The Agricultural Fixes Africa Needs

Sep 6 , 2025. By Esther Ngumbi ( Esther Ngumbi, assistant professor of entomology and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign )

The steady rise in hunger across Africa is closely linked to the land itself. Roughly 65pc of the continent’s cultivated soils are now considered degraded, erasing an estimated four billion dollars in soil nutrients annually. In this commentary provided by Project Syndicate (PS), Esther Ngumbi, assistant professor of entomology and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, warns of the consequences on smallholder farms from Senegal to Ethiopia, where families watch yields shrink with every passing season.

The number of people facing hunger globally declined from 688 million in 2023 to 673 million in 2024, according to "The State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World 2025," a report recently released by the five leading United Nations agencies working on the issue. But progress has not been equal, with Africa experiencing a slight increase in the number of undernourished people, from 296 million to 306 million.

Worryingly, this pattern is set to continue. The report estimates that, even as global hunger declines, 512 million people will still be undernourished in 2030, nearly 60pc of whom will be in Africa.

The continent's policymakers can avert this outcome. The most effective strategy would be to improve Africa's agricultural productivity and maintain progress against extreme weather events such as droughts and flooding. That will require governments to work with the African Union (AU) and key stakeholders in the agriculture sector, including universities, research institutions, development partners, NGOs, financial institutions, and philanthropic organisations. They should focus on five areas.

There is an urgent need to mobilise investment in improving soil health and restoring Africa's degraded landscapes, which are a major cause of food insecurity and hunger. As much as 65pc of Africa's cultivated land is degraded, and the continent loses a staggering four billion dollars worth of soil nutrients each year to erosion. Continuous cultivation is particularly damaging to soil fertility and results in lower crop yields across the continent.

African leaders are waking up to this crisis. In 2024, the AU convened a summit on fertiliser and soil health, bringing together a broad coalition of stakeholders to discuss strategies for improving Africa's crop productivity. Perhaps the most important outcome of the summit was an action plan for addressing soil health in all agricultural sectors, with an emphasis on fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Africa should increase investment in agricultural research and development (R&D) to unlock sustainable productivity gains. Currently, most African countries allocate less than one percent of their agriculture sector's share of GDP to agricultural R&D. By increasing this share and mobilising private-sector capital, African governments could help drive innovations, from climate-resilient and high-yielding crop varieties to early warning systems for pests and diseases.

African governments and all other stakeholders should ensure that farmers embrace existing and future technologies, such as climate-smart irrigation systems, real-time weather forecasting, and mobile-based platforms that deliver timely trainings, recommendations, and support. Several countries are starting to recognise that encouraging and enabling the uptake of the latest advances is essential for improving agricultural efficiency and resilience. For example, earlier this year, Botswana launched its own satellite in part to provide real-time agriculture data.

To accelerate the adoption of these innovations, governments should do more than improve access to them. They should also increase financial support for farmers, collaborate with universities to provide ongoing training, and invest in critical infrastructure such as roads, electricity, and digital connectivity. These efforts would empower farmers to become active participants in transforming African agriculture.

Special attention should be paid to women, who constitute an estimated 40pc of Africa's agricultural labour force but face systemic barriers that bar them from full and equal participation in the sector. Governments could develop capacity-building programs and enact policies that address some of the challenges confronting female farmers, including limited land ownership, which would go a long way toward spurring rural development and reducing household hunger.

Lastly, more efforts should be made to engage with Africa's rapidly growing youth population, which is projected to double in size by 2050. Young Africans possess the energy, creativity, and entrepreneurial drive needed to strengthen food security, but remain underutilised largely because of limited access to financing and mentorship. To reduce hunger and create the conditions for long-term economic growth, African governments, the AU, and other stakeholders should invest in the next generation of agricultural leaders and innovators, providing them with the resources and training to succeed.

Reversing the alarming trend of increasing hunger across Africa calls for urgent action. Food security begins with healthy soil and sustainable productivity growth, which requires adopting regenerative farming practices, investing in agricultural research, and embracing new technologies. However, these changes should be accompanied by efforts to empower farmers, particularly women, and unlock Africa's youth potential.

The continent already has the seeds of a solution to its hunger problem. Now it only needs the right conditions to grow them.

PUBLISHED ON Sep 06,2025 [ VOL 26 , NO 1323]