Resource Center

Agriculture is undoubtedly Africa’s biggest hope for economic transformation, and whatever decisions we make in the next few years will influence the continent’s destiny in the remaining decades of this century.

This is set against projections that Africa’s population will double to over 2.5 billion people by 2050, adding unprecedented pressures on the continent’s food systems and, to a great extent, its farmers, who will be required to double their production.

In anticipation of the expected demand, we agree that  as a continent, we must urgently begin identifying ways to transform our current and future food systems to produce sufficient quantities for our nutritional and economic needs.

Africa has all the required resources to transform its agricultural production to attain self-sufficiency and even have surpluses to trade with the rest of the world. Nearly 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land is in Africa, and so are some of the best soils and climatic conditions. But most importantly, Africa has the youngest population in the world, which gives it an edge in terms of the longevity of ambitions. Indeed, as of 2024, aproximately three quarters of the continent’s population are under 35 years of age . The African Development Bank further estimates that by 2063, young people will constitute half of Africa’s 2 billion working-age people.

Thankfully, this increasing but youthful population for the continent portends a huge opportunity to transform its agri-food systems. Today’s young people are increasingly exposed to the rest of the world through online technologies, and they are employing solutions that could solve Africa’s food challenges and learning from other countries and regions. The youth are tech savy, ambitious and eager to learn. Millions of them are also educated up to tertiary levels, although nearly 83% are unemployed, as revealed by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

At the African Development Bank, we have already realised the opportunity the youth could bring to Africa’s food systems. We are working in collaboration with multiple partners, including governments and the private sector, to engage them.  Among our leading initiatives for tapping their interest is the Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy 2016–2025, which seeks to facilitate the creation of 25 million jobs and equip 50 million young people with employable skills by 2025. Under this programme, we have two major flagships that specifically relate to agriculture and food value chains, as outlined below:

The ENABLE Youth program, an initiative from the African Development Bank ,  helps young African men and women access financing to grow their enterprises. Currently active in 15 countries with investments exceeding $490 million, and benefiting around 40,000 youths, the program has emerged as a transformative force in fostering entrepreneurship and tackling youth unemployment. . One beneficiairy of the Program, Adja Sembene Fall, a Senegalese youth entrepreneur run a start-up selling luxury tea brands. Adja participated in Enable Youth’s annual AgriPitch Competition In 2022 and won USD 25,000.  “the 2022 AgriPitch Competition helped  me to develop new distribution partnerships, as well as acquire new customers. Since my participation, I have strengthened my team by setting up a processing unit. Today, we have enabled four women in our community to develop a fixed monthly income. The media exposure that I received from this competition has expanded my professional network and led to a 100% increase in sales.” says Adja

we should see more examples like Adja’s and scale up this kind of Initiatives.

the Skill Enhancement Zones  are part of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones initiative. The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) are agro-based spatial development initiatives from the African Development Bank, designed to concentrate agro-processing activities within areas of high production, processing and marketing of selected commodities. These zones create demand-led training and job placement programs within industrial clusters and parks anddesigned to develop a workforce aligned with employers’ needs.

Aside from these flagships, the Bank continues to support governments in implementing their national youth initiatives, including through financing that can be invested in innovative agribusiness start-ups and other projects with high growth potential. So far, we have seen some of our investments being used to:

• Facilitate access to modern technologies, equipment, and machinery for enhanced agricultural productivity and value chain efficiency.
• Deliver tailored training programs and mentorship to develop business skills and entrepreneurial acumen.
• Strengthen value chains and promote market integration for agricultural products.
• Promote sustainable agricultural practices and climate resilience among entrepreneurs.

The African Development Bank is always on the lookout for innovative partnerships that could accelerate the impact of its Funds, particularly in drawing more youth into agriculture and related value chains. We shall be exploring such partnerships and other strategies at the 2024 Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, from September 3 – 6. Ahead of this convening, we welcome ideas, investments, and other opportunities that will help drive our vision of a food-secure Africa led by youth initiatives.

Edson Rurangwa Mpyisi, Chief Financial Economist and Enable Youth Coordinator, African Development Bank.