By Edson Baraukwa | Africa Guardian
Africa is a continent rich in diverse and resilient crops, ranging from millet, teff, and sorghum to cassava, cowpea, and sweet potato. These crops have the potential to produce a variety of products—from baby food to bread and even beer. However, the continent’s underdeveloped food processing sector is a major barrier to fully leveraging these indigenous and locally adapted crops to meet the growing demand for convenient and long-lasting products.
This issue became evident to me during a visit to a rural village in Zambia, where I was struck by the sight of a shelf lined with biscuits imported from China. The journey these biscuits undertook—traveling thousands of miles to reach a remote farming community—symbolizes Africa’s overreliance on costly food imports.
As the new CEO of Partners in Food Solutions (PFS), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Africa’s food processing sector, I am convinced that unlocking the sector’s potential could yield substantial economic benefits, provide a wider range of nutritious foods, and reduce dependency on imports.
Africa’s population is rapidly growing and urbanizing, while the devastating effects of climate change are increasingly threatening food security and livelihoods. This dual challenge places immense pressure on Africa’s food systems to provide sufficient food and jobs while also adapting to shifting consumer preferences.
However, Africa’s food processing sector remains underdeveloped, exacerbating the continent’s reliance on food imports and hindering economic growth opportunities such as job creation, skill development, and market expansion.
Currently, Africa spends over $60 billion annually on food imports—funds that could be redirected toward boosting domestic production, especially at a time when the continent’s food systems are under increasing strain. To transition to more localized food processing across Africa, access to expertise, increased investments, and crop diversification are crucial.
The first step is to ensure that food processing companies have access to the right support. Exposure to world-class expertise can foster sustainable food systems while helping businesses and entrepreneurs flourish. For instance, when the Zambian food processing company COMACO struggled to achieve an 80% extraction rate of grade A polished rice from paddy rice, PFS connected them with a rice milling expert from the Swiss multinational Bühler. The expert helped COMACO troubleshoot the issue and identify solutions, demonstrating the impact that technical support can have.
Such assistance enables African food processing companies to attain international food safety and quality certifications, increase their processing capacities, extend product shelf life, and more. This, in turn, creates a ripple effect, benefiting smallholder farmers by increasing demand for raw ingredients.
Secondly, driving economic development requires investing in the necessary infrastructure for a thriving food processing sector. This includes not only equipment and machinery but also training and access to markets.
Africa is home to the world’s youngest population and is projected to have the largest workforce by 2035. Yet, there are not enough jobs, and many young people are turning away from agricultural careers. A dynamic and profitable food processing sector could offer an attractive alternative for Africa’s burgeoning youth population.
Finally, Africa’s diverse crops can meet the demands of an urbanizing population with changing food preferences. The continent spends significantly on imports such as grains, which are often used for flour to produce bread and other staple foods. For example, in 2021, Uganda imported nearly $100 million worth of wheat.
Instead of relying on imported foods or crops, Africa’s food processors could be supported to harness traditional African crops. Cereals such as sorghum and millet are nutritious and well-suited for processing into healthy, accessible food products that address the continent’s nutritional challenges. Moreover, these crops are more resilient to droughts and extreme weather events, which are becoming increasingly common across Africa.
International partnerships, such as the US State Department’s Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS), can support crop diversification efforts. VACS aims to build a resilient food system grounded in diverse, nutritious, and climate-adapted crops like sorghum, millet, Bambara groundnut, and yams.
Given the twin challenges of a rapidly growing population and escalating climate change, Africa must reduce its historical reliance on food imports. Supporting a homegrown food processing industry would not only unlock economic growth but also empower farmers and secure a resilient future for millions of young Africans.
To realize these opportunities, increased investment and recognition of the food processing gap in Africa’s current food system are urgently needed. Governments and businesses within the agrifood sector must champion collaboration to accelerate food systems transformation across the continent.