NAIROBI — Funding and policy environments are hindering the success of small- and medium-sized enterprises working in agriculture across the African continent, according to speakers at this week’s AGRF virtual summit.
As SMEs are key intermediaries between smallholder farmers and the markets where their products are sold, these challenges can prevent many from reaching scale — and for some, it threatens their survival.
SMEs make up about 40% of the total gross value of the agriculture value chains in sub-Saharan Africa, according to AGRF, a global forum for African agriculture. SMEs work with farmers for access to inputs, such as fertilizer or irrigation, in order to increase yields, as well as access to storage to reduce post-harvest loss. They also work in areas such as logistics, trading, processing, cold chain, and food safety, among other services.