protein across the Continent.

The demand for animal feed continues to rise in most African countries. A lack of locally manufactured animal feed of the right quality, price and avaialbility all year round makes the Continent miss the opportunity to grow its dairy, beef, aquaculture and other sectors of the economy.

The focus in Africa is on improving access to feed processing technologies and affordable raw materials and ingredients; reducing feed loss and waste; and enhancing local manufacturing of animal feed locally in Africa and facilitating trade in animal feeds across the regions.

Chicken is one of the protein sources with the best prospects of helping African countries meet the surging demand for affordable and nutritious sources of protein. 

Most major economies in Africa such as South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria have protective measures in place with the aim of protecting local producers from imports. However, the Continent faces high prices of poultry products, which hampers the opportunity to enable poultry become an affordable option for its growing population. 

The focus across Africa is on improving productivity by adopting new improved breeds and managing pests and diseases, enhancing animal welfare, reducing food loss and waste and localising value addition and trade.

Adopting sustainable practices across the value chain, tapping into digital tools and technologies as well as innovative financing options remain some of the most pressing issues across Africa.

The technolgical and financing gaps across most sub-Saharan Africa countries are the most  dire in the World. Most farmers continue to utilise old technologies and techniques and have patchy access to financing to facilitate them towards more towards adopting more efficient and sustainable technologies.

The focus across Africa is on opening new financing models and enabling access to new technologies that will enable the Continent to become food secure, now and into the future.