Sustainable agriculture in Africa: feeding people without destroying the land
In brief
- 309 million people in Africa face food insecurity in 2026. According to the FAO, it is now the hardest-hit continent.
- In the Sahel, 65% of the working population make their living from farming, and more than half of them are women.
- Sustainable agriculture brings together agroecology, agroforestry, water management and resilient seeds to grow food without destroying the soil.
- The FAIR Sahel project (2020-2025) validated 14 agroecological systems suited to local conditions in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal.
- The Great Green Wall, launched in 2007 by 11 African countries, aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land.
According to the FAO's SOFI 2026 report, Africa now has 309 million people facing food insecurity, overtaking Asia for the first time. By 2030, 56% of the world's hungry people will live on the continent. In response to this pressure, farming is going through a profound change: it is becoming more resilient, less reliant on costly inputs and better suited to local soils and climates.
This guide explains what sustainable agriculture in Africa involves, which practices work, the major programmes under way and practical ways to support this transition from France. It is part of our series on food security.
What is sustainable agriculture?
The FAO defines sustainable agriculture as a system that can meet today's food and nutrition needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It rests on three inseparable pillars.
Environmental sustainability. Protecting and regenerating soils, preserving biodiversity, limiting pollution and using water sparingly.
Economic sustainability. Giving farmers a decent income, reducing their reliance on costly inputs (chemical fertilisers, pesticides, hybrid seeds) and securing local markets for their produce.
Social sustainability. Ensuring fair access to land, credit and training, especially for women and young people, who make up most of Africa's farm workforce.
Conventional agriculture is built on quick yields and imported inputs. Sustainable agriculture focuses instead on consistency, resilience and self-reliance. On fragile soils and in semi-arid climates like the Sahel's, this change of outlook becomes a matter of survival.
Why does Africa need to turn to sustainable agriculture?
Three factors make the transition urgent.
Unprecedented pressure on food supplies
Food insecurity already affects 309 million Africans, and two thirds of them cannot afford a healthy diet. SOFI 2026 forecasts that things will get worse by 2030 unless structural changes are made. To understand the scale of the need, read our detailed analysis, food insecurity: causes and lasting solutions.
Soils degrading faster and faster
According to the FAO, around 65% of Africa's farmland suffers from moderate to severe degradation. The causes add up: erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, salinisation and declining organic matter. Every tonne of soil lost takes several generations to rebuild.
The dead end of intensive farming
Le modèle agricole industriel qui a nourri l’Europe et l’Amérique du Nord au XXᵉ siècle repose sur des intrants coûteux (engrais azotés, semences hybrides, mécanisation lourde) et une abondance de capital. En Afrique subsaharienne, ce modèle est structurellement inadapté : coût des intrants prohibitif, dépendance externe, effondrement des rendements dès qu’un choc climatique ou financier survient. Notre analyse sur l’impact du changement climatique sur la sécurité alimentaire revient sur les mécanismes qui rendent ce modèle intenable.
Which sustainable farming practices work in Africa?
Proven techniques combine traditional farming knowledge with recent scientific innovation. Six practices shape the picture today.
Agroecology
Agroecology applies the principles of ecology to farming. It is at once a science, a movement and a set of practices. It relies on biodiversity, the natural fertility of the soil and farmers' self-sufficiency. The FAO now makes it one of its priorities for sub-Saharan Africa.
Agroforestry
Growing trees and crops on the same plot gives more stable yields. The trees' deep roots improve soil fertility, they shelter crops from the wind and they provide extra income (fruit, wood, fodder). Our article agroforestry in 4 key questions explains this approach in detail.
Zaï pits and half-moons
These are traditional Sahelian techniques for harvesting water and restoring soil. Zaï involves digging small pits that concentrate compost and rainwater, so crops can grow in soil that seems barren. Half-moons are small earth dams that trap run-off. These practices were made famous by Yacouba Sawadogo, a farmer from Burkina Faso known as "the man who stopped the desert".
Intercropping
Planting millet and cowpea (a local bean) on the same plot brings many benefits. The legume fixes nitrogen from the air, which feeds the millet. The two plants grow on staggered cycles, which spreads out the workload and the harvest. And households get a more varied diet. It is a basic principle that has been widely documented by CIRAD.
Drip micro-irrigation
Suited to small market gardens, this technique uses two to three times less water than conventional irrigation. It is especially popular with women farmers in Senegal and Mali who grow onions, tomatoes and leafy greens.
Resilient local seeds
Farmers' own varieties, selected locally, are adapted to specific soils, pests and climates. Unlike commercial hybrids, they can be saved and replanted year after year. Preserving them and sharing them through community seed banks is a major challenge.
Yacouba Sawadogo, the man who stopped the desert
This farmer from Burkina Faso spent forty years replanting forests and crops using the zaï method, on land considered permanently barren. He created a 40-hectare forest where nothing grew any more, and today he trains dozens of young farmers in his techniques. He received the Right Livelihood Award, often called the alternative Nobel Prize, in 2018.
Focus: the Sahel's Great Green Wall
Launched in 2007 by eleven African countries (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti), the Great Green Wall is one of the world's largest environmental restoration programmes.
The original goal was to create a belt of trees 8,000 km long and 15 km wide to hold back the Sahara. The goal has since grown to restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land, storing 250 million tonnes of carbon and creating 10 million rural jobs by 2030.
Halfway through, the results are mixed: around 20% of the goal has been achieved, with very uneven progress from country to country. Senegal and Ethiopia lead the way, while the central Sahel is held back by insecurity. Even so, the programme's ambition and the international coordination it has built make it a model for every sustainable agriculture project in the region.
Agroecology in the Sahel: lessons from the FAIR Sahel project (2020-2025)
From 2020 to 2025, the FAIR Sahel project, led by CIRAD with a consortium of European and African research institutes, tested agroecological intensification in around ten locations in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. More than 350 men and women farmers took part in the trials.
The result: 14 agroecological systems were validated as suited to local conditions, after being tested and approved by the farmers themselves. The project's main lesson is that agroecological practices already exist on Sahelian farms, but they lack the support needed to be improved and spread. The approach pays off, provided it comes with technical, organisational and cultural support.
What are the challenges in expanding sustainable agriculture?
Five obstacles are slowing large-scale adoption.
Not enough funding. Agriculture receives a disproportionately small share of official development aid for Africa, even though it employs 65% of the Sahel's population. This chronic underinvestment holds back research, training and support for farmers.
Spreading innovation. A technique validated in a research centre does not automatically reach the farmer who needs it. Without effective extension services, the best practices remain little known.
Access to land. Many farmers, especially women, have no title deeds to the land they farm. So they hesitate to invest in practices whose benefits take several years to come through.
Training. Agroecological techniques require more know-how than standardised intensive farming. Initial and ongoing training for farmers is a crucial investment.
The central role of women. More than half of the Sahel's farmers are women. Without fair access to land, credit, training and tools, no farming transition will hold up at scale. The FAO estimates that closing this gap could reduce world hunger by 12 to 17%.
The paradox of investment in African agriculture
According to African Development Bank figures, Africa imports around 50 billion dollars' worth of food every year, even though it holds more than 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land. Investing in sustainable agriculture in Africa means reducing this dependence and strengthening food sovereignty, a subject our dedicated article on food sovereignty explores in full.
The role of NGOs in sustainable agriculture in Africa
Humanitarian NGOs play an essential role alongside public programmes, through four types of action.
Distributing resilient seeds. After a dry season or a conflict, farmers often have no seed left. NGOs such as the FAO, Action Against Hunger and LIFE distribute seeds suited to local climates to restart the farming cycle.
Building wells and boreholes. Access to water is the first step towards resilient farming. For example, LIFE helped equip the village of Wibga in Burkina Faso with a water supply system serving 2,000 people, while also supporting the market gardens linked to it. All of these projects can be found on our facts and figures page.
Technical training. Hands-on workshops on zaï, intercropping, micro-irrigation and post-harvest storage. Peer-to-peer training (farmer to farmer) is particularly effective.
Funding micro-projects. Interest-free loans or grants to buy equipment, fence a plot or build a community grain store. This small-scale funding has a huge knock-on effect in rural economies.
How can you support sustainable agriculture in Africa from France?
There are three ways anyone can get involved.
A one-off or regular donation to an NGO working on farming in Africa. LIFE funds wells, seed distributions and training in several Sahel countries. A monthly gift of €20 costs you €81.60 net over the year after 66% French tax relief.
Sponsoring a project, an option some NGOs offer so you can support a village or community over several years, with regular progress updates.
Buying responsibly. Choosing fair-trade certified products from Africa (coffee, cocoa, shea, dried mangoes) directly supports farmers who practise sustainable agriculture and are paid a fair price.
Support sustainable agriculture in Africa with LIFE
LIFE funds wells, boreholes, distributions of resilient seeds and farming training in several Sahel countries. Your donation supports long-term work, designed to help communities become self-reliant.
Donate to sustainable agriculture →Frequently asked questions
What exactly is agroecology?
Agroecology is at once a science, a social movement and a set of farming practices. It applies the principles of ecology (biodiversity, natural cycles, self-reliance) to agriculture, so that food production is sustainable, environmentally sound, economically viable and socially fair. It values local farmers' knowledge and combines it with the latest scientific understanding. The FAO has made it one of its priority areas for sub-Saharan Africa.
What is zaï?
Zaï is a traditional Sahelian technique for harvesting water and restoring soil. Farmers dig small pits 20 to 30 centimetres across, fill them with compost, and plant millet, sorghum or shrubs in them. The pits gather rainwater and organic matter, so crops can grow in soil that looks barren. Popularised by Yacouba Sawadogo in Burkina Faso, the technique has helped restore tens of thousands of hectares across the Sahel.
Does the Great Green Wall really exist?
Yes, but not as one continuous wall of trees. Launched in 2007 by eleven African countries, the Great Green Wall is a vast ecological restoration programme aiming to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. At the halfway point, around 20% of the target has been reached, with very uneven progress: Senegal and Ethiopia are furthest ahead, while insecurity has stalled work in the central Sahel. The programme remains an international benchmark.
Can sustainable agriculture feed all of Africa?
Studies by organisations such as the FAO, IPES-Food and CIRAD agree: yes, provided there is large-scale support. Sustainable agriculture is not about maximising yields at any cost; it is about resilience and stability. It produces slightly less per hectare than intensive irrigated farming, but with far lower input costs and greater resistance to climate shocks. On the degraded soils of the Sahel, it is often the only technically viable option.
Why are women so central to sustainable agriculture in Africa?
Because they make up the majority of Sahelian farmers and make the household's food decisions. Without fair access to land, credit, training and tools, no farming transition can succeed. The FAO estimates that if the gap between men's and women's access to agricultural resources closed, world hunger would fall by 12 to 17%.
How can an individual in France practically support sustainable agriculture in Africa?
There are three main ways: a regular donation to an NGO working on farming in the field (LIFE, Action Contre la Faim, Care France, GRDR), sponsoring a village or cooperative project, and buying imported products with a fair-trade label. A monthly donation of €20 to LIFE costs just €81.60 net over the year after 66% French tax relief, and pays for real wells, seeds or training.
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