Agricultural experts at the 6th Africa Resilience Forum in Abidjan have called on African governments to transform farmers from food aid recipients into food providers across the continent.

By Maile Matsimela, Digital Editor at African Farming

The forum, held from 1 to 3 October in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, brought together policymakers and practitioners to discuss prevention strategies and peace-promoting investments in Africa.

Expert Perspectives on Agricultural Development

Roland Fomundam, CEO of GreenHouse Ventures in Cameroon, emphasised the critical role of farmers in crisis zones. “Agriculture is a dominant activity in crisis zones,” said Fomundam. “And we are told that without peace, there can be no development. But without food, there is no peace. It’s time to involve farmers in discussions on agriculture. Very often policies are drawn up without the farmers. We need to reach out to them and discuss solutions that concern them.”

Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, reinforced this message: “Farmers are the private sector. They invest; they find solutions. We need to do better together. If we want to have a better impact on our populations, we need new matrices, for example knowing how much we’ve improved producers’ incomes over a period of time.”

Also read: African Development Bank considers a R9bn facility to unlock R182bn finance for smallholder farmers

Private Sector Solutions and Existing Systems

Abdihakim Yusuf Ali Ainte, Director of the Food Security and Climate Department in Somalia’s Prime Minister’s Office, highlighted Somalia’s success in mobilising private sector resources. The country leveraged $6 billion from its private sector to boost human capital and save lives. “The most important resource is the private sector. We need a dynamic private sector invited around the table to provide sustainable solutions,” he said.

Martin Fregene from the African Development Bank Group stressed building on existing foundations rather than starting from scratch. “Above all, we need to build on the existing production system. Small and medium-sized enterprises produce all the food we eat. We need to see how we can get them to double their production and ensure their survival.”

Fregene outlined the Bank Group’s approach, which includes direct financing for agricultural producers, innovation support, climate-resilient infrastructure development and facilitating access to agricultural inputs, training, extension services and networking opportunities.

Kenyan agripreneur Felista Nyakio called for a fundamental shift in how farming is perceived. “Farming is perceived as degrading work. We need to start showing farmers that they are part of the nation and make children aware of the benefits of farming. Let’s get children to love agriculture.”

Also read: Land Bank leads transformation through strategic partnerships

About the Forum

The Africa Resilience Forum, organised by the African Development Bank Group, focused on “Prevention for better action: financing peace in a context of development cooperation in transition”. The panel discussion “Achieving resilient and transformative impact for large-scale food security in Africa” featured these expert voices alongside Rania Dagash-Kamara, Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation of the World Food Programme.

The forum serves as a platform for exploring strategies to intensify prevention efforts and stimulate peace-promoting investments across Africa.