Heifer International has urged African governments, development partners, and investors to prioritise youth-driven agricultural innovations and community-led solutions as the continent confronts a worsening hunger crisis.
Speaking ahead of the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) 2025, which opened on Sunday in Dakar, the global nonprofit highlighted figures from the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report showing that 307 million people in Africa—nearly one in five—are experiencing hunger.
Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President of Africa Programs at Heifer International, said the scale of the crisis requires collaborative strategies that move beyond traditional donor support. “Africa’s food systems demand bold, collaborative action that evolves traditional donor models to meet the continent’s food security needs sustainably and at scale,” she said.
The 2025 forum, themed Africa’s Youth: Leading Collaboration, Innovation and Implementation of Agri-Food Systems Transformation, convenes policymakers, private sector leaders, development agencies, farmers, and agripreneurs from across the continent. The week-long gathering runs from August 31 to September 5.
At the forum, Heifer is presenting outcomes from its AYuTe NextGen initiative, launched in 2021, which has mobilised more than $11 million in catalytic investments to support nearly 100 youth-led agritech businesses. According to the organisation, these ventures have created 23,000 jobs and reached 3.5 million smallholder farming households.
The organisation also pointed to its financing collaborations, including a partnership with Hello Tractor, which combines blended finance and technology-driven mechanisation to improve incomes for smallholder farmers. A recent benchmark report by Aceli Africa, cited by Heifer, documented how such models are producing measurable benefits in rural communities.
Beyond finance, Heifer is spotlighting locally led solutions to systemic barriers, particularly in women’s access to credit. In Senegal, the organisation supports Savings and Loans Groups that help rural women excluded from formal banking to pool resources and expand their farming activities.
One participant, Aissatou Deh, Treasurer of the JAM Group, said the initiative has transformed women’s economic roles in her community.
“Before Heifer’s support, each of us struggled on our own. With training and our savings group, every woman now runs a business, earns an income, and has the confidence to lead. We are not just beneficiaries, we are shaping our community’s future and passing on the gift to others,” she said.
During the six-day forum, Heifer will host side events featuring youth-led agricultural innovations, participate in investment sessions, and showcase farmer-led successes that it says demonstrate the sustainability of its ecosystem approach.
“Heifer International calls on all stakeholders to invest in Africa’s youth and smallholder farmers to build resilient, inclusive, and sustainable food systems,” Ms. Ifedi added.
