Dans certaines régions d’Afrique de l’Ouest, les producteurs de coton ont commencé à remarquer un phénomène inquiétant : des produits qui étaient autrefois efficaces contre les ravageurs deviennent moins fiables. Cela ne se produit pas du jour au lendemain et ne se manifeste pas de la même manière partout, mais la tendance est bien réelle. La résistance augmente. Ce qui est encourageant, cependant, c’est la manière dont la région réagit.
In parts of West Africa, cotton farmers have started to notice something worrying; products that used to work well against pests are becoming less reliable. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t look the same every‐ where, but the trend is there. Resistance is building. What is encouraging, though, is how the region is responding.
Across the Africa Middle East region, an often-overlooked challenge exists in the background of food production. After pesticides are used, their empty containers do not simply disappear. In the absence of proper collection and disposal systems, they frequently end up discarded in the environment, posing serious risk to human health and ecosystem.
While countries like Zambia have made important progress including the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks, gaps in implementation remain. However, CropLife Zambia together with its partners, has made strong strides in implanting container management initiatives on the ground. Strengthening these systems further, particularly through such partnerships, offers valuable lessons for other countries seeking to build effective and sustainable container management systems.
As leaders gather for the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Yaoundé from 26 to 29 March 2026, one principle should guide the global agenda: trade must remain open, fair, and rules-based. For Africa in particular, strengthening open and predictable trade systems will be critical to unlocking the continent’s agricultural potential, accelerating innovation, and strengthening food security.
Open and predictable trade systems enable countries to move food from surplus regions to deficit regions, ensure that agricultural innovations are accessible across borders, and provide farmers with the technologies they need to increase productivity while improving sustainability. In a world facing growing population pressures, climate change, and supply chain disruptions, maintaining such systems is essential.
For Africa, this upcoming MC14 creates an opportunity to push for clearer disciplines on export restrictions, improved notification requirements, and faster alignment of agricultural standards measures that directly support food system resilience.
MC14 offers Africa a platform to advocate for strengthened regional trade facilitation commitments, particularly those reducing border delays, simplifying customs procedures, and supporting harmonised SPS controls. These steps are essential to unlocking the movement of food, agricultural inputs, and technology across African markets.
Africa stands on one of the greatest agricultural opportunities of our time. With nearly 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, the continent has the natural capacity to become a global engine of sustainable food production. Yet today, a large share of basic food needs is still met through imports, with over 80% of staple food imports coming from outside Africa, while intra-African agricultural trade accounts for only about 18% of total trade. This gap does not reflect a lack of potential; rather, it highlights an opportunity to better connect African markets.
This year’s G20 summit in South Africa is a historic milestone, officially the first time it is held on the continent. As an African woman, I am honored to chair the B20’s Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture Task Force during this historic summit in South Africa.
This is not just a geopolitical milestone; it is an opportunity to reframe our collective approach to food security, climate resilience, and sustainable development, especially for developing countries, which bear a disproportionate burden despite contributing minimally to the climate crisis. Africa’s population, now over 1.4 billion and projected to approach 2.5 billion by 2050, is the continent’s greatest asset and challenge.
Our small-scale farmers, more than half of the workforce, are the backbone of local and regional food systems. Yet, they are the most vulnerable to the intensifying impacts of climate change. Shockingly, as global hunger declines, it continues to rise in Africa.
Africa’s food future will be written by its smallholder farmers, and our responsibility is to put the right tools, training, and financing in their hands.
While Africa is often seen as a vulnerable continent, it holds immense potential: youth, agricultural land, community resilience, and an untapped capacity for sustainable transformation.
But to unlock this future, we need bold actions, driven by shared responsibility with the global community.
The G20 is a fantastic opportunity to build a supportive framework and implement policies that empower local solutions. By Debra Mallowah Chair of the B20 Task Force on Sustainable Food Systems & Agriculture and Board Member of CropLife Africa Middle East
prolonged food crises. The proportion of the population facing hunger in Africa surpassed 20 percent in 2024, affecting 307 million people.
Therefore, strengthening the resilience of agrifood supply chains is crucial and it begins with supporting regional and local supply chains. Our recommendation is clear: there is a need to invest in regional sourcing and processing of food products, to increase participation of smallholder producers and small businesses, including women and youth, and to promote transparent governance.
Africa’s youth and women are not just beneficiaries of food systems transformation; they are the implementers. We should invest in them as entrepreneurs, not as bystanders.The private sector must become a central partner in this. This isn’t just about corporate responsibility; it’s about fostering sustainable markets, creating jobs, and ensuring food sovereignty.