Investing in Africa's women farmers secures its future and food power

Editor's note: Martin Fregene is the officer of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in charge for the Vice Presidency for Agriculture, Human and Social Development as well as AfDB's director of agriculture and agro-industry. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

I've travelled to countless farm communities and agribusinesses across Africa, and I know one thing to be true: The success and scaling of Africa’s development will be cultivated and harvested from its agricultural fields. Given that women make up nearly half of Africa's agricultural labor force, and approximately 76% of working women in sub-Saharan Africa work in agrifood systems – including value addition – the continent will not reach its full food security or development potential without ensuring equal opportunities for African women in agriculture.

On International Women's Day 2026, the global theme – "Rights, Justice, Action: For All Women and Girls" – to some is a call for celebrating women's achievements. It is also an opportunity to work toward resolving structural inequalities that persist. While we honor the women responsible for producing Africa's food, the reality is that some two-thirds of these women in agribusinesses don't run their businesses. They also struggle to obtain finance to start or expand their businesses.

In fact, women own less than 20% of Africa's agricultural land, according to the AfDB's co-published Africa Gender Index 2023 Analytical Report. Limited land rights restrict women's access to credit, inputs like fertilizer and seed, modern irrigation methods to grow food, and markets to sell the fruits of their labor. Legal systems and cultural traditions often strip African women of the right to inherit, own, or purchase land. Without collateral, getting a loan to expand agribusiness is even more challenging.

These challenges should not be viewed as women's problems. Gender inequality in agriculture is an economic challenge affecting all of Africa, and the international community is increasingly recognizing Africa's immense potential as a breadbasket for food supplies and other resources.

The AfDB has been taking steps to level the playing field in agriculture by advancing women's economic empowerment. I am incredibly proud that what we know works aligns with the AfDB's vision to enhance access to capital, initiate a new African financial architecture framework, harness demographic transformation for economic development, and build climate-resilient infrastructure and add value to natural resources.

Africa is better positioned to feed itself, build more resilient food systems and scale job creation for its youth when women farmers have equal opportunity to succeed.

For example, the AfDB's Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) is helping to reduce the estimated $49 billion access-to-finance gap that African women entrepreneurs face, including women in agriculture. AFAWA partners with financial institutions to de-risk lending to women and strengthen commercial bank capacity to serve them.

AFAWA benefits women "agripreneurs" like Pauline Otila, founder of Apiculture Ventures – a Kenya-based company producing bee and honey products. After being denied financing from commercial banks, Otila secured loans from an AFAWA partner financial institution. Since then, Apiculture Ventures has tripled its turnover and scaled up its beekeeping network from 1,200 local beekeepers to more than 10,500.

We also believe in the role of agricultural technologies in harnessing demographic transformation. The AfDB's Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation initiative has delivered climate-smart, higher-yielding crop varieties and fertilizers, as well as training in contemporary farming practices, to more than 25 million farmers – more than 30% of whom are women.

The AfDB strives to reach a greater share of farmers, particularly women, by providing them with drought-tolerant wheat, improved rice varieties, and heat-resistant maize to produce more food. Its promotion of information and communications technology-based farm input distribution platforms, which are targeted at both men and women and use simple cell phones or smart cards, in bank regional member countries has greatly helped in this respect.

Engaging the private sector is another AfDB pathway to demographic transformation for economic development: We teamed up with Mastercard to develop the Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy (MADE) Alliance: Africa. This alliance aims to provide digital identities, financial services and market access to 100 million individuals and businesses. The AfDB's investment of $300 million in this private-sector-engaged alliance will support 3 million farmers in embracing digital technologies, with a focus on women.

These actions address agriculture's structural inequities and provide solutions at scale. Rights to resources and access to finance, markets and technology. Action through investment and engaging the private sector.

These actions also have an impact beyond Africa's borders. As China, for example, deepens its economic partnerships across Africa, particularly in infrastructure and agribusiness, supporting women's inclusion in agricultural value chains strengthens supply stability, food security and long-term economic cooperation. Women farmers are agents of social equity and reliable partners in global agricultural markets.

Africa's future – its food security, climate resilience and economic development – is inseparable from the empowerment of women in agriculture. When women farmers thrive, Africa thrives with them.

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