General
AfDB Invests $24b in Agric to Save One Billion from Hunger
By Dipo Olowookere
Global partners have been called upon by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to join hands to lift one billion people worldwide out of hunger.
The continental lender said it was leading the way by investing $24 billion in African agriculture over the next 10 years in the largest such effort ever.
“We are not winning the war against global hunger,” Bank President Akinwumi Adesina told an agriculture conference at Purdue University in Indianapolis on Tuesday, 25 September.
“We must not get carried away,” he added, referring to statistics showing a decline in the global population living on less than two dollars per day. In reality, the number of hungry people in the world had increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, he said citing the latest World Food Security and Nutrition data.
Mr Adesina told the audience that included researchers, implementing organizations, business leaders, policymakers and donors that simple technical and scientific methods were already making a whole difference to farm yields and income in Africa. While such technologies to deliver Africa’s green revolution exist, they are mostly just sitting on the shelves, he said.
“The release of water efficient maize varieties now allows farmers to harvest good yields in the face of moderate drought,” he noted. “Today, rice varieties exist that can give yields of 8 tonnes per ha. Cassava varieties exist with yields of up to 80 tonnes per ha. Heat tolerant and disease resistant livestock and technologies for ramping up aquaculture exist.”
Bank experts put current comparative yields at 1.5-2 tonnes per ha for rice and 10-15 tonnes per ha for cassava.
What was needed urgently was deployment of supportive policies to ensure technologies are cascaded down to millions of farmers. “All Africa needs to do is to harness the available technologies with the right policies and rapidly raise agricultural productivity and incomes for farmers and assure lower food prices for consumers.”
The Bank has launched its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), a $1 billion initiative to extend the use of farm technologies. TAAT is currently engaging seed companies, public and private entities, and financial institutions in 27 countries to make technology available to a total of 40 million African farmers.
Combining targeted subsidies for farmers with a market-based system for rapidly expanding access to financing for farmers and agricultural value chains is the fastest way to get many people out of poverty to a sustained pathway for economic growth, Mr Adesina added.
The conference on “Scaling Up Agricultural Technologies for Transformation” marked Mr Adesina’s fond return to his alma mater.
“It was here, as a graduate student, that I began the journey of searching for ways to get technologies into the hands of millions of farmers,” he said. Mr Adesina was to go on to make a huge impact on the transformation of agriculture in Africa, including implementing game-changing policies in his years as Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development before taking up his post at the Bank in September 2015.
Mr Adesina said the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa needed particularly urgent intervention due to the ravages of climate change. The International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that Africa will add 38 million to its number of hungry people by 2050 as a result of climate change. The Institute forecasts that Africa will experience major food shortages by 2020 and beyond, while malnutrition will be on the rise over the next 20 years.
The Bank’s ongoing initiatives had the objectives of growing income for farmers, stabilizing prices for staple crops, reducing losses and stimulating multiplier effects in local economies. With its Staple Crop Processing Zones and other initiatives, the Bank is demonstrating how this can be done.
“The African Development Bank put feeding Africa as one of its topmost priorities when it launched its Feed Africa strategy in 2015 and is investing $ 24 billion in agriculture for Africa over 10 years – the largest ever such effort,” the Bank President said. Across Africa, the Feed Africa Strategy is supporting the development of policies, markets, infrastructure and institutions that will ensure that agricultural value chains are well developed and that technologies reach several millions of farmers.
Mr Adesina called for global partnerships to establish Staple Crop Processing Zones across Africa.
“The SCPZs will provide several advantages for rural economies. They will create markets for farm produce. Raw materials will no longer be moved out of rural areas, but as finished value-added products. Post-harvest losses will be substantially reduced. Well integrated agricultural value chains will develop, with supportive logistics, especially warehousing and cold chains,” Mr Adesina added.
The African Development Bank has already started investments to develop these SCPZs in a number of pioneering African countries, including Ethiopia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. It expects the processing zones to be active in about 15 countries in the near-term.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu is expected to be among the leading public figures attending the next edition of the Africa CEO Forum, which will take place on May 14-15, 2026, in Kigali, Rwanda
A strong Nigerian private-sector delegation will also take part, including Mr Aliko Dangote, Mr Wale Tinubu, Mr Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, Mrs Adesuwa Ladoja, Mrs Rachel More-Oshodi, Mrs Zouera Youssoufou, Mr Karim Noujaim, Mr Dany Abboud, Mr Ayo Otuyalo and Mr Chukwuerika Achum. Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, will also be present.
According to a statement on Tuesday, the 2026 edition will convene in Kigali to address a defining question for Africa’s future: how to achieve the scale necessary to compete, integrate and thrive in a fragmenting world.
It comes as global power dynamics continue to evolve, while the ability of Africa to rely on competitive, agile and internationally integrated corporate champions has become a defining corporate imperative. In this shifting global landscape, one lesson is clear: scale is no longer optional. It is the first line of defence.
Organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group and co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Africa CEO Forum 2026 will convene Africa’s leading public and private decision-makers around a clear conviction: scale can only be achieved through shared African ownership.
The Forum will explore three strategic levers to build continental scale. First is shared equity, which will look to unlock cross-border equity investment to create multinational African champions. Mobilise African institutional capital across markets to strengthen resilience and enhance long-term returns.
Also, is shared infrastructure, which will take on designing complementary infrastructure to integrate African value chains. Champion transformative projects that serve regional, not merely national, needs and create truly connected markets.
Thirdly is shared frameworks, which is set to harmonise standards, rules and regulations to boost investor confidence and enable the free flow of capital, goods and services. Build future-proof digital rails for health, education, agriculture and cross-border payments.
Speaking on this, Mr Amir Ben Yahmed, President of the Africa CEO Forum, stated: “If Africa wants to compete in a world defined by scale, it must move beyond economic patriotism and embrace a new model: African capital investing together. Shared ownership, cross-border partnerships and continental ambition will define the economic future of Africa and the next generation of African champions.”
On his part, Mr Makhtar Diop, Managing Director at IFC, stated: “Africa has the capital and the opportunity to grow and create quality jobs. What matters now is putting that capital to work at scale. That means building trust, sharing risk, and investing across borders. The Africa CEO Forum brings leaders together to connect policy and private investment, and to help shape Africa’s next phase of growth.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, has directed the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to investigate the allegations of systemic efforts to undermine local barge operators at the nation’s seaports.
The Minister issued the directive during the recent 2026 First Quarter Citizens/Stakeholders’ Engagement, Sectoral Performance Review, and Ministerial Management Retreat of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, held in Lagos.
During the engagement, representatives of barge operators alleged that there was a coordinated and deliberate attempt by certain foreign interests to edge them out of business.
According to the Special Adviser to the Minister, Mr Bolaji Akinola, they claimed that these actions, if left unchecked, could significantly weaken local capacity and disrupt the balance of competition within Nigeria’s maritime logistics chain.
The operators expressed concern that policies, operational bottlenecks, and preferential treatment allegedly being accorded to some foreign-linked entities by certain terminal operators were creating an uneven playing field.
According to them, these challenges are gradually eroding their market share and threatening the survival of indigenous businesses.
Responding to the concerns, the minister emphasised the federal government’s commitment to protecting local investments and ensuring fair competition within the maritime industry.
He directed the council, as the port economic regulator, to carry out a thorough and impartial investigation into the claims.
Mr Oyetola stressed that any form of anti-competitive behaviour or policy inconsistency that disadvantages Nigerian businesses would not be tolerated.
The minister also reiterated the importance of stakeholder engagement as a platform for identifying sectoral challenges and shaping responsive policy interventions, stressing that the government remains focused on strengthening the marine and blue economy sector as a driver of national growth, job creation, and sustainable development.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, has asked to know the real beneficiaries of the repeated payments made by the federal government to settle outstanding debts in the power sector.
Over the weekend, President Bola Tinubu approved the payment of N3.3 trillion for the “full and final” payment for debts in the electricity sector.
The action, according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, was to ensure improvement in electricity supply in the country.
In a post on Tuesday, the former Governor of Anambra State questioned why the government is allegedly making the same payment it announced almost two years ago.
“On May 17, 2024, N3.3 trillion was approved for the same purpose. On July 25, 2024, another N4 trillion bond was approved to settle similar debts. There have also been other approvals in between, all targeted at addressing the same power sector liabilities.
“This raises a fundamental question: were the previous approvals mere announcements without execution?” he queried.
“During the 2023 campaign, President Bola Tinubu made a clear promise: that if he failed to deliver stable electricity, Nigerians should not re-elect him.
“Today, the reality is that power supply has worsened to the extent that there are even discussions about disconnecting the Presidential Villa from the national grid.
“Each time legitimate concerns are raised, what we see appears more like policy pronouncements than measurable progress.
“Now, again, we are confronted with another N3.3 trillion approval to settle power sector debts,” Mr Obi further said.
The chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said, “These debts were largely accumulated under successive administrations of the All Progressives Congress between 2015 and 2025. This raises serious concerns about accountability, transparency, and effectiveness in public financial management.”
“It is important to note that government institutions and agencies, including the Presidential Villa, owe a significant portion of these debts. Year after year, budgets were made and funds appropriated. Why then were these obligations not settled when due? And from what source will this new payment be made? Are we resorting once more to borrowing to service inefficiencies?
“Key questions remain unanswered: How did the debt accrue? What is the actual total debt in the power sector? Which components of the debts are due to operators’ inefficiency and should be borne by them? Why have previous approvals not translated into tangible improvements? Who are the real beneficiaries of these repeated payments?
“Is the N3.3 trillion approved on April 6, 2026, the same as the N3.3 trillion approved in May 2024, and how does it relate to the N4 trillion bond approved in July 2024?
“Nigeria must move beyond recycled announcements and confront the power sector crisis with sincerity, transparency, and decisive reforms.
“Until we do so, we will remain trapped in a cycle of debt and darkness.
But with discipline, accountability, and the right leadership, a new Nigeria is still possible,” he wrote.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn