To boost food reserves, the future's in agribusiness

"No one drinks oil or smokes gas. We eat food and that should tell you what our priority should be," quipped Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria, in a televised debate at the 2013 World Economic Forum for Africa. The crowd burst out in laughter, but the comment changed the conversation's course for the rest of the 55-minute debate. Food business and agribusiness is a current action for a secure future. If Africa can restructure and improve regulatory and business framework for agribusiness, the continent will command a whopping $1 trillion by 2030, compared to $313 billion in 2010. Currently, agriculture and agribusiness together account for nearly half of Kenya's GDP.

Agriculture is one of the economic pillars of Kenya's Vision 2030, which is aimed at a sustained minimum annual 10 per cent growth. Research by the Kenya Institute of Policy Research (Kippra), indicates that agriculture and agribusiness form the biggest job-creators in the country. Growing media attention toward agribusiness has drawn a significant increased investment in the sector.