Turning potential into productive, resilient food systems
Africa’s agriculture sits at a crossroads.
The continent has vast arable land, a rapidly growing population, and expanding consumer markets. Yet food systems continue to underperform. West Africa alone imports over US$40 billion in rice annually, despite its agricultural potential.
This is not a question of capacity alone. It is a question of systems.
At ACBF, we work to address this gap by strengthening the human, institutional, and market systems that determine whether agribusiness can scale and whether countries can achieve food sovereignty.
Our work contributes directly to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and Agenda 2063’s vision for resilient, self-sustaining food systems.
Where The Challenge Lies
ACBF’s Agribusiness and Food Sovereignty program addresses these constraints through targeted investment in people, institutions, and ecosystems. We focus on:
What We Do Differently
ACBF’s Agribusiness and Food Sovereignty program addresses these constraints through targeted investment in people, institutions, and ecosystems. We focus on:
We focus on:
Building human capital
By developing entrepreneurs, trainers, and leaders who drive agribusiness growth.
Strengthening institutional performances
supporting incubators, training institutions, and ecosystem actors.
Enabling market integration
connecting value chains and improving access to markets and finance.
This approach moves beyond individual capacity building to enable enterprise resilience, market integration, and system-level transformation.
How We Work: A Systems Active Approach
Our work is anchored in the 5A Implementation Framework, a structured methodology that enables countries and institutions to move from fragmented interventions to coordinated action:
- Analytics — Data-driven diagnosis of constraints
- Articulation — Alignment around a shared vision
- Alliance Building — Partnerships across sectors
- Action — Coordinated implementation
- Assessment — Continuous evaluation and adaptation
This framework ensures that interventions are not only effective, but sustainable and scalable.
Impact in Numbers
Across West and Central Africa, the program is delivering measurable results:
Entrepreneurs strengthened across Sierra Leone, Gabon, and Burkina Faso
Certified trainers extending knowledge into communities
Country-level impact includes:
Burkina Faso
Gabon
Sierra Leone
Beyond enterprise support, ACBF is also investing in system-wide enablers. In 2024, the Foundation committed US$800,000 to livestock research (WAAVP-AN), supporting 10 research projects across 6 countries, including Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa, to strengthen veterinary capacity and address animal health constraints.
Beyond agribusiness: advancing food sovereignty
This work is about more than improving productivity.
It is about enabling countries to:
- Reduce reliance on food imports
- Strengthen local value chains
- Build resilience to climate and market shocks
- Create inclusive opportunities for women and youth
In doing so, ACBF supports a shift from fragmented agricultural systems to integrated, resilient, and self-sustaining food systems across Africa.
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