farouk gumel-With an inclusive agricultural policy, Africa can feed itself and create millions of Jobs
                     With an inclusive 
agricultural policy, 
Africa can feed 
itself and create 
millions of Jobs by 
farouk Gumel
Farouk Gumel, Nigeria
Farouk Gumel-In a continent where some 
50% of its population are farmers, Africa 
still imports billions of dollars of food 
every year to meet its needs. These 
imports, which are by choice and not out 
of necessity, have kept the demand for 
locally produced food items at extremely 
low levels. As a result, Africa’s rural 
farmers, except for those in export 
focused value chains, were left in a 
vicious circle of subsistence with little 
opportunity for growth. The sad fact is 
these imported food items (including 
grains) can be grown indigenously.
In Africa, agriculture remains the key link that connects 
the affluent urban centres to the poorer rural areas. 
What does this mean you ask? 
Well, Africa’s growing middle class (entrepreneurs or 
salaried staff) live in its urban centres. They spend a 
sizable amount of their income on food. 
But due to Africa’s reliance on food imports, these 
funds are sent overseas thereby creating jobs abroad. 
As the urban consumer patronises imported food items, 
the rural farmer is, for the lack of a better word, 
excluded from Africa’s prosperity story. The African 
Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that Africa’s food 
import bill will rise to over$110 billion by 2025.
Realistically, no nation or region can fully 
eliminate food importation. But African can 
surely reduce it as the continent has the 
labour and the arable land needed to meet 
most of its needs. 
If Africa were to halve its food import by 
2025, some of$55 billion which would have 
been sent overseas will be injected directly 
into Africa’s rural economy on an annual 
basis. 
This spending will link Africa’s urban 
consumer with his rural counterpart who 
produces grains and other non-exportable 
agricultural products. By doing this, the rural 
farmer is now included in Africa’s prosperity 
story.
A lot of the migration trends we are seeing within Africa 
(rural to urban) are mostly due to the exclusion of Africa’s 
rural farmers for the continent’s prosperity story. 
It is a fact that until recently, agricultural policies in most 
African countries have focused on the export value chain 
(cocoa, cashew, sesame). 
Now, we are seeing more backward integration policies on 
food grain production (rice, maize, meat). These policies 
leverage Inclusive Value Chain Development (IVCD) to 
enhance local food production while restricting imports.
In countries like Senegal, Mali and Nigeria, the IVCD 
approach is gaining traction as it links small scale 
producers to other value chain actors mostly in urban 
areas thereby guaranteeing offtake.
This approach is leading to a gradual increase in rural 
farmer income. 
Many processing companies utilizing these rural 
supply chains have also introduced women 
empowerment programs, yield enhancement 
techniques and other sustainability projects which are 
further enhancing productivity and working conditions.
Many companies such as Dangote, 
Bua Group, Olam, Flour Mills Nigeria 
and TGI Group are aggressively 
investing in the IVCD approach.  
Farouk Gumel of TGI says his company 
has invested millions of dollars in out 
grower farming programs for rice 
paddy, soya beans and maize in 
Nigeria. These programs supply raw 
materials to TGI’s rice mill, multi seed 
oil crushing facilities and poultry 
farms.
Farouk Gumel states that through these investments, 
the TGI’s rural outgrower farmers receive quality 
inputs, training in modern farming techniques and a 
guaranteed offtake of their produce while the 
factories have a guaranteed and consistent supply of 
raw materials. 
These programs, which are supported by strong fiscal 
and monetary policies, have re energised the rural 
farming communities TGI operates by creating jobs 
and increasing farmer income while achieving import 
substitution of essential food items.
It is not clear how the African Continental Free Trade 
Agreement (AfCFTA) would impact these IVCD 
initiatives. 
But we hope this approach will be sustained and 
enhanced to fully harness Africa’s most valuable 
resources – a youthful energetic population and 
plentiful arable land. 
Farouk Gumel is an Executive Director at TGI Group, 
a pan African conglomerate with investments across 
key agricultural value chains.
THANK YOU!!