Agribusiness, Agro-Processing & Food Value Chains

27 June 2026. The Women in Geopolitics Debate Series webinar, focused on the theme "Agribusiness, Agro-Processing & Food Value Chains", examining why Africa—despite possessing some of the world's richest agricultural resources—continues to rely heavily on food imports. 

The discussion explored whether the continent's food insecurity stems primarily from insufficient agricultural production or from deeper structural constraints such as weak market linkages, limited access to finance, inadequate infrastructure, fragmented regional value chains, and policy shortcomings. 

Rather than concentrating solely on farming, the webinar emphasized the need to transform entire agrifood systems by strengthening agro-processing, investment, logistics, technology adoption, and intra-African trade so that agriculture becomes a driver of industrialization, employment, and economic sovereignty. 

Why does the African continent possess nearly 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land, yet somehow spends a staggering $100 billion every single year importing food? In this powerful episode of Women in Geopolitics, international experts drop the pleasantries to expose the value chain crisis holding Africa back.

• Ambassador Peko masterfully unpacks why Africa doesn't have a production problem, but an ownership problem. From global conglomerates controlling the world's seeds to the tragic reality of exporting raw cocoa, cotton, and coffee only to buy them back as Swiss chocolate, Louis Vuitton, and Starbucks—Africa is producing wealth for everyone except itself.
• On-the-ground expert Maureen Onyango and others joins the conversation to reveal the shocking disconnect in the ecosystem: local manufacturers are importing agricultural goods from outside the continent while identical local crops rot in post-harvest losses due to broken logistics and high cross-border trade costs. This isn't just a video about farming—it's a masterclass on economic sovereignty, geopolitical strategy, and the 4 assets Africa MUST own to reclaim its future.

The session formed part of the Women in Geopolitics Debate Series, organized by Leading Women of Africa (LWA), which seeks to highlight women's leadership in strategic sectors shaping Africa's future.

• The webinar brought together a panel of senior leaders and practitioners from across the African agribusiness ecosystem to discuss practical pathways for increasing agricultural competitiveness and reducing dependence on imported food. 
• Speakers represented expertise in agricultural policy, agribusiness investment, agro-processing, food value chains, entrepreneurship, and regional market development, contributing perspectives on improving farmer access to finance, strengthening processing industries, expanding regional trade, and creating inclusive value chains that benefit women and youth. 
• The organizers presented the event as an interactive policy dialogue aimed at connecting policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and development partners around a shared vision of building a more resilient, food-secure, and economically competitive Africa. While the announcement highlights a "distinguished panel," the publicly accessible event page does not list the speakers by name; instead, they were presented in an embedded event graphic that is not machine-readable in the available online version.