By Marieke Snyman

Mandla Nkomo, CEO of Partners in Food Solutions, delivered a powerful address at the African Farming Agri-Development Imbizo 2025 in Pretoria, calling for urgent action to strengthen Africa’s food processing sector. He emphasised the need for a more competitive and inclusive agricultural industry, which would improve food security, boost nutrition and drive economic growth across the continent.

Addressing food insecurity in South Africa

Nkomo highlighted a pressing issue in South Africa’s food system: Despite being technically food secure, a significant portion of the population still goes hungry.

“More than 16%, or even as much as 25% of South Africans, go to bed hungry every day,” he stated. “And the issue is access. Access is about availability. It’s about affordability.”

He argued that one way to address this challenge is to broaden the channels through which processed food is made available.

“How about if we increase the number of processors? Competition drives down prices. So, it’s a real opportunity for us to focus on processors, and we need to come together and create an opportunity for this,” he said.

Unlocking Africa’s agricultural potential

Partners in Food Solutions, an international nonprofit, plays a crucial role in linking corporate volunteers from leading global food companies with African entrepreneurs in 12 countries. Their mission is to help small and medium-sized food processors expand and enhance their businesses, thereby strengthening the entire food value chain.

Nkomo noted while East and West Africa have seen a rise in food processing businesses, Southern Africa lags behind due to the dominance of large corporations.

“Unfortunately, and I hope I don’t get kicked out for saying this, large processors are squeezing out smaller processors,” he remarked.

This market imbalance makes it difficult for smallholder farmers to sell their produce, thereby limiting their economic opportunities and weakening food security.

He pointed to a striking statistic about Africa’s future role in global food production.

“By 2050, and maybe even 2100, Africa is going to make up 30% of the global population. More than 16% of all employees in the world will live in Africa. So, we have a huge opportunity as Africans to step into the space of providing food – not only for Africa but for the world. But we need to start now.”

Success stories and the way forward

To illustrate the potential impact of investing in food processing, Nkomo shared the story of a Ugandan company that became the largest egg processor in East Africa.

“They started off about four years ago with a turnover of less than $30 000. As I speak to you now, they have gone past $2 million. That’s a 36-million-rand business in five years, and they are procuring eggs from about 6 000 small-scale poultry farms,” he said.

He stressed that similar success stories could happen in Southern Africa if the right support structures were in place.

“What do we need to do to make this possible here?” he asked. “Because we can talk all we want about farming and finance, but if farmers do not have an opportunity to supply to smaller processors, we’ll be here for another 20 years talking about market access.”

Nkomo called for collective action to build a stronger processing sector that benefits both farmers and consumers.

“We need to build small and medium-sized processors that will buy and process our products and turn them into consumer-ready food,” he said. “Right now, too many communities are suffering from hunger because they can’t afford what the market offers.”

A call to action

He concluded with a clear message to the audience: Africa has the potential to not only feed itself but also contribute significantly to global food supply. However, this will only be possible if investments are made in processing infrastructure and policies that support small and medium-sized enterprises.

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