Africa has the necessary partnerships and technologies to eradicate hunger, said African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina.
What is needed is action including robust financing, Adesina said Monday during the opening session of the 8th Africa Agribusiness and Science Week (AASW) in Durban, South Africa.
“We must pull together the best of science, technology, and innovations to drive a more productive, efficient, and more competitive agricultural system,” Adesina told an audience of stakeholders in agriculture and agribusiness research and innovation in Africa.
The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) organized the event with the government of South Africa, The African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Other partners include the UN’s IFAD and UNIDO as well as the European Commission.
AUC Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture Ambassador Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko said the event could not have come at a better time, as the world is in the midst of a hunger pandemic caused by cascading factors, including Covid-19 and climate change.
Africa needs to leverage its potential, including science, and be proactive rather than reactive to shocks, she said. She urged the continent to take advantage of its youthful population and immense natural capital. “Let us unlock the potential we have… We should feed Africans and we should feed the world,” Sacko said.
FARA Chairperson Alioune Fall spoke about the interlocking relationship between climate change and agricultural production. “Climate change and its effect on the continent require new ways of doing things in almost all facets of our society,” Fall said, “Africa’s young farmers would not adopt nature-based approaches unless “they are well packaged, affordable and technology-serviced.”
Adesina said African food systems have the potential to unleash $1 trillion in value over the next seven years. “For that to be achieved, we must strengthen and support the CGIAR with a lot more resources, ensure that it works in and delivers for Africa based on our priorities, and support regional research and development institutions, such as FARA and the sub-regional agricultural research organizations,” he said.
African Development Bank initiatives to boost African food security include the Feed Africa Summit, held in January in the Senegalese capital Dakar. It brought together 34 heads of state and government . “Working with development partners from around the world and the African Union Commission, the private sector companies, and global and national agricultural research centers, we developed Food and Agricultural Delivery Compacts for 41 countries,” Adesina said. He added that summit partners have built on its success, mobilizing $72 billion so far, to support the national compacts.
Adesina presented the 2023 FARA Leadership Prizes for Advancing Agricultural Science, Technology, and Innovation in Africa to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organization; Ambassador Sacko; FARA’s Executive Director Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo; Senegal’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Infrastructure Papa Abdoulaye Seck, and Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah.
Adesina won the award in 2016.
The 8th Africa Agribusiness and Science Week, the main continental platform for stakeholders of agriculture and agribusiness research and innovation in Africa, brings together 1,500 stakeholders every three years to take stock of progress on research and innovation, share information, create business alliances, and map out priorities for joint action. The seventh AASW was held in Kigali, Rwanda in June 2016.
[Durban, 6 June 2023] – CGIAR and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) have unveiled an ambitious Action Plan that will accelerate and increase the generation and adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies and innovations by millions of smallholder farmers.
By stimulating purposeful engagement and strengthening partnerships between African research and innovation stakeholders, the plan aims to create inclusive agricultural development through the promotion of regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices, job opportunities, and improved welfare for farmers across Africa.
The three-year plan also endorsed by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) reflects the shared commitments and principles outlined in the Abidjan II Communique of September 2022.
Emphasizing the need for unified and integrated responses to address the evolving and intricate challenges faced by the agri-food system in Africa, the plan establishes a collaborative framework between CGIAR and FARA-led African Agricultural Research and Innovation Institutions (AARIIs) to foster sustainable and sustained support for agricultural development and food systems transformation.
“This Action Plan represents a significant step towards addressing the evolving challenges facing Africa’s agri-food system and ensuring that CGIAR aligns with African partner institutions,” said Claudia Sadoff, Executive Managing Director, CGIAR
“The Abidjan II Communique ensured clarity and shared commitments. This Action Plan allows us to accelerate the delivery of solutions for wealth creation, food and nutrition security, economic opportunity, poverty alleviation, shared prosperity, resilience, and sustainability in line with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the 2014 Malabo Declaration,” said Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director, FARA.
An additional objective is to strengthen links with policy systems and establish an enabling institutional and political environment. The plan aims to engage African national governments in supporting agricultural development and food systems transformation, with a focus on evidence-based scientific decisions.
For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact:
Media Contacts
Benjamin Abugri, Knowledge Management Learning & Communications Cluster Lead Specialist, FARA, +233 20173308, [email protected]
About CGIAR
CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. Its research is carried out by 13 CGIAR Centers/Alliances in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations and the private sector. www.cgiar.org
We would like to thank all Funders who support this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund
About FARA The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) is the apex continental organization responsible for coordinating and advocating for agricultural research and innovation in Africa. FARA’s mission is to facilitate innovative partnerships and solutions that enhance the application of science to create decent and sustainable livelihoods in Agriculture. FARA undertakes its mandate in partnership with numerous organizations including the sub regional agricultural research organizations, i.e., ASARECA, CCARDESA, CORAF and NAASRO; the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), the CGIAR, the African Union Commission, the African Union Development Agency (AUDA)-NEPAD, among many others. FARA’s work is funders by Development Partners. For more information, visit www.faraafrica.org.
The Africa Union Commission (AUC), the CGIAR and the CAADP-XP4 Consortium have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Knowledge Management Partnership Framework for Africa AR4D.
The MoU was signed during the 8th Agriculture and Science Week held in Durban, South Africa.
The framework will align CGIAR’s strategy with Africa’s priorities and frameworks for the development of agriculture, notably the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (S3A).
Addressing participants on the theme “CAADP-X4P Knowledge management session: Acting on a Collaborative Agenda”, the Knowledge Management Officer at the AU, Peace Mutuwa stated that “partnership is very important because knowledge that is not be shared is not valuable; you only add value to knowledge and once it is shared and it is important that we collaborate, co-create, and inform the policies that will be implemented by the member states.”
Hence the partnership will contribute to an institutional framework that supports and strengthens national and supra-national agricultural research organizations
The Knowledge Management and Outreach Officer at FARA, Benjamin Abugri added that “knowledge is a foundation for innovation because it is a very critical factor for any healthy agro-food innovation system; we also think that making science accessible to stakeholders can easily be driven by their knowledge management agenda”.
The framework will support the focus on getting technologies out to farmers, at the scale of millions of farmers through the African Development Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT).
Also, a jointly organized technologies fair which will help achieve two (2) harvests per season to improve food security.
The CAADP-XP4 Consortium is made up of FARA, AFAAS at the continental level and CCARDESA, ASARECA and CORAF at the sub-regional levels representing SADC, COMESA and ECOWAS respectively.
Dr Amany Asfour is an Egyptian economist and businesswoman.
Appointed in 2021 as the President of the African Business Council {AfBC), Dr Asfour leads the council which is an independent private-sector institution of the African Union.
The council established in 2007, promotes and advocates for the interests of the African private sector. It also has a primary role to fast-track intra-trade in African countries and boost the integration of AfCFTA.
Education
Dr Asfour graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in the Cairo University, proceeded to earn her master’s degree and M.D. in Pediatrics.
She is a lecturer of pediatrics at the National Research Center of Egypt.
She joined the private sector while a student and has within a few years being able to establish a company for medical equipment. It sells more than 30 different brands.
Leadership
Dr. Amany Asfour is a trailblazing Egyptian businesswoman and entrepreneur who has dedicated her career to empowering women and youth in Africa.
She is the President of the African Business Council (AfBC), the Chair of Trade Promotion Committee of the COMESA Business Council, and the Vice President of PAFTRAC, the Pan African Committee for Trade and Investment.
She is also the President of the African Alliance for Women Empowerment (AFRAWE), the Egyptian Business Women Association (EBWA), and the Founder and Honorary President of Business and Professional Women-Egypt (BPW-Egypt).
Asfour is active in the African, Arab, and Mediterranean. She is credited with the formation of the Mediterranean Congress for Business and Professional Women which serves as a platform for sharing experiences and good practices among women entrepreneurs in the Mediterranean region.
Impact
Asfour is a recipient of several awards across the world notably in Egypt, Africa, and the Arab world.
She has established many partnerships with international and regional organizations, including UN Women, UNDP, ILO, UNIDO, the African Union, the European Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and different Mediterranean chambers of commerce.
She was also successful in implementing 2 large projects for establishing the Hatshepsut Business Women Development Center and a regional program for the support of female entrepreneurs in Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
The African Union Business Council (AfBC) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to boost agribusiness in Africa.
The partnership was announced at the 8th Agricultural and Science Week held in Durban, South Africa.
The President of the African Union Business Council Dr Amany Asfour in her address explained that the partnership seeks to build the capacity of stakeholders in the agricultural sector with technology and an improved access to finance.
“While the private sector is investing in SMEs, women and youth, small-scale farmers, cooperatives, and young entrepreneurs, etc we need to see how we can build their capacity”, she said.
To achieve this feat, FARA plays a role in harnessing science and technology to accelerate the growth of agriculture and agribusiness by providing “knowledge, education, scientific innovation, etc to our farmers”, she added.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Lead Specialist at FARA, Mr. Anselme Vodounhessi, explained that FARA will focus on “technical assistance [providing farmers with inputs, education, etc” and the AfBC will look at “investment facilitation by linking the private sector to the stakeholders in the agribusiness.”
Mr Anselme who doubles as the CAAPs Coordinator quizzed that when the private sector wants to construct “a processing plant to produce mango juice and you’re not getting the raw mango how will you grow?”
“So what we will be doing is to create an enabling environment [for SMEs, farmers, etc] where they will be able to produce quality foods. Enabling environment refers to the technology and access to finance,” he added.
Dr Asfour further called on African governments to uphold their commitment “to have at least 1 per cent of their finances geared towards scientific and research technologies”, she further rallied them “to be self-sufficient in foods and nutrition”.
The AfBC serves as an independent private-sector institution of the African Union with a focus on boosting intra-African trade and the integration of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The partnership between the AfBC and FARA is a significant step forward in the fight against hunger and poverty in Africa as the two organizations can help to develop a more sustainable and resilient agricultural sector in Africa.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, has expressed his optimism about Africa’s potential to feed a projected population of 9 billion people by 2050.
He says this is “not a foregone conclusion” but rather a “call to action” which requires proactive measures, innovation, and dedicated research to ensure food security not only in Africa but worldwide.
During his keynote speech at the 8th Africa Agribusiness and Science Week (AASW8) in Durban, Dr. Adesina stressed the need for collaborative action among stakeholders in the agribusiness and science sectors.
“As the stewards of Africa’s agribusiness and science sectors, we bear a huge responsibility—to transform this continent into a food-secure, economically prosperous, sustainable, and resilient beacon for the world”, he said.
He also highlighted the AfDB’s initiatives including the “Agricultural Risk Insurance initiative, the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Programme (ADRiFi), which has provided $55 million to pay for sovereign risk insurance for countries and smallholder farmers through the Africa Risk Capacity”.
The 2013 recipient of the FARA Leadership Award initiative assured stakeholders that the “African Development Bank is mobilizing $25 billion for our African Adaptation Acceleration Program, jointly with the Global Center on Adaptation, to support countries.”
In 2022, the AfDB exceeded its climate finance commitment by allocating 45% of its financing to climate-related projects, surpassing the pledged 40%.
“We pledged to commit 40% of our total finance to climate finance; we have exceeded that as we devoted 45% of our financing for climate last year. Similarly, the Bank devoted 67% of its total climate finance to climate adaptation, far exceeding the 50:50 parity between climate adaptation and mitigation called for by the UN Secretary-General,” he added.
