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Agribusiness in Africa: Investor reveals which areas hold the most potential

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6 years ago

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Chris Isaac, chief investment officer of AgDevCo

by Betsy Henderson

Agribusiness in Africa: Investor reveals which areas hold the most potential
AgDevCo is an impact investment firm specialising in agribusiness in sub-Saharan Africa. It has a portfolio consisting of over 40 active investments throughout the continent. How we made it in Africa speaks to Chris Isaac, chief investment officer at AgDevCo, about the continent’s agribusiness opportunities and the investment lessons he has learnt.
Which agribusiness sub-sectors in Africa are you most enthusiastic about from an investment perspective?
We’ve been involved in many ventures over the past decade. We’ve learnt a lot of lessons from our investment mistakes and successes, which has led us to focus on a few areas where we see the greatest potential.
The first is tree crops, particularly avocados and macadamia. There is significant – and still growing – global demand for these crops, and if you can provide the right quality into the international supply chains, then it’s a good business. There are some risks, as there are major new plantings happening in Africa and around the world because prices are good at the moment. However, there are advantages to having export crops that bring in dollar revenue. Southern and East African countries have the possibility of being globally competitive because they can hit particular seasonal windows, they’ve got the right agro-ecological conditions, and you can build profitable new industries, as we’re seeing developing in Mozambique and Malawi.
Another area is livestock for supply to domestic markets, which plays into Africa’s demographics with an emerging middle class, increasing affluence, and a switch towards more protein-based diets. We’re doing quite a lot in poultry, including some innovative work that provides improved breeds to small-scale farmers. We also have investments in pig breeding.
The third sub-sector would be high-quality, competitively-priced basic foodstuffs. African consumers will buy good quality, locally-produced products if you can come in at the right price point. We’re currently involved in maize meal processing and groundnuts. You can find success in this area if you can assure the consumer the food is safe and if it’s well-packaged and well-branded.
Are there any areas you would be hesitant to invest in?
We’ve found you really need to know what you’re doing if you are going into large-scale production of commodity crops – like maize, soya or rice. These are relatively low-margin commodities where there is global competition and significant economies of scale (especially if you look to South America or Asia), so you really need to be sure that you can be an efficient producer and you’ve got the necessary scale. You are also sometimes dealing with unpredictable policy environments, where there may be intermittent export bans or changing tariff regimes, so primary production of low-value commodity crops is really difficult. It can make sense as part of a strategy where you’re vertically integrated and you’re also involved in the processing, but we’ve found it very challenging to make a success of doing straight primary production of those crops.
A similar challenge is if you move into, say, tomato processing or cassava starch – again, you’re taking on global suppliers who often benefit from subsidies, which makes it very difficult to get the cost of production below that of imports. It can be very tough to make those models work.
Explain the long-term impact of Covid-19 on Africa’s agribusiness industry.
We don’t know, is the honest answer. So far, the agriculture sector in Africa seems to have weathered the storm reasonably well. As one of our non-executive directors, Sir Paul Collier, has said, we are operating in a situation of “radical uncertainty”, and so all you can do is try and design strategies that will be more or less robust regardless of the pandemic’s outcome.
Initially, there was quite a lot of obstruction to logistics – borders closing, congestion at ports, supplies not going in or out – which seems to have eased. I would be surprised if we were to see further lockdowns. We were concerned earlier in the year that this was really going to hit our portfolio quite hard; we haven’t seen that yet, but I don’t think anyone knows what is going to happen over the next year or so. Hopefully, growth in the agriculture sector will be able to continue, as it has done remarkably well relative to other parts of the economy thus far.
In a sense, we are dealing with this type of uncertainty in agriculture all the time. You never know if a harvest is going to fail or if prices are going to collapse, so it’s one reason why you need an investment approach that is long-term, flexible, and that allows you to ride out the bumps that will inevitably come.
Covid-19 has focused attention on the fact that the continent is a net importer of food products, which needs to be reversed. It accelerates the trend toward orientating businesses to cater for growing demand in local and regional markets. That said, I don’t think it completely changes the game, and we’re not expecting a complete breakdown in international supply chains. You still have to focus on being internationally competitive and be able to deal with the fact that chicken can be imported from Brazil to southern Africa at very low cost and rice processing costs in Asia are a fraction of what they are in Africa.
Various stakeholders have highlighted the potential for African agribusinesses to tap into the global health and wellness trend by exporting organic products from Africa to Western markets. Do you agree that this is a good opportunity?
At one level, yes. There is value if you have full traceability back to the farmer who supplied the product, and can be sure that banned chemicals haven’t been used, coupled with sustainable and equitable trade relationships with farmers.
For example, we’re involved in sourcing organic cocoa from farmers in Sierra Leone. This achieves a premium in the market, allows us to share more value with the farmers, and it’s a good business. You could see this happening in coffee, tea, and some of the other traditional export crops, which are otherwise very low margin. If you can show consumers they’re getting a quality product and they know the farmers are getting a fair deal, I think there is a willingness to pay for that.
However, if you shift focus to niche crops – such as superfoods and that sort of thing – the challenge that you face is how big the market demand really is and to what extent you can supply that market and earn a reasonable margin without having to invest in a sophisticated marketing operation. Some people do this brilliantly, but they are really marketing businesses rather than farming businesses.
We’ve found that in order to be successful in these markets, you need a certain scale to be able to build a network of farmers and suppliers, and ensure that the company is going to be sustainable, profitable, and therefore able to maintain those relationships with farmers over time. There is a risk with new crops where the level of demand is not proven yet, and we’ve seen too many businesses spring up for a few years, but then don’t manage to achieve long-term sustainability, which risks farmers being left without a market.
What other agribusiness trends are you seeing in Africa?
Besides increasing domestic demand for better quality food and more protein-based diets, we’re seeing companies realising they need to think about vertical integration. The more successful players are becoming involved all along the supply chain in order to ensure end-to-end quality and consistency of supply. Currently, you can’t always rely on there being a steady supply of raw materials – for example, quality feed, if you are involved in the livestock sector. As markets mature, I think you’d see more specialisation again, but right now vertical integration – either through companies building it themselves or acquiring complementary firms – is a sensible strategy.
Which African country are you most optimistic about?
One country that is perhaps under the radar but where we’ve had great success is Malawi. It has a relatively small economy, but a history of commercial agriculture in tobacco, sugar, and to some extent tea, and an investment climate that is very good for agriculture. There’s also a strong overall supportive environment; Malawi has a solid legal system, it’s relatively painless dealing with the authorities, and you can get things done. We started investing there about eight years ago and have businesses in poultry, macadamia, sugar and peanuts that are all doing well.
Describe one of the investment lessons you have learnt over the years.
Perhaps the key lesson as an investor is getting the balance right between sensible caution and being decisive. In the early days of my career, there was perhaps a tendency to see every opportunity as exciting and I might have been tempted to give benefit of the doubt to a business plan. But then as you get more experience, you see more, and you become a little more sceptical. The thing is to not go too far in that direction – it’s too easy to start saying “no” to every opportunity. There are always risks and at some point you have to take the plunge and say “yes”.
One thing that is challenging in the African agriculture sector is that you have to make decisions without perfect information. We are often backing companies that are doing pioneering things and who are the first movers. So, you’ve got to do your due diligence and you can try to look at things from every angle, but at the end of the day, you do have to be decisive and trust your judgement. You won’t get it right all of the time. You are most likely to succeed if you build a team with experienced people who have seen what works and what doesn’t on the ground. We’ve also found that, as an entrepreneur, it’s important you have a business model that incorporates flexibility and allows you to course correct as you go along in order to manage uncertainty.
Original source: How we made it in Africa

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Govt moves to set up food and agriculture regulatory authority

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2 weeks ago

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August 28, 2026

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Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze tabled the Food and Agriculture Regulatory Authority Bill, 2026, for first reading in Parliament on August 25, 2026. (Credit: Maria Wamala)

The Bill has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture for scrutiny. The proposed authority will regulate the manufacture, processing, importation, exportation, distribution, transportation, advertisement, labelling, storage, sale and supply of veterinary medicines, agricultural chemicals, veterinary equipment and devices.

KAMPALA – The Government has proposed the creation of a food and agriculture regulatory authority to bring food, animal medicines, agricultural chemicals and related products under one regulatory framework.

Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze tabled the Food and Agriculture Regulatory Authority Bill, 2026, for first reading in Parliament on August 25, 2026.

The Bill has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture for scrutiny. The proposed authority will regulate the manufacture, processing, importation, exportation, distribution, transportation, advertisement, labelling, storage, sale and supply of veterinary medicines, agricultural chemicals, veterinary equipment and devices.

It will regulate food and feed manufacturing, processing and distribution, oversee food and feed safety, develop standards, inspect and certify agricultural inputs, and establish traceability systems for regulated products.

The Bill’s memorandum presents a troubling picture of the current food and agricultural regulatory system, stating that the country is “flooded with counterfeit substandard veterinary medicines and agricultural chemicals.”

It cites concerns over medicines and chemical residues, aflatoxins, harmful microorganisms and heavy metals in food and feed, warning that such contaminants compromise public health and the safety of agricultural exports.

Members of Parliament during Plenary on Tuesday. (Credit: Maria Wamala)The memorandum attributes the problem in part to “fragmented regulation”, which it says has resulted in weak and uncoordinated regulation by multiple agencies, duplication of efforts and inefficiencies in enforcement.

It argues that the absence of a single body overseeing the food and agriculture value chain “undermines the effectiveness of regulation” and creates uncertainty for stakeholders.

The proposed authority will inspect food premises, certify meat for public consumption, inspect and certify fish, regulate processed and semi-processed food, and oversee the storage and transportation of food.

The Bill seeks to regulate food packaging, labelling and advertising, while prohibiting the use of radioactive materials, heavy metals and banned substances in food. It provides for residue monitoring to detect harmful substances in food products.

Members of Parliament during Plenary on Tuesday. (Credit: Maria Wamala)

For agricultural chemicals, the Authority will license manufacturers, distributors, fumigators and commercial applicators. It would regulate the import and export of chemicals, as well as their packaging and labelling, storage, sale and advertising.

The Authority will have powers to recall agricultural chemicals and deal with prohibited, banned, restricted, falsified or adulterated products.

The Bill proposes inspectors and analysts with powers to access establishments, conduct sampling and analysis, seize adulterated products and oversee the disposal of obsolete, banned, prohibited and expired products.

Inspectors will, in certain circumstances, order the detention, return or destruction of non-compliant consignments.

The proposed authority will be a body corporate with perpetual succession. Its functions include the registration of veterinary medicines, veterinary devices, veterinary equipment, agricultural chemical application equipment and agricultural chemicals for use in Uganda.

The authority will be governed by a nine-member board appointed by the minister. The board will comprise a chairperson, six members with expertise in veterinary medicine, agriculture, pharmacy, standards and environmental science, and two representatives of farmers nominated by a recognised farmers’ federation.

The Bill contains 13 parts, 101 clauses and three schedules. It seeks to amend the Dairy Industry Act, Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, National Coffee Act and Animal Feeds Act, while repealing the Agricultural Chemicals (Control) Act and the Food and Drugs Act.

The proposed law seeks to give the Minister power to issue written policy directions to the authority.

The Government argues that the new framework would improve the quality and safety of agricultural inputs, strengthen consumer protection and help Uganda gain access to regional and international agricultural markets.

The Bill moves to the Agriculture Committee, where MPs are expected to examine its regulatory, institutional and enforcement provisions before it returns to the House for further consideration.

The public, including experts, are expected to provide their views on the Bill.

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Concern over low cassava yields in Bukedi region

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2 weeks ago

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August 28, 2026

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For decades, cassava has been more than just a crop in Bukedi Sub-region in eastern Uganda. It has served as a lifeline, providing a reliable source of food during droughts, a key source of household income and an integral part of the region’s cultural identity.

Across the districts of Budaka, Kibuku, Butebo, Pallisa and parts of Butaleja, cassava gardens once stretched across vast expanses of land. Families harvested the crop throughout the year, processed it into flour and sold surplus produce in local markets.

Today, however, those fields are shrinking. Farmers are increasingly abandoning cassava cultivation in favour of crops they consider more profitable and less risky, raising concerns about food security and the future of one of Bukedi’s traditional staples.

Ms Beatrice Nankera, a 63-year-old farmer in Budaka District, says: “Cassava was our insurance crop. Even when rains failed, we could count on it. Today, the yields are too low, diseases are many, and the profits are not worth the effort.”
Ms Nankera explains that many families depended entirely on cassava cultivation and considered it as a backbone of their livelihoods. “Families without a big garden of cassava were considered food insecure. They were not respected,” she added.

Her experience is echoed by many farmers across Bukedi, where changing weather patterns, pests, diseases, declining soil fertility and limited market opportunities are making cassava farming increasingly difficult.
Many households have now switched to growing rice and maize, although according to local leaders, the shift has instead fuelled food insecurity in the region.

“The resources and time invested in cultivating rice are huge compared to the output,” said Mr Bernard Tazenya, a local farmer. “People are planting rice not by choice, but because of the high poverty levels,” he added.

Bukedi was once among the top cassava-producing regions, followed by the Teso Sub-region. However, the resurgence of diseases, particularly cassava mosaic and cassava brown streak, has posed significant threats to production. The viral infections, spread largely by whiteflies and infected planting materials, leave plants stunted, destroy tubers and reduce yields.

The National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) has introduced resistant cassava varieties, but many farmers remain discouraged.
Mr Godfrey Mugoga, an agricultural extension worker, says many farmers continue to recycle cuttings from infected plants due to limited access to clean, disease-resistant varieties.

“When one farmer plants infected stems, the disease spreads quickly across neighbouring gardens. Without coordinated action, controlling these diseases becomes difficult,” Mr Musoga says. Although cassava is known for being a resilient crop even amidst prolonged dry spells, low yields have caused fears of food insecurity.

Bukedi has experienced increasingly unpredictable weather patterns in recent years, with delayed rains and extended droughts affecting crop production.
Climate experts warn that unless farmers adopt climate-smart practices such as moisture conservation, mulching and improved water management, cassava production will continue to decline.

Beyond production challenges, farmers also face difficulties accessing reliable markets. Unlike maize and rice, which benefit from direct market access, cassava markets remain largely informal and unpredictable.
Prices fluctuate widely depending on the season and demand, leaving farmers vulnerable to losses. Limited investment in cassava processing industries has further constrained opportunities for value addition.

“Most farmers sell raw cassava or dry chips at low prices,” said a local trader in Pallisa District who preferred anonymity. “There is no factory to process cassava into high-value products such as starch, ethanol, and industrial flour.”

Agricultural experts believe cassava still has potential if farmers are given the right support. Mr Badrru Kirya, the chairperson of the Bagwere Cultural Council, says, “For generations, cassava has helped Bukedi communities withstand hunger and economic shocks. Its decline is a warning sign about the vulnerabilities facing smallholder farmers in a changing climate and economy.”

As policymakers, researchers and development partners focus on boosting agricultural productivity, many farmers believe cassava deserves renewed attention. “If the current trend continues, Bukedi risks losing not only an important source of food and income, but also a crop deeply-rooted in its history and identity,” Kirya explains.
Eastern Uganda accounts for roughly 36.7 percent of the nation’s cassava production, with Bukedi once having the largest population of cassava farmers.

Currently, due to scarcity, cassava is being bought from neighbouring districts such as Namutumba, with prices ranging from Shs1,200 to Shs1,300 per kilogramme. Previously, when cassava was abundant, prices remained low and stable.
Kibuku District Production Officer, Michael Mbayo explains that cassava now faces a serious setback as more farmers lose interest in planting the crop.

“Farmers should not just abandon cassava cultivation. Most households now having only a single meal a day,” Mbayo says.
Opinion leaders and elders have also voiced concerns about the declining production of cassava, attributing it to modern lifestyles among the youth.

Source: monitor.co.ug

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Parliament gives Jinja land office three months to clear backlog

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2 weeks ago

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August 28, 2026

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Some staff of the Jinja Ministry Zonal Office meet members of the Parliamentary Committee on Land on August 27, 2026. PHOTO/TAUSI NAKATO.

The Parliamentary Committee on Land has given the Jinja Ministry Zonal Office (MZO) three months to clear thousands of pending land transactions, citing unacceptable delays in processing applications.

The committee, chaired by Ntoroko MP Edson Rugumayo and deputised by Jinja District Woman MP Peace Tibyaze, issued the deadline on Thursday during a visit to the land office.

The directive comes amid staffing and inafrastructure shortages that have left the office with only 14 staff against an approved establishment of 25.

The committee, chaired by Ntoroko MP Edson Rugumayo and deputised by Jinja District Woman MP Peace Tibyaze, issued the deadline on Thursday during a visit to the land office.

The directive comes amid staffing and inafrastructure shortages that have left the office with only 14 staff against an approved establishment of 25.

The office, which serves 11 districts and Jinja City, has 12,748 registered transactions, including 6,531 applications for conversion of customary land to freehold.

Other pending applications include 570 transfers, 460 subdivisions, 377 caveats, 355 mortgages, 348 title rectifications, 226 valuations, 206 cadastral maintenance cases and 197 resurveys.

Jinja Registrar of Titles Jamirah Lunkuse said some applications have remained pending for years because several stages of registration still require physical handling, including retrieval of legacy files, verification of original documents and signing of transfer instruments.

“Some transactions have lasted five, six, even 10 years and remain at the initial stage of generating instructions to survey,” staff surveyor Daniel Francis Wagoli said.

He said some clients abandoned applications started under the former manual system after the introduction of digital registration, while others filed new applications after failing to trace their old files.

The Uganda National Land Information System (UgNLIS), however, has improved the security and speed of land transactions by integrating with the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) systems.

Ms Lunkuse said the integration has reduced impersonation and falsification of payment receipts.

“Registration has been made easy, transparent, secure, speedy and easily accessible,” she said.

But the office continues to face unreliable internet and electricity, inadequate ICT and survey equipment and poor management of old land records.

Ms Lunkuse said outdated titles, deeds, cadastral maps and historical ownership records contain inconsistencies that can delay registration and contribute to disputes.

“Poorly maintained survey information can result in overlapping interests on the same piece of land,” she said.

The office has detected two forged titles. One involving Block 3 Plot 600 was handed to police, while another involving LRV 153 Folio 14 is before court.

Ms Lunkuse said disputes are handled through boundary surveys, site visits and ownership verification, while proprietors are advised to conduct resurveys where there is evidence of boundary shifts.

The digital mapping system is also being used to identify environmentally sensitive areas and prevent land titles from being plotted in protected areas.

Ms Lunkuse said wetlands and forests in Busoga remain under pressure from cultivation, settlement, industrial development, brick making, sand mining, charcoal burning and timber harvesting.

She called for better ICT infrastructure, regular staff training, improved records management and stronger induction of Area Land Committees and District Land Boards.

Principal Assistant Secretary Beatrice Adong Oling said the office has 11 vacant positions, including senior land officer, senior registrar of titles, senior IT officer, records officer, senior assistant accountant, secretary, receptionist and driver.

“We have a staffing gap, outdated ICT equipment and inadequate field equipment, which affect our operations,” Ms Adong said.

She said the office also needs a biometric machine, modern ICT and survey equipment, additional strong-room shelves, a field vehicle and renovation of its premises.

Despite the challenges, the office collected Shs459.1 million in tax and non-tax revenue in the 2025/26 financial year, down from Shs1.58 billion in 2024/25 and Shs2.1 billion in 2023/24.

Officials attributed the decline partly to fewer chargeable transactions under the Systematic Land Adjudication and Certification (SLAAC) programme, under which some titles are issued free of charge.

The Jinja MZO has a target of issuing 80,000 titles across Busoga and had delivered 34,613 titles to seven districts by August.

Kamuli had received 16,735 titles, followed by Luuka with 9,203, Mayuge with 4,048 and Namutumba with 3,275.

Jinja District had received 1,332 titles and Buyende 50, while Jinja City had received none, although 89 titles were awaiting collection at the MZO.

The office is also expected to print 44,124 Certificates of Customary Ownership for Kamuli and Buyende under a Cordaid-supported programme.

Officials said the expansion of digital land registration alone would not eliminate delays without adequate staffing, infrastructure and updated records.

The parliamentary committee’s three-month deadline now puts the office under pressure to address the backlog while improving the reliability of land registration services across the region.

Source: monitor.co.ug/

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