Agricultural expansion in Africa reflects a critical intersection of economic development, food security, and environmental sustainability. While agriculture remains vital to both national economies and rural livelihoods across the continent, its territorial expansion poses significant challenges for environmental conservation and sustainable landscape management. This chapter examines the spatial dynamics of agricultural expansion and its environmental implications through two primary lenses: first, by analysing the types of land use and land cover targeted by cropland expansion and, second, by assessing how the consequences of these transitions for nature and biodiversity conservation, greenhouse gas emissions, and food productivity can be addressed. Using satellite remote sensing data from the Global Land Analysis and Discovery data set, we conducted a transition analysis of land use and land cover changes across Africa from 2000 to 2020. Based on our findings, we propose three complementary pathways for reconciling agricultural productivity with environmental conservation. The first emphasises constraining agricultural expansion by strengthening institutional frameworks for protected areas. The second advocates for intensification of existing cropland, depending on social-ecological context, through sustainable intensification. The third pathway concludes this chapter by calling for strengthening land governance and policy integration to bridge the traditional divide between agricultural development and forest and natural ecosystem conservation initiatives.