Rockefeller Foundation Blog

Excerpted from This is Africa. Download the full report.

Whether it is traditional bank lending or private equity, and from major agribusiness to microfinance, one theme stands out — a change in mindset is needed, in which African agriculture is seen as a business opportunity, not a charity sector.

“What we have seen is a shift towards agricultural development as an engine of economic growth so that agriculture can provide the resources for other sectors as well – for education, for health, for overall advancement,” says Gary Toenniessen at The Rockefeller Foundation. “And that requires private sector involvement to a much greater degree. If all you are trying to do is provide food relief, then that goes through governments and UN agencies. But if you really want economic growth then you need a private sector that is working across the agricultural value chain.”