The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has called for increased investment in agroecology to strengthen food security, improve climate resilience and promote sustainable agricultural development across Africa.
Dr Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative in Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), made the call on Monday at the final conference of the Agricultural Fund for Sustainable Agriculture (AGRECOFARM) project, held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State.
Gadain, represented by Dr Nifesimi Ogunkua, FAO Nigeria Climate Change Specialist, said agroecology offers practical solutions to Africa’s interconnected food, environmental and socioeconomic challenges.
He noted that approximately 307 million Africans experienced hunger in 2024, representing about one in five people on the continent, underscoring the need for sustainable agricultural transformation.
According to him, agroecology should be approached as a comprehensive system adapted to local environmental, economic and cultural conditions rather than a fixed package of farming technologies.
He highlighted FAO’s 10 elements of agroecology, including diversity, synergies, efficiency, recycling, resilience, knowledge sharing, social values, culture, responsible governance and circular economy.
Gadain emphasised the importance of education and research in advancing sustainable agriculture, urging universities to equip graduates with practical skills to address challenges involving soil health, climate change, agricultural finance, markets, biodiversity and nutrition.
He called on higher institutions to strengthen practical agroecology education by training students to design agricultural interventions, develop enterprises, analyse landscapes and translate scientific research into policies.
The FAO representative noted that Nigeria was transitioning from isolated agricultural practices towards broader agrifood systems transformation through policies supporting research, value chains, climate-smart agriculture and financing.
He disclosed that FAO interventions in Ondo and Cross River states had trained more than 30,000 smallholder farmers while supporting ecosystem restoration, agroforestry and biodiversity conservation.
However, he identified weak land tenure systems, limited access to finance, inadequate agricultural extension services and shortages of quality planting materials as major barriers to adopting agroecological practices.
He also stressed the importance of digital technology in improving farmers’ access to climate information, early warning systems, agricultural data, financing, research and markets.
Gadain urged African countries to prioritise stronger collaboration between farmers, policymakers and researchers, improved extension services, landscape planning, increased investment, better market access and greater inclusion of women and young people.
He called for financing mechanisms such as concessional credit, blended finance, guarantees, insurance and incentives to make agroecological transitions more attractive to investors and farmers.
He further advocated stronger agricultural value chains through aggregation, processing, certification, traceability, storage and logistics to improve market access and create additional income opportunities for farmers.
Speaking at the conference, Prof. Pietro Picuno, Coordinator of the AGRECOFARM project at the University of Basilicata, Italy, called for stronger collaboration between African and European universities to advance sustainable agriculture.
Picuno disclosed that the project brought together six African universities and European partners to develop academic programmes combining theoretical knowledge with practical agroecological farming skills.
He said the project had produced 35 scientific papers presented at the conference, adding that stronger academic capacity was necessary to adapt agroecological practices to Africa’s diverse farming systems.
Similarly, the Vice Chancellor of FUNAAB, Prof. Olusola Kehinde, called for increased investment in agroecology education and research to address the continent’s agricultural and environmental challenges.
Kehinde said traditional agricultural systems across sub-Saharan Africa were facing mounting pressure from population growth, industrialisation, mechanisation and climate change, threatening food security and biodiversity.
He said the AGRECOFARM project was established to strengthen knowledge and human capacity in addressing these challenges through agroecology.
The vice chancellor urged researchers and students to take advantage of the conference’s mentoring, paper presentation, poster and networking sessions, expressing optimism that the discussions would generate partnerships and practical solutions for sustainable agricultural development.