For decades, Africa’s agribusiness narrative has been shaped largely by discussions around food aid, productivity gaps, and the vulnerability of smallholder farmers. While these challenges are real, they often mask a deeper structural constraint holding back the sector: weak and unreliable market institutions. According to Bharat Kulkarni, Africa’s challenge is not simply low production, but fragile market architecture that limits value creation and investment.

Drawing on hands-on experience building commodity exchanges and structured markets across Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania, and Nigeria, Kulkarni offers an operational perspective often missing from policy debates. His book, African Agribusiness, argues that sustainable agricultural growth is anchored in strong market institutions—not subsidies or short-term interventions.

At the core of the problem is the fragmentation of agricultural markets. Across much of the continent, farmers sell produce without transparent price discovery, standardised quality benchmarks, or guaranteed settlement systems. This lack of structure erodes trust, discourages private investment, and traps producers in cycles of low income and high risk. Structured markets—particularly commodity exchanges supported by Warehouse Receipt Systems (WRS)—help close these gaps by formalising trade, improving access to finance, and integrating farmers into broader value chains.

A compelling illustration of this approach is the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), where Kulkarni served as UNDP-deputed Head of Trading Operations. The ECX reshaped Ethiopia’s coffee sector through standardised grading, transparent auctions, and guaranteed payments. Farmers achieved better price realisation, exporters gained consistent quality, and the market became more resilient. The lesson was clear: when institutions function effectively, trust follows—and with trust comes scale.

However, many agribusiness reforms fall short because they attempt to replicate global models without adapting them to local realities. Kulkarni’s work in Malawi and Rwanda shows that moving away from single-crop dependence—such as tobacco—requires more than policy intent. It demands coordinated investment in storage, logistics, market access, and finance. Without these building blocks, even well-designed reforms struggle to deliver results.

A central theme in African Agribusiness is the misinterpretation of risk in African agriculture. Risk, Kulkarni argues, is not inherent to the sector; it is created by institutional gaps. Opaque pricing, weak contracts, and unreliable post-harvest systems deter capital. Strengthening market infrastructure reduces uncertainty and unlocks both domestic and international investment.

The book also draws valuable lessons from India’s agribusiness evolution. India’s experience with regulated markets, commodity exchanges, and agricultural finance offers practical insights for Africa—particularly in balancing farmer inclusion with market efficiency. This India–Africa comparison underscores the importance of South–South cooperation in an increasingly interconnected global food system.

As climate change, supply-chain disruptions, and food security pressures intensify, Africa’s agribusiness future will depend on long-term institutional thinking. African Agribusiness challenges policymakers, investors, and development agencies to move beyond aid-led narratives and embrace market-driven solutions that can endure.

For readers seeking a grounded, experience-based perspective on what truly drives agricultural transformation in Africa, the book—and its author—offer insights shaped not by theory alone, but by years of on-the-ground practice.