Can Agribusiness Really Be Sustainable? Reflections from an African Perspective

Living and working in Africa, I often see how agriculture sits at the intersection of development, climate change, livelihoods, and inequality. Reading about sustainability in agribusiness made me reflect on the gap that sometimes exists between the way sustainability is presented in international discussions and the realities experienced on the ground.

Today, agribusinesses increasingly communicate around concepts such as climate-smart agriculture, resilience, efficiency, and sustainable supply chains. On paper, these approaches make sense. Climate change is already affecting food production across Africa through droughts, floods, and rising temperatures. Improving agricultural productivity while reducing emissions seems necessary if we want to ensure food security for growing populations. Some of the ideas discussed by Campbell et al. on transforming food systems under SDG 13 clearly illustrate this urgency.

At the same time, I think sustainability cannot only be reduced to technical performance indicators or carbon reduction targets. In many African countries, agriculture is not just an economic sector; it is directly linked to livelihoods, land access, social stability, and cultural identity. This is where Spann’s critique of the “business of agriculture” becomes particularly relevant. Large-scale agricultural investments can create opportunities, but they can also increase inequalities if local communities are not meaningfully included in decision-making processes.

I also find it interesting that sustainability is often framed around increasing productivity and integrating farmers into global markets, while less attention is sometimes given to questions such as food sovereignty, fair income distribution, or long-term environmental degradation. In practice, the effects of agribusiness remain mixed. It can support infrastructure, jobs, and innovation, but it may also contribute to deforestation, biodiversity loss, water stress, and dependency on external actors.

Personally, I believe sustainable food systems should not only aim to “produce more with less,” but also to strengthen local resilience and ensure that development benefits are shared more equitably. In the African context especially, sustainability must remain closely connected to social justice and local realities, not only global market objectives.

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