This Weekend, One Thought Filled My Mind…
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝟴𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀? They are the producer of up to 90% of the food in many nations. Permit me to call them "Bigholder farmers", because they are our saviour in terms of food and nutrition.
The truth is simple; Africa is not short of land. We are short of transformation.
Across the continent, millions of hectares remain untouched, virgin, and unfarmed.
Yet, we continue to heavily prioritise urban agriculture while our rural farmers, the true feeders of the cities still operate with tools from centuries past.
These farmers wake up before day break, trek kilometres, bend all day with hoes, and still produce the food that sustains the urban population.
Imagine what would happen if they had tractors instead of cutlasses…
Water pumps instead of buckets…
Processing facilities instead of selling raw produce for pennies…
The result would not just be improvement, it would be miraculous.
▪️ A food system transformed.
▪️ A continent shielded from hunger.
▪️ A rural economy revived.
▪️ A generation empowered.
So the real question is:
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗽?
Here are a few thoughts:
1️⃣ 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗮𝘀-𝗮-𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 – affordable tractor hiring models, not ownership.
2️⃣ 𝗥𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹-𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 – loans and grants tailored specifically to smallholders.
3️⃣ 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 – shared resources, shared tools, shared profits.
4️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 – so farmers earn enough to reinvest.
5️⃣ 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 – roads, storage, irrigation, energy.
6️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 – agritech companies adopting rural clusters.
7️⃣ 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 – to reduce cost and import dependency.
If we scale smallholder farmers, we scale Africa.
If we mechanise them, we secure our food future.
If we empower them, we empower generations.
The miracle is not far, it’s waiting in the rural communities.
We just need to build the bridge.
What do you think is the most urgent step Africa must take to mechanise smallholder farmers at scale?
📸 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
Myself at my maize farm back in 2015: a reminder of how far agriculture can take anyone willing to start small and dream big.
15 November 2025 à 09h18
View on LinkedIn →
