Stakeholders in Africa’s agricultural sector are set to focus on financing, infrastructure, market access and technology gaps that continue to limit the continent’s ability to produce enough food for its growing population.
The issues are expected to dominate discussions at the ninth edition of Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA), scheduled to hold in Abuja on September 15 and 16, 2026, with the theme, “Building the Next Superpower: Africa’s Food Power Play.” The summit convened by Sterling Bank will bring together policymakers, investors, financial institutions, agribusinesses, technology providers and development partners to examine ways of increasing investment across the agricultural value chain.
The summit arrives against a paradox that has long defined African agriculture: a continent rich in arable land, labour and appetite, yet still dependent on imports to feed itself. Rapid population growth and a changing climate are sharpening the pressure, even as the capital, infrastructure and markets needed to turn farming into a competitive food economy have been slow to follow. For farmers, this results in potential that rarely translates into income and harvests that too often fail to reach the market at full value.
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 per cent 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 per cent 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.
Stakeholders acknowledged the constraints still facing farmers including finance, quality inputs, mechanisation, storage, logistics and market access, alongside persistently high post-harvest losses. They welcomed the Federal Government’s positioning of food security at the centre of its agenda, citing the National Agricultural Mechanisation Policy and a 10-year agrifood system strategy aligned with the African Union’s Kampala Declaration, but stressed that transformation would require a coalition beyond government or any single institution.
Christian Mulamula, Principal Country Officer for Nigeria at the International Finance Corporation, 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.
“ASA is a platform for bringing together policymakers, investors, financial institutions, agribusinesses, technology providers, and development partners to accelerate investment and strengthen Africa’s food systems. At the World Bank Group, we believe that accelerating sustainable development requires public and private sector solutions working together to translate development priorities into investable opportunities, mobilising capital to build stronger and more competitive businesses, and turn business growth into jobs, improved livelihoods, and greater economic opportunities for people.”
Reflecting this multi-sector backing, ASA 2026 brings together an extensive coalition of development finance institutions, agri-technology providers, private sector leaders, and government agencies to align around a shared ambition. Supported by a broad network of partners including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), IDH, Mastercard, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems among others, the summit underscores a unified vote of confidence in the continent’s agricultural future.
Designed as an action-oriented platform, ASA 2026 will serve as a marketplace of ideas, capital, and partnerships, where policymakers hear directly from the value chain, investors meet real opportunity, and the narrative of African agriculture shifts from crisis to enterprise and scale.
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