The 5th Agribusiness Roundtable International Conference is scheduled to take place in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, from October 25 to 28, 2026. The conference aims to bring together investors, government officials, financial institutions, agribusiness executives, and other key players in Africa's agricultural economy. The event seeks to unlock investment opportunities and accelerate food production and industrial development in Nigeria and Africa. The conference is themed "Accelerating Agribusiness Transformation: Unlocking Value Chains to Achieve Food Security, Nutrition Sustainability, Job Creation, Poverty Alleviation, and National Prosperity."
The conference will focus on unlocking agricultural value chains, investment, processing, and market access. Organizers position the summit as a transaction-oriented platform for partnerships, projects, and investment. The event aims to address some of the major constraints to Africa's agricultural transformation, including inadequate financing, fragmented production systems, poor infrastructure, limited processing capacity, and restricted access to markets. The conference will provide opportunities for investment matchmaking, business partnerships, technology transfer, market access, and development of bankable agricultural projects.
A major focus of the conference will be access to capital, with project developers, agribusiness operators, investors, financial institutions, and development finance stakeholders expected to examine opportunities in agricultural infrastructure, blended finance, climate finance, and private-sector investment. Discussions will also cover agro-processing, storage, packaging, mechanization, cold-chain systems, agricultural technology, and other infrastructure required to support commercial and industrial-scale agriculture. The conference will also focus on moving agricultural production from the export of raw commodities to processing and value addition at source.
The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area will also feature prominently, with stakeholders expected to examine ways of improving cross-border trade, product standards, logistics, export development, and market access for Nigerian and African agribusinesses. Climate-smart agriculture and green investment are also expected to form part of the discussions, particularly opportunities in sustainable land use, resilient food systems, renewable energy, and climate financing. The conference is expected to attract government officials, development partners, investors, financial institutions, farmers' associations, commodity groups, processors, exporters, technology companies, and other private-sector stakeholders.
According to Dr. Howard Usen, South-South Coordinator of the National Network for Agricultural Investment and Development, the conference will provide the region with an opportunity to connect its agricultural resources to the capital, technology, and markets required to transform them into wealth and employment. He added that the conference could strengthen collaboration among government, investors, farmers, financial institutions, and technology providers while exposing the agricultural potential of Akwa Ibom and the wider South-South region to domestic and international investors.
The choice of Uyo as the host city is expected to provide an opportunity to showcase Akwa Ibom's investment potential, infrastructure, agricultural resources, and growing profile as a destination for business and enterprise. The conference will provide different opportunities for stakeholders, including investors seeking bankable projects, producers looking for markets and off-takers, technology providers seeking clients, entrepreneurs seeking capital, and governments looking for strategic partnerships.
Africa's agricultural transformation will require more than policy pronouncements; capital, technology, infrastructure, entrepreneurship, market access, and effective partnerships will be critical to achieving food security and sustainable economic development. The success of the conference should ultimately be measured by the partnerships, investments, projects, and market opportunities that emerge from the gathering. The conference is expected to create jobs and retain wealth within the region by building competitive value chains.
Key points
- The 5th Agribusiness Roundtable International Conference will focus on unlocking agricultural value chains and investment opportunities in Nigeria and Africa.
- The conference aims to address major constraints to Africa's agricultural transformation, including inadequate financing and poor infrastructure.
- The event seeks to create opportunities for investment matchmaking, business partnerships, and technology transfer in the agricultural sector.
