Agro-business : a future-oriented sector in Africa

Despite having the largest reserve of arable land in the world, the African continent remains a net importer of agricultural products and spends between $40 and $50 billion per year to import these products. Yet, the agribusiness sector is clearly a mainstay of Africa’s future. The World Bank estimates that the $313B worth food and beverages market is expected to reach $ 1trillion by 2030.This evolution will create employment opportunities while reducing food insecurity and improving the ability of African farmers to integrate into the global economy.

Africa has several tools at its disposal. First, there is clear political will: over the past decade, many African leaders have made agricultural development, food security and nutrition national priorities. Demographic projections as well : with its growing middle class,  and a population that will account for a quarter of the world’s workforce by the 2050, Africa hasimportant business opportunities and the resources to develop its agri-food industry. Here is an overview of the most sought-after profiles at the moment.

Agricultural Engineers & Bio-Engineers

Africa cultivates some of the world's most popular crops, such as palm oil, whose market size was estimated at $63.7 billion in 2021. African coffee and tea account for 11% ad 37% of global exports respectively.

This growing popularity has led a strong demand for agricultural engineers, who manage all the parameters of a farm in order to improve its performance. Bioengineers, who are multi-skilled experts responsible for implementing processes and solutions, are also in demand. Environmental engineers, who assess the environmental conditions of agricultural site and develop improvements, also play a key role in the sector. 

Experts in organic farming

Organic farming is booming in Africa. At a time when consumers around the world have begun to adopt healthier lifestyles, the demand for health and wellness foods is increasing.  For example, demand for fonio and teff, gluten-free grains that have been grown on the continent for thousands of years, has increased dramatically in Europe and the United States. In addition, in response to deforestation in Malaysia and Indonesia, the world’s main producers of palm oil, several African countries have committed to developing sustainable crops. This creates a strong demand for professionals in the field, such as sustainable agriculture advisors, who support farmers and companies in implementing environmentally friendly agricultural practices, or agricultural recovery officers, who help farmers recycle organic waste for soil fertilization. Organic agriculture inspectors, who ensure that the production rules laid down at the international level are respected, are essential to ensure that these products can be exported without hindrance.

Logistics Experts

African consumers have been buying increasingly higher processed foods for over 50 years. At the same time, processing raw materials to add value has become a priority for many African countries. For example, Ivory Coast currently processes about 35-40% of its cocoa production, and the government aims to increase this to 49% by the end of 2023. Similarly, more and more coffee-producing countries prefer to roast coffee locally rather than export green coffee. All stages of this process must therefore be optimized, monitored and automated as much as possible in order to gain profitability without losing added value in terms of product quality. This is the role of logistic experts, such as supply chain managers, who improve the efficiency of global supply chain processes, or logistics managers, who are responsible of a company’s product supply and distribution policy.

Marketing and Public Relations

In a context where many African products and cultures are relatively new or unknown abroad, marketing and public relations experts will have an important role to play in promoting and positioning local products in global markets.

This is the responsibility of public relations representatives, who are the face of an agricultural organization or company, and sales managers (locally or internationally), who oversee and manage the sale of the company's products in a specific territory. In the case of high-end products, such as certain chocolates or specialty coffee, brand managers - who help their clients develop and maintain their brand in the marketplace - are also in high demand.

Infrastructure & Agricultural equipment

65% of land in Sub-Saharan Africa is still plowed and weeded manually. This gap between current infrastructure and the continent's ambitions, however, offers great opportunities for experts in the manufacture, use and maintenance of agricultural infrastructure and machinery. Agribusiness requires the use of machinery, buildings, water pipes and waste management, all of which require specialized knowledge. These experts include mechanical engineers, who are in charge of the various equipment in the agricultural industry and their maintenance; design engineers, who design the major components of agricultural equipment and their subsystems; electrical engineers, who install and maintain the various electrical operations; and irrigation engineers.