China has become one of Africa’s largest development financiers. Since 2000, Chinese and other state-backed institutions have committed more than US$180 billion in loans to African countries. The money has been used to finance roads, railways, power stations, ports, water infrastructure and industrial projects. Agriculture has also become part of this expanding partnership. Food systems specialist Adrino Mazenda analysed Chinese loans to African countries between 2000 and 2024 to find out about China’s spend in agriculture.
What and where is China investing in when it comes to agriculture?
China’s agricultural funding mainly goes to farm development, fisheries, irrigation, mechanisation, agricultural technology and rural infrastructure. They invest less in agro-processing and storage. Southern African countries (Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique) receive the most in loans. They’re followed by east Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania) and west Africa (Nigeria and Ghana). Chinese institutions also invest in agriculture in Egypt.
My study compared agricultural lending from Chinese institutions with lending to other sectors. It also looked at who received the loans, where the money went, and the kinds of farming projects that were funded.
