{
  "id": 10380889,
  "title": "‘Africa loses billions by exporting raw produce’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/africa-loses-billions-by-exporting-raw-produce",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T05:04:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Trust",
    "slug": "daily-trust",
    "url": "https://dailytrust.com/africa-loses-billions-by-exporting-raw-produce/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The ninth edition of the Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) in Abuja highlighted the continent's need to transition from exporting raw commodities to generating value through processing, storage, trade, and finance in agriculture. Experts argued that Africa loses billions by exporting raw products and importing finished goods at higher costs. This value loss, estimated at over $100 billion annually, underscores the importance of redesigning the financial system to better support agriculture where investments typically require lengthy maturation periods.\n\nThe summit, themed \"Building the Next Superpower: Africa’s Food Power Play,\" aimed to transform Africa's agricultural potential into lucrative investment opportunities. Co-organized by Sunbeth Global Concepts, the event drew over 12,000 participants from various sectors, including development finance, agribusiness, research, and technology. Discussions addressed crucial topics such as food sovereignty, intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), climate risks, cold-chain infrastructure, technology, data, and financing tailored for smallholder farmers, women, and young people.\n\nA major concern raised was the lack of control farmers have over storage, transport, processing, and markets, leading to significant losses after harvest. The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, stressed the need for financing models that acknowledge the extended cycle of livestock production, noting Nigeria's livestock sector contributes about $32 billion to the economy and could grow to $74 billion by 2035. To achieve this, investments in feedlots, modern abattoirs, cold chains, and leather manufacturing are essential, along with reducing the long-distance transportation of live animals to retain more value domestically.\n\nDr. Olushola Obikanye, Sterling Bank’s Group Head of Agric Finance and Solid Minerals, emphasized that Africa’s primary challenge is converting agricultural potential into productivity and economic power, rather than merely producing more food. He stressed that agriculture should serve as a conduit connecting farmers to finance, technology, infrastructure, processing, logistics, and markets. Obikanye argued that the real opportunity lies in creating and capturing value, moving Africa beyond mere commodity production to competitive industries and integrated systems.",
  "summary": "Africa must move beyond producing raw commodities and begin to own the processing, storage, trade and finance that create value from its agricultural products. Ministers, investors and industry leaders stated this at the ninth edition of the Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) held at the weekend in Abuja. They also said the financial system must be […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}