The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is calling on African countries to increase investment in agroecology as the continent seeks to strengthen food security, build climate resilience and develop more sustainable agrifood systems.

Dr Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, made the call at the final conference of the Agricultural Fund for Sustainable Agriculture (AGRECOFARM) project in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, Gadain said agroecology could provide practical approaches to some of Africa’s interconnected food, environmental and socioeconomic challenges.

The call comes as African food systems face growing pressure. About 307 million Africans experienced hunger in 2024, representing roughly one in five people.

Agroecology Requires Local Solutions

Gadain said agroecology should not be treated as a fixed set of technologies or farming practices. Instead, it should be approached as a systems-based model adapted to local ecological, economic and cultural conditions.

FAO’s framework identifies 10 elements of agroecology: diversity, synergies, efficiency, recycling, resilience, knowledge sharing, social values, culture, responsible governance and a circular economy.

The approach seeks to connect agricultural production with soil health, biodiversity, climate resilience, markets, nutrition and rural livelihoods.

Gadain also highlighted the importance of education, arguing that universities need to equip graduates with practical skills to address the interconnected challenges facing African agriculture.

Students should be able to design agricultural interventions, develop enterprises, analyse landscapes and translate scientific research into policy and practical solutions.

Finance and Market Access Remain Critical

Despite growing interest in agroecology, several barriers are limiting its wider adoption.

FAO identified weak land tenure systems, limited access to finance, inadequate agricultural extension services and shortages of quality planting materials among the key constraints facing farmers.

Digital technologies could also play a larger role by improving access to climate information, early-warning systems, farm data, financial services, research and markets.

Gadain called for stronger connections between farmers, policymakers and scientists, alongside better extension services, landscape planning and investment.

He also stressed the importance of ensuring women and young people are included in the transition towards more sustainable agricultural systems.

For agroecology to expand at scale, he said it must become investable through mechanisms including transition finance, concessional lending, guarantees, blended finance, insurance and incentives for sustainable farming practices.

Stronger Value Chains Needed

Investment in production alone will not be sufficient. Farmers also need reliable routes to markets and greater opportunities to capture value from their products.

FAO highlighted aggregation, processing, certification, traceability, storage and logistics as important components of stronger agricultural value chains.

Improved market systems could help create additional income opportunities for smallholder farmers while encouraging sustainable production practices.

In Nigeria, FAO interventions in Ondo and Cross River states have already supported more than 30,000 smallholder farmers, including initiatives focused on restoration, agroforestry and biodiversity conservation.

Universities Can Strengthen Africa’s Agroecology Capacity

The AGRECOFARM project has also placed academic institutions at the centre of the transition.

Prof. Pietro Picuno, coordinator of the project at the University of Basilicata in Italy, said the initiative brought together six African universities with European partners to develop academic programmes combining theoretical knowledge with practical agroecological farming.

The project produced 35 scientific papers presented at the conference and sought to strengthen academic capacity for adapting agroecological approaches to African farming systems.

Prof. Olusola Kehinde, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, said traditional agricultural systems across sub-Saharan Africa are under increasing pressure from population growth, industrialisation, mechanisation and climate change.

He called for greater investment in agroecology education and research to help address the resulting risks to food security and biodiversity.

For Africa, expanding agroecology will therefore require more than changing farming techniques. It will depend on combining research, farmer training, finance, technology, market access and supportive policies to develop agricultural systems that are productive, resilient and environmentally sustainable.