Bridging the market-to-farmer disconnect

5 February 2026. Bridging the market-to-farmer disconnect.

together with Panafrican Farmers Organisation, Global Citizen, and SDG2 Advocacy Hub, AGRA hosted a timely dialogue on bridging the market-to-farmer disconnect and making Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) work where it matters most: at the farm gate.

The session focused on the persistent gap between agricultural policy intentions and the realities faced by smallholder farmers in African markets, highlighting that policies such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) often fail to translate into tangible benefits at the farm gate. Speakers emphasised that farmers frequently struggle to access profitable markets due to systemic disconnects—including weak market information flows, infrastructure bottlenecks, and misaligned incentives—despite concerted continental ambitions to transform agrifood systems.

• 
  Chilufya Chileshe — Chief Operating Officer, SDG2 Advocacy Hub
  Chilufya Chileshe from the SDG2 Advocacy Hub brought a strong advocacy perspective, urging policy and market frameworks to be better grounded in the lived experiences of producers, particularly women and youth, whose livelihoods hinge on responsive market linkages. 
• Jonathan Said — Vice President, Centre for Technical Expertise, AGRA
  Jonathan Said shared insights from AGRA’s technical vantage, emphasising the need for actionable reforms that align CAADP implementation with market dynamics. 
• 
  Dr. Babafemi O. Oyewole, PhD, MBA — Chief Executive Officer, Pan-African Farmers Organisation
  Dr. Babafemi Oyewole stressed the importance of farmer organisations as essential intermediaries in closing informational and logistical gaps
• Fahari Marwa — Head of Agriculture and Food Security, East African Community
  Fahari Marwa linked these issues to regional integration efforts within the East African Community, underscoring that market access improvements must be complemented by harmonised standards and supportive trade policies.

Overall, the dialogue called for practical, farmer-centric solutions—from enhanced market intelligence systems and local aggregation platforms to policy processes that routinely include farmer insights—so that agricultural transformation frameworks like CAADP deliver real economic opportunities where they matter mos