Agriculture Summit Africa 2026 has set a target of building a $300 million investment pipeline for the continent’s agriculture sector, with organisers seeking to connect viable agribusiness projects with investors and development finance institutions.

The two-day summit, held under the theme “Building the Next Superpower: Africa’s Food Power Play,” brought together more than 12,000 participants from government, finance, agribusiness and development organisations.

The focus was on moving beyond discussions about Africa’s agricultural potential and directing capital into processing, infrastructure, logistics, finance and market development.

The summit highlighted a persistent challenge across Africa: the continent has significant agricultural resources and a large potential consumer market, yet continues to import substantial quantities of food while capturing a relatively small share of the value generated between farmers and consumers.

Finance and Value Addition Take Centre Stage

Sterling Bank Managing Director and CEO Abubakar Suleiman said agricultural lending had become a significantly larger part of the bank’s business after years of increased focus on the sector.

Agriculture accounted for 18% of the bank’s loan book by April 2026, with its agricultural loan portfolio reaching ₦277 billion, a 30% increase from the previous year.

Sterling said it had deployed more than $500 million to support Nigeria’s agricultural sector, with businesses receiving the funding contributing more than one million jobs and more than one million tonnes to national agricultural output.

More than 150,000 smallholder farmers and businesses have also entered the formal financial system through initiatives supported by the bank, with women accounting for 40% of beneficiaries and young people 65%.

However, Suleiman argued that increasing access to capital alone would not resolve the structural challenges facing agriculture.

Processing capacity, infrastructure, risk management and market access are also needed if African countries are to retain more of the economic value generated by their agricultural commodities.

Cocoa and Cashew Processing Projects

The push for greater value addition was highlighted by Sunbeth Global Concepts, which is investing in processing facilities at its new Sunbeth Industrial Park.

The company is developing a 70,000-tonne cocoa processing facility and an 80,000-tonne cashew processing facility, with both plants scheduled to begin operations in 2027.

The investments are intended to increase domestic processing and retain more value from Nigerian agricultural commodities before they enter international markets.

The approach reflects a wider push across Africa to move beyond the export of raw agricultural products and develop processing, manufacturing and export capabilities around major crops.

Government Seeks More Private Investment

Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said Africa needed to convert its agricultural resources into economic value if the continent is to strengthen its position in global food markets.

He noted that Africa holds about two-thirds of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land while the continent spends more than $100 billion annually on food imports.

Nigeria is using programmes such as the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones initiative to attract investment into agricultural processing and related infrastructure.

The first phase of the programme has mobilised $520 million in co-financing from development partners across seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Kyari called for greater private-sector investment in processing, storage, logistics and distribution, while saying government’s role should be to create conditions that make such investments viable.

Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security Senator Aliyu Abdullahi similarly said food sovereignty should focus on strengthening national control over the food chain rather than eliminating imports altogether.

Turning Summit Commitments Into Projects

The summit’s organisers and partners are now focused on converting investment opportunities identified during the event into funded projects.

Sterling said it would help structure opportunities emerging from the summit, support financing for shortlisted projects and track whether commitments translate into deployed capital.

The bank has already mobilised more than $100 million in blended finance from development partners and is developing additional financial infrastructure for smallholder farmers.

One initiative, FarmPass, developed with Rabobank and Mastercard, aims to bring 250,000 smallholder farmers into the formal financial system over the next seven years. More than 10,000 farmers have been onboarded during the pilot phase.

Sterling has also launched AgricHub, a platform designed to connect farmers and agribusinesses with financiers, markets and agricultural technology providers.

The $300 million investment pipeline target therefore places execution at the centre of the summit’s agenda, with financing, processing capacity and market access identified as key requirements for turning Africa’s agricultural potential into greater economic value.