Stronger political will, financing and human capital are urgently needed to turn growing farmer demand into sustainable agricultural transformation
By Nevison Mpofu*
Agroecology is gaining momentum across Africa, backed by growing evidence of its benefits for farmers, food security and environmental resilience, but the research, financing, training and extension systems needed to sustain that progress are struggling to keep pace.
That was one of the key messages from Professor Anthony Egeru during a parallel session at the FARA Science Week in Abuja, where experts warned that farmer demand for agroecological practices is increasingly outpacing the public institutions and support systems required to take them to national scale.
Professor Egeru said evidence of agroecology’s performance across Africa is expanding, with promising results in productivity, soil restoration, biodiversity, household incomes and climate resilience. The concern, however, is that adoption remains uneven and in many countries is still heavily dependent on donor-funded projects rather than being firmly embedded in national policies, budgets and agricultural institutions.
“Farmer-level demand and civil society delivery capacity for agroecology now outpace the public research, finance and formal education systems meant to support and sustain it,” Professor Egeru told participants, underscoring the widening gap between what farmers are demanding and what existing public systems are equipped to provide.
From Food Sovereignty to Sustainable Food Systems
The session, “Agroecology and Ecological Organic Agriculture at Scale: Levers and Inhibitors for Sustainable Food Systems,” formed part of broader discussions on “Food Sovereignty in Africa: Scaling Agroecology and Ecological Organic Agriculture for Resilient and Sustainable Agri-Food Systems in Africa.”
The discussions brought together experts examining how Africa can move beyond isolated projects and demonstration initiatives towards agricultural systems capable of operating sustainably at national and landscape levels. Markus Arbenz of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture in Switzerland was among the experts contributing to discussions on the institutional, financial and knowledge gaps holding back faster expansion.
For Professor Egeru, the issue is no longer simply whether agroecology works, but whether governments and institutions can create the conditions that allow successful practices to spread. His remarks were grounded in the political momentum generated by the Kampala CAADP Declaration, adopted by African Union Heads of State and Government in January 2025, together with its accompanying strategy and action plan for 2026–2035.
The framework gives agroecology greater prominence within Africa’s agricultural transformation agenda, recognizing its potential contribution to biodiversity protection, improved nutrition, healthier soils and stronger local food systems. Experts at the Abuja discussions argued that this political recognition must now be matched by financing, trained personnel, research capacity and effective implementation.
Evidence Mounts Across 25 African Countries
Professor Egeru pointed to findings from 70 review studies covering 25 African countries between 2019 and 2024 as evidence that agroecology is moving beyond theory. Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania and Burkina Faso were highlighted among countries making stronger progress in scaling agroecological practices, supported by comparatively stronger institutions, policies and financing mechanisms.
The broader continental picture, however, remains uneven. Farmer-level adoption in Benin, estimated at roughly 10 percent, was cited as broadly representative of the limited penetration that still characterizes many parts of the region, highlighting the considerable distance between successful pilot initiatives and widespread national adoption.
Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation, applied to roughly 2,500 households across eight countries, including Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya and Madagascar, also points to encouraging results. According to the evidence presented, greater ecological integration has been associated with improved economic, environmental and social outcomes without necessarily sacrificing agricultural productivity.
Professor Egeru also highlighted farmer-managed natural regeneration across Africa, saying the practice covers an estimated 24 million hectares from Niger to Ethiopia and Malawi. Evidence presented during the session indicated that it has increased yields by an average of around 50 percent in participating areas, generated additional household income through firewood sales and supported the regeneration of approximately 200 million trees over two decades.
Another example cited was push-pull cereal-legume intercropping, which has been adopted by about 155,000 smallholder farmers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. According to figures presented at the session, the approach has increased maize yields by about 2.2 times while reducing crop losses caused by stemborers from around 40 percent to approximately 5 percent.
Together, the examples strengthen the argument that agroecology can deliver measurable results when farmers have access to knowledge, institutional support and appropriate technologies. They also reinforce calls for governments to move successful approaches from individual projects into mainstream agricultural policy and extension systems.
Zimbabwe and the Push for Institutional Adoption
Zimbabwe was highlighted for formally incorporating agroecology into its national climate adaptation strategy, reflecting a broader shift from viewing agroecology as a collection of isolated farming techniques towards recognizing it as part of national resilience and food-security planning.
Other developments cited included agroecological living landscape initiatives operating across five countries, the integration of agroecology into university curricula in Kenya and the institutionalization of Farmer Field Schools within government extension systems in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
These developments demonstrate what can be achieved when governments, research institutions and farming communities work together, while also exposing the scale of the challenge in countries where similar systems remain weak or fragmented. Africa’s agricultural transformation will ultimately depend not only on technologies and farming methods, but also on the institutions and skilled personnel capable of delivering them consistently.
That means strengthening universities, agricultural research institutions, extension services and farmer-training networks while investing in a new generation of agricultural professionals, entrepreneurs and innovators. Without sufficient human capital, even successful technologies and practices may struggle to reach the millions of farmers who could benefit from them.
Financing and Human Capital Remain Major Gaps
Despite growing evidence and political recognition, financing remains one of the biggest constraints to scaling agroecology. Participants warned that investment in agricultural research, education and extension has not kept pace with the growing demand for agroecological knowledge, technologies and services.
The shortage of trained personnel presents an equally serious challenge. Scaling agroecology across millions of African farms will require more extension officers, facilitators, researchers and technical specialists capable of translating scientific knowledge into practical solutions that farmers can adopt under different ecological and economic conditions.
Youth participation could become an important part of the solution, with Africa’s rapidly growing young population presenting opportunities to build agricultural enterprises around sustainable production, processing, technology and value chains. Realizing that potential will require deliberate investment in training, infrastructure, innovation systems, farmer networks and access to finance.
Without stronger investment, successful agroecology programmes risk remaining isolated pockets of progress rather than foundations for broader agricultural transformation. The message emerging from Abuja was that farmer demand and civil society capacity are advancing faster than many of the public systems designed to support them, making stronger political action increasingly urgent.
Three Priorities for African Policymakers
Professor Egeru identified three broad areas where stronger government action could accelerate progress, beginning with the need to redirect and de-risk financing towards agroecological research, extension and enterprise development. This could include explicit national budget lines and blended-finance instruments linked to commitments made under the Kampala Declaration.
The second priority is the institutionalization of farmer-centred, multi-stakeholder knowledge systems within public agricultural extension services. Agroecology cannot depend indefinitely on temporary projects, and building dedicated national extension capacity with properly trained personnel embedded within public institutions would provide greater continuity and reach.
The third priority is to govern ecological transitions at landscape and territorial levels, supported by secure land tenure and integrated agricultural value chains. Such an approach would require closer coordination among research institutions, local governments, the private sector, farming communities and civil society to ensure that successful interventions are connected to markets, financing and local development priorities.
Taken together, these measures could help move agroecology from scattered projects towards becoming an integral part of national agricultural development strategies, while ensuring that farmers have the institutional support needed to sustain gains over the long term.
From Evidence to Political Action
The scientific and practical case for agroecology in Africa is becoming increasingly compelling, with evidence from farms, communities and research institutions pointing to its potential to improve productivity while strengthening resilience, protecting ecosystems and expanding economic opportunities for rural households.
Political recognition is also growing, particularly following the Kampala CAADP Declaration and the continent’s renewed emphasis on resilient and sustainable food systems. The challenge now is translating those commitments into national budgets, research programmes, extension services, university curricula, financing mechanisms and viable agricultural enterprises.
Professor Egeru’s message in Abuja underscored the urgency of that transition: farmers are moving ahead, communities are experimenting and the evidence base is expanding, but the institutions expected to support and sustain that momentum must keep pace.
For African policymakers, the coming decade will therefore be less about proving whether agroecology has potential and more about building the financing, human capital and institutional architecture required to turn that potential into durable agricultural transformation across the continent.
* Nevison Mpofu is a lecturer in Sustainable Development, published author and multi-award-winning journalist.
