Agriculture and agribusiness stakeholders have intensified calls for sustainable practices across West Africa’s agricultural ecosystem, urging actors to green the entire value chain to boost resilience, competitiveness and global relevance.
The push took centre stage at the 2026 edition of the Green Agric West Africa Expo, held in Lagos on Wednesday, where participants from Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana advocated environmentally conscious production, processing and distribution systems.
Speaking at the event themed ‘Greening the Value Chain: Sustainable Practice in West African Agriculture’, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, described the focus as timely and transformative.
Represented by the Director of Agribusiness, Aramide Gansallo, the commissioner said, “The focus on greening the value chain challenges stakeholders to look beyond primary production and see agriculture as an integrated system that ensures resilience, value creation and global competitiveness.”
Olusanya stated that sustainability and value chain optimisation remain central to Lagos State’s agricultural transformation agenda. She said the state government continues to empower youths with technology-driven skills through entrepreneurship programmes to enable competitive output and job creation.
“We are building capacity in aquaculture, poultry, crop production and agribusiness management while supporting technologies that boost productivity and strengthen logistics infrastructure within our production systems,” Olusanya said.
She emphasised that public-private partnerships remain critical to positioning Lagos as a major agricultural hub in the region.
The convener of the expo and Executive Director of Agriquest Africa Network, Ambassador Abiodun Olaleye, said the 2026 gathering marked the second edition of the Green Agric West Africa Expo.
Olaleye said, “This platform was designed to unite African agricultural businesses and foster cross-border collaboration, and the theme goes beyond rhetoric because every segment of the value chain must be carefully examined.”
He likened greening the value chain to testing soil at every stage to ensure optimal produce, adding that discussions at the expo covered logistics, finance, small and medium-scale enterprises and other critical components influencing agricultural growth.
In his keynote address, the National Coordinator of the Organic and Agricology Initiative and Professor of Soil Fertility at the University of Ibadan, Professor Olugbenga Adeoluwa, underscored the need for a green approach in value addition.
Adeoluwa said, “Stakeholders must avoid practices that reduce the quality of farm produce or degrade soil productivity and must reject any form of value radiation that compromises health standards or diminishes the pricing and quality of agricultural goods.”
He added that environmentally conscious practices would enhance product shelf life and strengthen policy direction towards sustainable agriculture, urging policymakers and practitioners to commit to greener alternatives in production and processing.
Also speaking, the Vice President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kola Aderibigbe, reaffirmed the relevance of the expo in promoting sustainable agribusinesses in West Africa.
Aderibigbe highlighted the innovative hub at the LCCI building as critical infrastructure supporting businesses across sectors in Lagos and encouraged stakeholders to adopt proper traceability practices in agriculture to align with global standards.
He said, “The right partnerships, soil testing and collaboration among clusters of farmers are essential to secure value for investment, improved competitiveness and sustainable growth in the region’s agricultural value chain.”
Participants at the expo pledged to deepen cooperation, scale up eco-friendly technologies and entrench sustainability as the bedrock of agricultural development across West Africa.
