Mission Statemen
The African Farming Union is committed to elevating African agriculture by advocating for farmers, facilitating intra-African trade, providing a collaborative platform, offering specialized advice, fostering a cooperative marketplace, and driving legal and research support. We strive to be a driving force in integrating technology, elevating youth and women’s roles, and ensuring fair and responsible trade practices across the continent.
Vision
A continent wide vibrant, prosperous, and sustainable farming sector to provide the whole of Africa with food and nutrition security without compromise.
Objectives and core values
1- Single Voice for African Farmers: The Union will represent and advocate for the interests of all African farmers. It will serve as a unified voice to lobby for policies that benefit
both commercial and smallholder farmers, ensuring their needs and concerns are heard at the national and continental levels.
2- Strengthen African Agriculture: Through advocacy, training, and resource provision, the Union will strive to bolster the agricultural sector, making it more resilient, productive, and sustainable.
3- Promote Trade Between African Countries: The Union will work to facilitate and promote intra-African trade, creating platforms for knowledge sharing, business networking, and market linkage.
4- Provide a Platform for Collaboration: The Union will foster collaboration and partnerships among its members, stakeholders, and partner organizations to share best practices, tackle common challenges, and leverage collective bargaining power.
5- Provide Specialist Advice: The Union will engage experts from various fields to provide advice and training on a broad range of agricultural topics. This includes agronomy, cropping, livestock, machinery, technology, people management, traceability, women, and youth in agriculture, routes to market, etc.
6- Cooperative Marketplace with Fair Trading: The Union will establish a cooperative marketplace where farmers can sell their produce directly to buyers, ensuring fair prices and transparent transactions.
7- Provide Legal Help and Research: The Union will provide legal assistance to farmers dealing with land rights, contracts, disputes, etc. It will also facilitate and promote research to generate evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice.
8- Expert Advice from All Sectors of Agriculture: The Union will form partnerships with experts across the agricultural sector, from agronomists to economists, to provide farmers with comprehensive, integrated advice.
9- Work with Governments: The Union will actively engage with national and regional governments, advocating for favorable policies, negotiating subsidies, and collaborating on initiatives to strengthen the agricultural sector.
10- Funding for Agri Projects and Sponsorship: The Union will seek funding from various sources for agricultural projects that benefit its members. This could include grants, loans, or
sponsorships from government agencies, international organizations, private companies, and other potential funder
We campaign
We lobby to make change where change is needed most. Our job as the voice of British farming is to ensure that our members’ businesses can thrive in the years ahead. Using our invaluable in-house technical experts at our headquarters in Stoneleigh, and our offices at the heart of Westminster and Brussels, we ensure
that farming is never off the political agenda.
We pride ourselves on delivering that same campaigning expertise at a local level because we know what it means to be a farmer and understand the challenges and opportunities of running an agricultural business. With seven regional offices and AFU Cymru; 50 expert local advisers and over 380 AFU representatives across England and Wales, we have built crucial local connections to ensure we can make a difference with our members.
We champion
From securing coverage on national media, print, television, radio to our work with schools and more, we champion and defend the British agriculture and horticulture industry. From securing one million signatures to protect British food standards, to ensuring false claims in the media are corrected, together with our
members we make sure farming’s story is told – the right one.
We connect
The rural community is important to us and we know there has never been a better time for the industry to pull together and make a difference. We ensure our members have a sense of belonging in their area, hosting regional and national events and giving them the opportunity to make their voices heard.
We're inclusive
At the AFU, we embrace the unique worth of everyone from all backgrounds, identities, and circumstance. As a Professional, Resourceful, United, and Inclusive organisation, we strive to celebrate all individuals. We are committed to creating a sense of belonging, educating, and developing an inclusive community, and welcoming the value of diversity.
We're here for African Farmers
Whether it’s through our first-class advice, guidance or business-specific technical expertise and our unmatched professional services and money-saving rewards, to how we’re representing farmers in the heart of governments in England, Wales and at a regional level the AFU is committed to representing its
members now and in the future.
Together we have the chance to ensure farming’s future is brimming with opportunity and that food production gets the recognition it rightly deserves.