Over five hundred agricultural stakeholders gathered on Saturday, July 18, 2026, as industry leaders, agripreneurs, policymakers, farmers, students and NYSC Agro-Allied CDS corps members packed the Zonta Multipurpose Hall in Jericho, Ibadan, for the Africa Agribusiness Summit 2026.
Organised by Farmdev Consult, a leading agricultural consultancy firm, the summit centred on its core theme, “Transforming Africa’s Agricultural Landscape: Driving Profitability, Sustainability, and Food Security.” The event focused on redefining African agriculture by helping stakeholders move away from traditional subsistence methods toward structured, high-yield corporate businesses.
In his opening address, Convener and Managing Director of Farmdev Consult, Samuel Oluwatobi, emphasised the fundamental necessity of agribusiness in driving sustainable economic growth. “Food is a basic demand for humanity,” Samuel Oluwatobi stressed. “Whether you like it or not, no matter how hard the economy is, people must eat. No matter how expensive food is, people will buy it. Although the goal is not to make it expensive, the goal is food security.”
Delivering a compelling address on behalf of the Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Executive Adviser to the Governor on Planning, Budgeting, and Economic Matters, Alhaji Gaffar Bello, challenged participants to embrace professional branding and premium value addition. “When you walk into top supermarkets, you never see garri measured out in local congo tins; you see it refined, standardised, and attractively packaged,” Bello asserted. “If we elevate agriculture to this level of intentionality and business structure, the national outcry over youth unemployment will dry up completely.”
