Oluchi Chibuzor
Africa’s drive to transform from a net food importer into a global agricultural powerhouse takes center stage this September as Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) returns for its ninth edition.
Operating under the theme ‘Building the Next Superpower: Africa’s Food Power Play,’ the continent’s premier agricultural event will hold in Abuja on 15th to 16th, September 2026.
In his remarks, Group Executive, Corporate and Investment Banking at Sterling Bank, Dele Faseemo, located agriculture at the centre of the bank’s HEART strategy, covering Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation.
He noted that in 2025, Sterling’s financing across these sectors grew by 39 percent to N331.7 billion, with agriculture recording one of the sharpest increases.
“When Sterling talks about agriculture, we are speaking as a bank that puts its balance sheet where its convictions are; behind the farmers, processors, off-takers and agribusinesses doing the hard, unglamorous work of turning Nigeria’s land into livelihoods,” Faseemo stated.
Speaking to the strategic importance of ASA 2026, Group Head, Agric Finance and Solid Minerals at Sterling Bank, Dr. Olushola Obikanye, framed the continent’s food story as a massive economic opportunity, pointing out that Africa holds roughly 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land yet spends tens of billions of dollars every year importing food it could produce itself.
“Food is jobs. Food is trade. Food is foreign exchange, industrial policy, climate resilience, and increasingly, geopolitical power. Hence, the continent that feeds itself and competes globally will hold real strategic weight. That is Africa’s food power play,” he said.
Commenting, Principal Country Officer for Nigeria at the International Finance Corporation, Christian Mulamula, underscored that Africa’s agricultural transformation must go beyond increasing production to building an enabling ecosystem where farmers and agribusinesses can access the finance, technology, inputs, infrastructure, and markets required to thrive.
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