Farming First

Every year, unsafe food takes a devastating toll on Africa’s people and economies. Foodborne illnesses and hazards cause an estimated 137,000 deaths and 91 million cases of acute illness annually across the continent, disproportionately affecting children under five. Yet despite these staggering numbers, investments in food safety systems remain inadequate, fragmented, and under-prioritised.

There is a Yoruba song my grandfather used to sing. It speaks of the maize grain (Erire ni T ‘Agbado) that leaves the village as a seed and returns as a full ear with shiny hair (corn silk). As a child growing up in Benin, I did not know that this image would define my scientific career. Today, working at the intersection of two continents, based in Mexico, rooted in West Africa, I still carry that song. And I still ask the question it poses: what happens between the seed and the full ear?

Agricultural leaders, government representatives, agripreneurs, scientists and farmers from across Africa and around the world are gathering in Nairobi this week for DialogueNEXT in Africa, a high-level event to explore and accelerate agri-tech innovations for the continent. Hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation, the conference will focus on how to seize the opportunity of feeding a continent whose population will represent more than one in four people on the planet by 2050.

Agriculture is facing unprecedented pressure from rising food demand driven by population growth, while climate change, land degradation, and emerging crop diseases continue to threaten productivity. Around the world, farmers are tasked with producing more food, using fewer resources and under increasingly unpredictable conditions.

A total of 40 scientists, policymakers, community builders and innovators transforming food systems across the world have been named the 2026 Top Agri-food Pioneers (TAP), announced today by the World Food Prize Foundation. Now in its third year, the TAP list honours individuals driving bold and innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges in global food security. This year’s awardees span 30 countries and six continents — from Australia to Uzbekistan.

Southern Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change. Over the past two decades, rising temperatures, declining precipitation, and extreme weather events such as droughts, flooding, and cyclones have dramatically affected people’s livelihoods and the overall well-being of societies. In the region, many countries face several socio-economic and political challenges that heighten vulnerability to climate change.

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 everywhere, but the trend is there. Resistance is building. What is encouraging, though, is how the region is responding.

The World Seed Congress 2026, the largest annual global gathering of the seed sector, concluded in Lisbon, with record participation from over 900 different companies and organisations, and the election of Lorena Basso of Argentina as the first woman President of the International Seed Federation (ISF) in its 102-year history. Hosted by ISF, the Congress brought together more than 1,800 delegates and guests from 78 countries.

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. Without proper collection and disposal, they are often discarded in the environment, posing serious risks to human health and ecosystems. Countries like Zambia have introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks, but implementation gaps remain.

As social entrepreneurs, philanthropic leaders, impact investors, and policy influencers convene at the Skoll World Forum, an annual platform dedicated to advancing systems-level solutions and scaling impact, this year’s focus on moving from ambition to results brings a critical question into perspective for Africa: why does strong policy ambition so often fail to translate into outcomes at scale? Africa has never lacked ambition for its food systems.