France, Nigeria leverage €27bn commitment to transform African agricultural value chains

France and Nigeria are set to deepen agricultural cooperation by leveraging a broader €27 billion commitment announced during the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi to accelerate financing for African agricultural value chains and boost agri-food trade.

The initiative, which includes the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission Plus (FARM+) programme and a €300 million financing facility managed by Proparco, is aimed at supporting agricultural development, strengthening businesses and improving investment flows across Africa’s agri-food sector.

Speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural France-Nigeria Agribusiness Series 1 held in Lagos, the Consul General of France in Nigeria, Laurent Favier, said the FARM+ initiative represented a new phase in France’s engagement with African agriculture.

According to him, FARM+, established in 2022, goes beyond financial support, as it is designed to combine funding, expertise and technical assistance to build sustainable agricultural businesses across the continent.

“It is the very beginning of this programme. FARM+, an initiative established in 2022, is something that goes far beyond an expense around Africa. It was announced during the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi to put money and expertise in Africa to develop and strengthen agriculture, not just focusing on instruments but developing businesses in Africa,” Favier said.

Favier explained that the initiative would help unlock Nigeria’s agricultural potential by combining the country’s resources with French expertise to position Nigeria as a major agri-food hub in Africa.

“Nigeria has the potential of becoming one of the biggest agri-food hubs. Because you have this potential, we have the expertise, and together, we can make something brighter, stronger and deeper,” he added.

As part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, Favier launched the France-Nigeria Agribusiness Club, a platform designed to bring together businesses, government institutions, technical experts, academic organisations and other stakeholders to promote investment, innovation and market access in agriculture.

He said the initiative was created to address the need for a structured platform where key players in the agricultural ecosystem could collaborate.

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“Something was missing, which was a standing table where we can meet the chamber, experts, the embassy, the technical advisers and everybody around one table. Today, we have decided to organise and structure that through the France-Nigeria Agribusiness Club,” he said.

The Consul General disclosed that the club would become part of the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and is expected to grow to more than 500 members.

Also speaking, the Agriculture Counsellor for Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon at the French Embassy in Abuja, Rachid Benlafquih, said France would support Nigerian farmers to meet European Union export standards through capacity building, technology transfer and improved organisation of agricultural value chains.

“France is the gateway to an even bigger EU market. We have many activities to bridge the French ecosystem with the Nigerian ecosystem to improve the huge potential of Nigerian agriculture through knowledge transfer, innovation transfer and better organisation of value chains,” he said.

Benlafquih said Nigerian officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and members of the Tomato Producers Association of Nigeria would visit France to gain knowledge on biocontrol technologies to tackle Tuta absoluta, a pest responsible for significant tomato losses.

He identified aflatoxin and Salmonella contamination in sesame and ginger as major challenges affecting Nigeria’s agricultural exports to Europe, adding that France would work with Nigerian stakeholders to address the constraints.

He further highlighted the importance of reducing post-harvest losses, improving cold-chain infrastructure, strengthening veterinary services and developing fisheries and the blue economy to increase agriculture’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Convener of the France-Nigeria Agribusiness Series and Chief Executive Officer of JR Farms, Olawale Rotimi, said the Agribusiness Club would provide a coordinated framework for existing partnerships and accelerate collaboration between stakeholders in both countries.

“Everybody is now under one umbrella of the club. Our approach will be more coordinated, not scattered. We expect accelerated progress between France and Nigeria in the area of agribusiness,” Rotimi said.

He noted that the dialogue was organised to celebrate the longstanding partnership between France and Nigeria while creating a new pathway for agricultural cooperation.

Rotimi, who disclosed that he had worked with the French Embassy for about six years, described Nigeria as France’s largest trading partner in Africa and stressed the need to maximise the relationship to drive growth in the agricultural sector.