The Olam Agri has spotlighted the enormous potential within the African food value chain that could make the continent a net food exporter.

Head of Olam Agri’s Nigeria Operations, Mr. Anil Nair, disclosed this during the Market Access Africa Conference (MAAC) that was organised last week in Lagos by the African Agri Council (AAC).

Nair emphasised that Africa’s food trade deficit could be offset by improving crop yields across the continent.

He pointed out that despite Africa’s substantial share of global arable land, the continent’s current crop yield falls below the global average, noting that Africa possesses vast uncultivated lands that could be better utilised.

Nair explained, “Africa has 18 per cent of the world’s arable land and 18 per cent of the world’s population.   

“With a total land mass of 3 billion hectares, 253 million hectares are arable, of which 203 million are used for crop production, leaving 50 million hectares available for cultivation as temporary fallow lands and temporary meadows and pastures.”

He added: “On these 203 million hectares of cropped land, Africa produces approximately 250 million tons of cereals and coarse grains, including Maize (92 million tons), Sorghum (29 million tons), Millet (15 million tons), Rice (39 million tons), Wheat (27 million tons), Barley (6 million tons), and Teff (6 million tons).

“In addition to cereals, Africa grows significant quantities of tubers such as Cassava (208 million tons), Yam (86 million tons), Potato (27 million tons), and Sweet Potato (29 million tons).”

Nair maintained that Africa should not be a net food importer, citing strong crop varieties but pointed out that low crop yields are among several factors hindering higher agricultural productivity on the continent.

He said: “Africa’s crop yields are significantly lower than the world averages. The average cereal yield in Africa is just 1.6 tons per hectare compared to the global average of 4 tons per hectare, which is 60 per cent less.”