Regenerative agriculture’s $70bn potential for Africa

Cassandra Austen, senior economist at Vivid Economics, Joe Robertson, senior advisor for sustainable finance at EAT, and member of the secretariat of the Good Food Finance Network, and Nicolas Ambanya, chief production officer, Twiga Foods, talk with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about a new report – Regenerative Agriculture: An opportunity for businesses and society to restore degraded land in Africa.

They talk about the crucial role of regenerative agriculture in land restoration, developing food supply chain resilience and increasing food security. Regen agri practices increase crop productivity, enhance soil fertility, improve water retention, and create other ecosystem services, generating extensive economic, mitigation, adaptation and social benefits. Pilot projects show that eventual 68% to 300% crop yield increases are possible. The report finds that regenerative practices in Africa could be adding more than $15bn in gross value added per year by 2030, increasing up to $70bn by 2040 (one fifth of the current agricultural GDP of sub-Saharan Africa).

Download the new report here.