Eastern African countries are tapping the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Hand-in-Hand Initiative to unlock investment in agrifood systems, with a focus on turning the region’s agricultural potential into jobs, stronger food security and more resilient economies.

The drive was highlighted in Kigali on Monday, August 24, during the opening of a two-day Eastern Africa Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum, which brings together governments, investors, financial institutions, development partners and agribusinesses from eight countries to showcase investment-ready opportunities and forge partnerships.

Held under the theme "Leveraging the Hand-in-Hand Initiative to Mobilise Investment for Agrifood Systems Transformation,” the forum brings together participants from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda.

The gathering focuses on investment opportunities across regional value chains, trade and climate-resilient agriculture.

Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Telesphore Ndabamenye, said investment should help turn agriculture into a driver of economic growth, employment and resilience.

"We are gathered here not to discuss agriculture alone, but to address a fundamental question: how do we unlock the investment needed to transform Eastern Africa’s agrifood systems into engines of economic growth, job creation, resilience and food security,” he said.

The region continues to face climate variability, limited access to finance, post-harvest losses, fragmented markets and underinvestment across critical value chains.

However, Ndabamenye said these challenges also represented opportunities for investors willing to support the transition from small-scale and pilot projects to large-scale transformation.

"Our task is to turn those opportunities into investment and to move from pilot investment to transformation at scale—from small to big,” he said.

Making agrifood investment bankable and mobilising capital

The Hand-in-Hand Initiative uses data-driven planning, geospatial analysis and investment appraisal to help countries identify investment opportunities with economic, social and environmental impact.

Ndabamenye said Rwanda had worked with FAO to identify priority opportunities in strategic value chains and was seeking to connect them with capital, technology and expertise.

"We are investing in irrigation, productive and market infrastructure, digital agriculture, youth employment and agribusiness to increase productivity, create investment and job opportunities, and improve food security, incomes and livelihoods,” he said.

FAO Representative in Rwanda Mohamed Aw-Dahir said Eastern Africa’s rising food demand, agricultural potential and young population presented significant opportunities for investment, value addition and regional trade.

But climate change, financing constraints, infrastructure gaps and weak value chains continue to limit the sector’s potential, he said.

"We need to move from dialogue to impact. The success of this forum will not be measured only by the quality of our discussions, but by our ability to transform ideas into investment and investment into tangible benefits for farmers, businesses and rural communities,” he said.

Panagiotis Karfakis, representing the Office of the FAO Chief Economist, said the Hand-in-Hand Initiative helps countries identify profitable, financially viable and environmentally sustainable investment opportunities.

"The idea is not to remain in our aspirations. The idea is to analyse the economic viability, financial viability and environmental sustainability of the investment opportunities prioritised by countries,” Karfakis said.

He said about $50 billion had been presented through 300 to 400 concrete investment cases supported by the initiative globally, with between $8 billion and $9 billion mobilised through the forums.

"The objective of Hand-in-Hand is not to mobilise funding for FAO. The idea is to facilitate countries to engage with development partners and the private sector to mobilise investments for themselves,” Karfakis said.

Unlocking Eastern Africa’s agrifood opportunities

FAO Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa Farayi Zimudzi said the region was one of Africa’s most promising agrifood investment frontiers, citing its natural resources, arable land, diverse climates, growing markets and rising food demand.

Priority investment areas include coffee, livestock and dairy, fisheries, horticulture, cereals, oilseeds, rice and irrigation.

Regional frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) could help expand trade and strengthen regional value chains, she said.

"Eastern Africa is ready for investment, innovation and partnership,” Zimudzi said. "Together, we can build more productive, resilient, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems in the sub-region.”

South Sudan highlighted the scale of its investment potential. About 80 per cent of the country’s land is considered suitable for agriculture, yet only around 4 per cent is currently cultivated, according to officials.

The country also has significant opportunities in rice and livestock but lacks a modern abattoir to add value to its livestock resources and unlock the sector’s commercial potential.

Rwanda presented investment opportunities in tea, coffee, Irish potatoes, poultry, piggery and animal feed, with a total investment value of $414 million.

Ndabamenye said the region must now move from identifying opportunities to making investment decisions.

"Our region is open for business,” Ndabamenye said. "The opportunities are real. Our task is to convert them into bankable, commercially viable and scalable investments.”

He said investment must be accompanied by partnerships that bring together finance, technology and expertise.

"We need partnerships that bring together finance, technology, innovation, expertise and a long-term commitment to build competitive businesses and sustainable value chains,” he said.

"Eastern Africa’s food systems will depend not only on our ideas, but on the choices we make,” Ndabamenye said. "We choose investment and we choose partnerships.”