Why Smallholder Farmers Are Africa’s Biggest Untapped Economic Opportunity

Davos, Switzerland — Investing in smallholder farmers is no longer a development slogan but an economic necessity for building resilient and investable global food systems, according to Alice Ruhweza, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Ms Ruhweza argued that farmer incomes—not yields alone—are the critical metric that determines whether food systems can stabilise, scale and attract long-term investment.

“When smallholder farmers earn viable incomes, adoption sticks, markets stabilise, and food systems become investable,” she said.

She framed the challenge in stark economic terms. “If smallholder farmers were a country, they would be the world’s largest underperforming economy—and its biggest opportunity.”

Africa’s food system is projected to reach US$1 trillion by 2030, driven by population growth, rising urban demand, exports, value-chain development and technology adoption. Yet Ms Ruhweza warned that without deliberate investment in farmer incomes, that growth will remain fragile and uneven.

Food systems, she noted, sit at the intersection of some of the world’s most pressing challenges—agriculture, energy, health, climate change and environmental sustainability.

“Getting food systems right for Africa’s farmers will lift people out of poverty, get children to school, put more nutritious meals on the table, and improve opportunities for women and youth,” she said during a closed-door meeting with global agricultural leaders at the end of the forum.

AGRA’s research shows that income thresholds matter. Once farmers cross an annual income level of roughly US$1,200, behaviour changes in measurable ways. Farmers begin to reinvest in their operations, productivity improves and agriculture starts to function as a business rather than a survival mechanism.

Below that threshold, however, farmers struggle to sustain new technologies, improved seed or climate-smart practices, regardless of how innovative those solutions may be.

“Farmers operating below break-even simply cannot carry risk,” Ms Ruhweza said, underscoring why many well-intended interventions fail to scale.

Two Decades of AGRA’s Work in Africa

AGRA’s presence in Davos coincided with the launch of a year-long reflection on its 20 years of work across Africa’s agri-food sector. The organisation was founded with Ghanaian diplomat and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as its first board chairman.

Over two decades, AGRA and its partners have worked with governments, farmers and markets to address structural bottlenecks in African agriculture—ranging from seed systems and soil health to extension services and policy reforms.

Since its founding, AGRA has supported the release of more than 700 improved crop varieties, many designed to withstand drought, pests and disease. It has also worked with governments and regional bodies to reform seed and fertiliser policies, helping lower input costs and expand access for farmers.

Independent evaluations by Mathematica, drawing on farmer surveys and data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and other sources, show increased adoption of improved seeds, productivity gains and income growth in AGRA focus countries.

As AGRA marks its 20th anniversary, the organisation says the priority now is scale—translating evidence into investable pathways that raise farmer incomes, strengthen food systems and unlock shared prosperity.

At the core of AGRA’s message is a simple organising principle: farmer income is the metric that makes food systems resilient, sustainable and attractive to investors.

Ms Ruhweza also challenged African governments to match rhetoric with resources.

“I would like to see African governments contribute that 10% that they have been promising to agriculture,” she said, referencing long-standing continental commitments. “But also take the sector more seriously.”

“This sector is the engine of Africa’s economic growth. It is Africa’s biggest employer. It feeds us. It feeds the world,” she added.

Source: Accra Business News