This article was produced with the support of Africa Forward Summit
When the Africa Forward Summit (AFS) 2026 convenes in Nairobi Kenya, on May 11th & 12th, the spotlight may be on the heads of state and government present, the investment deals consummated, protocols signed, and new continental initiatives started.
But the key highlight for me is the discernible shift in the relationship between Africa and the rest of the world, from sterile debate in capitals in the global north, to tangible action on the continent, on the centrality of African agricultural producers, who feed us and play a critical role in key global value chains, and the impact of the unfair power dynamics in trade between the continent and the global north.
It is altruistic that African smallholder farmers have over the decades faced challenges that have stymied their productivity, access to markets and returns on investment. It is time to bring them to the negotiating table and execution in Nairobi, through better terms of trade, local value addition, access to financing instruments attuned to the intricacies of the value chains that they are in, targeted deployment of technology & AI-powered advisory services, and access to markets.
As Kenya scores a historic first, as an anglophone country hosting this inaugural summit as France resets its relationship with Africa, and tacitly pivots away from the traditional aid and military agreements, to mutually beneficial partnerships on an equal footing with Africa, it is imperative that we comprehensively, and once-for-all address the structural and systemic barriers to the agriculture trade that have held us back for years.
Agriculture value addition
Cognisant of this, value addition of agricultural products on the continent, like Kenya is now doing for coffee, tea, avocados, macadamia nuts, leather, hides and skins, coupled with zero, no tariff and no non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in Europe is a real partnership. On the other hand, a unilateral tariff escalation on value-added products is mischievous, self-defeating, exploitative and perpetuates the power asymmetry that has consigned Africa to mere production and export of raw, high-value crops for a pittance. This arrangement is no longer tenable.
Therefore, as stakeholders gather under the theme of ‘inspire and connect’, I am convinced that this is the perfect opportunity to creatively collaborate, co-create and co-invest in Africa as equal partners.
The discourse must change from mere talk. On development assistance to pragmatism and practical action and real commitment and investments – manufacturing partnerships, joint ventures that preserve value in African economies while providing equitable access to European markets; research and development; innovative financing instruments; less bureaucracy and compliance requirements; and new, better, greener jobs. It is about shared responsibilities and common value.
The Africa-France Impact Coalition, CAADP and the Kampala Declaration on Food Systems (2025) offer relevant foundations. The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) too, as a common market of over 1.2 billion people is a lucrative entry-point at scale, for those who dare to dream and get it right.
The success of the AFS will be determined by whether we genuinely incorporate African ownership, leadership, nuances, local equity, technological transfer, and innovative financing into the core. For example, Kenya’s experience in the dairy and horticultural sectors demonstrates that when value-addition occurs near producers, incomes, well-being and political leverage align; trade, economic and foreign policy converge, making diversification in agriculture more than a strategic imperative.
Therefore, more than just aspirational rhetoric, the Nairobi Declaration must specify milestones, ownership, investment ratios, technology transfer benchmarks, funding schedules, and continental monitoring procedures post Summit. In economic diplomacy, clarity is key.
In this new dispensation Africa’s link with Europe is evolving into one of continental enterprise rather than a linguistic or colonial inheritance. This summit has to recognise the broader context – that the true subject of negotiation is fairness, who participates, how, when, who profits, and who makes decisions. I envision a relationship that recognises Africa’s demographic strength, resource abundance, and policy maturity. The goal is reciprocity, not animosity. Africa now speaks as a builder of mutual prosperity.
Mutahi Kagwe is the cabinet secretary for agriculture and livestock development in Kenya