Agriculture’s contribution to Africa’s economy declined to 17 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 from 18 percent five years earlier, underscoring persistent challenges facing a sector that remains central to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people across the continent, according to a report by the African Development Bank.
The findings were published in the 2026 Annual Development Effectiveness Review released on Thursday by the AfDB, which warned that low productivity, climate shocks, insecurity and inadequate investment continue to undermine Africa’s efforts to achieve food security and agricultural transformation.
The report said multiple crises have converged to weaken food systems, particularly in regions already struggling with conflict and environmental pressures.
“These crises are increasingly regional, prolonged, and interconnected, amplifying structural vulnerabilities in Africa’s food systems and threatening progress toward agricultural transformation and long-term food security,” the bank said.
Agriculture remains one of Africa’s most important economic sectors, employing a large share of the continent’s workforce and providing livelihoods for rural communities. However, experts say the sector continues to suffer from chronic underinvestment, poor rural infrastructure, limited access to modern farming technologies and growing climate-related risks.
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The AfDB noted that conflicts in the Sahel, Sudan and parts of the Great Lakes region have disrupted agricultural production, displaced farming communities and weakened supply chains, reducing the sector’s overall contribution to economic growth.
Productivity levels remain among the lowest in the world despite decades of policy reforms and development programmes.
According to the report, cereal yields averaged approximately 1.68 metric tons per hectare in 2024, showing little improvement since 2020. The figure remains significantly below the global average of about 4.2 metric tons per hectare.
The productivity gap highlights longstanding structural challenges, including limited irrigation, inadequate mechanization, poor access to quality seeds and fertilizers, and insufficient agricultural research and extension services.
The report also pointed to a paradox that continues to define African agriculture. Although the continent possesses nearly 65 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, it remains heavily dependent on imported food.
Africa currently imports nearly $70 billion worth of food annually, exposing countries to global price volatility, supply disruptions and foreign exchange pressures.
That dependence has contributed to persistent food insecurity across the continent.
According to estimates from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), approximately 307 million Africans are facing hunger or undernourishment in 2025. Projections suggest that by 2030, nearly 60 percent of the world’s chronically hungry population could be living in Africa if current trends continue.
In response, governments and development partners have stepped up efforts to strengthen agricultural resilience and boost food production.
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The African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), launched in 2003, continues to serve as the continent’s flagship framework for agricultural transformation. Under the initiative, member states are encouraged to allocate at least 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture and rural development.
Development institutions have also expanded support for climate adaptation in agriculture.
Among them is the World Bank-backed Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) programme, which seeks to promote climate-smart agricultural practices and improve farmers’ ability to cope with increasingly frequent droughts, floods and other weather-related shocks.
The AfDB warned that worsening global economic conditions could further complicate efforts to transform the sector.
Rising borrowing costs, tighter financial conditions and growing uncertainty in the global economy may reduce investment flows into agriculture at a time when substantial financing is needed to modernize food systems and strengthen resilience.
African leaders have nevertheless set ambitious targets for the coming decade.
Under the CAADP strategy for 2026-2035, member states aim to mobilize approximately $100 billion to transform Africa’s agri-food systems, improve productivity, expand value addition and reduce dependence on food imports.
The AfDB said achieving those goals will require stronger policy implementation, increased public and private investment, and coordinated efforts to address the structural weaknesses that continue to constrain agricultural growth across the continent.
