The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged African governments to significantly scale up investment in agroecology, arguing that the approach offers practical pathways to strengthen food security, climate resilience and sustainable rural livelihoods across the continent.Dr Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative in Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), made the call on 28 September while addressing the final conference of the Agricultural Fund for Sustainable Agriculture (AGRECOFARM) in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He said agroecology must move from isolated projects to system-wide transformation if it is to deliver at the scale Africa needs.
FAO’s message is that “the time for pilots has lapsed.” The organisation argues that Africa must shift from fragmented agroecology initiatives to integrated strategies that align agriculture, climate, biodiversity and finance, while empowering farmers as leaders of change. This means scaling proven practices, tracking green investments and embedding agroecology in national agrifood systems transformation plans.
Gadain said agroecology offers practical solutions to Africa’s intertwined food, environmental and socioeconomic challenges, but stressed that success depends on stronger linkages between farmers, policymakers and scientists; improved extension services; landscape-level planning; and better measurement of outcomes.
A central theme of FAO’s appeal is that agroecology must become “investable.” Gadain outlined the need for transition finance, concessional credit, guarantees, blended finance, insurance products and incentives that reward sustainable practices. Without such instruments, he argued, many smallholders will remain locked into input-intensive models that are increasingly unaffordable and climate-vulnerable.
FAO is also calling for stronger value chains to support agroecological producers through aggregation, processing, certification, traceability, storage, logistics and reliable market access. The aim is to create income opportunities that make sustainable farming economically attractive, not just environmentally desirable.
FAO highlighted several priority areas for African countries seeking to scale agroecology, including strengthening connections between farmers, researchers and policymakers to ensure that innovations are grounded in local realities and can inform national strategies. The organisation is also urging improvements in extension services so that farmers have access to context-specific agroecological knowledge, inputs and peer learning networks, alongside the adoption of landscape and territorial planning approaches that integrate crop, livestock, forestry and water management to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services.
At the same time, FAO is calling for increased public and private investment in agroecology, including through climate finance, development banks and impact investors, as well as expanded market access for agroecological products through public procurement, certification schemes and consumer awareness campaigns. Ensuring the inclusion of women and youth, who are central to agroecological transitions but often face barriers to land, finance and decision-making, is another key priority. These priorities align with FAO’s broader strategic framework for Africa, which emphasises boosting productivity through climate-smart technologies, improving access to healthy diets, scaling sustainable management of land, water and biodiversity, and strengthening early warning and social protection systems.
FAO’s push builds on growing regional momentum around agroecology. The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and other networks have documented case studies showing how agroecology can improve food security, nutrition, poverty reduction and climate adaptation across diverse African contexts. FAO’s Agroecology Knowledge Hub now hosts a growing library of publications, tools and in-action examples to support policymakers and practitioners.
At the same time, FAO is positioning itself as a “systems integrator,” linking policy, data, innovation and investment to support country-led transformation. Stronger partnerships with governments, development banks and the private sector are seen as critical to unlocking financing and scaling solutions that deliver impact at national and regional levels.
For African leaders, FAO’s message is both an opportunity and a challenge. Agroecology offers a route to more resilient, diversified and locally controlled food systems, but realising its potential will require sustained political commitment, coordinated investment and reforms in research, extension and market systems.
As Africa prepares for major gatherings such as the Africa Forum on Harnessing Science and Innovation for Agrifood Systems Transformation in Addis Ababa (27–29 October 2026) and the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, the pressure is mounting to translate agroecology’s promise into concrete policies, budgets and programmes that reach millions of smallholder farmers.
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