(Ecofin Agency) - Africa is far from exploiting its true agricultural potential. This is what suggests the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicating that the continent has 60% of non-cultivated lands worldwide.

“Worldwide, demand for agricultural products is supposed to double when the global population reaches 9.1 billion, by 2050. Africa is thus well positioned to become a strategic continent in the global agro-food industry, as it has close 60% of non-cultivated lands in the world,” said last Feb.22 Reda Lebtahi, crisis management expert and representative of FAO in Senegal.

Though the figure might seem a bit out of proportions, most analysts believe it not to be really surprising. Indeed, many reports on land transactions worldwide show that since 2000, the appetite of actors of the agro-food industryfor Africa ceases not to grow.

Souha Touré