AGRA

The recent COVID-19 pandemic and several other drivers have put the world off track to ending hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. The latest FAO report “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021” estimates that between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020 – as many as 161 million more than in 2019. Nearly 2.37 billion people did not have access to adequate food in 2020 – an increase of 320 million people in just one year.

“To underline the urgency of enhancing our efforts and defining a roadmap for the international community, ICRISAT brought together global leaders in science and policy making to brainstorm the current state of food and nutrition security in drylands and define the future roadmap”, said Dr Rajeev K Varshney, the Principal Organizer of the panel discussion while setting the scene. The panel discussion, organized as the International Borlaug Dialogue side event of the World Food Prize Foundation 2021, aimed to create awareness and discuss the future course of action for the global scientific community and international development agencies towards this pressing issue. The panel had eminent research scientists and administrators from international agricultural organizations across India, Eastern & Southern Africa, West & Central Africa and Australia.

The panel highlighted several key areas for urgent interventions to complement ongoing global efforts towards addressing food and nutrition insecurity. Some of these include diverse global partnerships, enhanced investment and funding for agricultural R&D, gender integration, adoption of value chain approach, deployment of advance scientific tools and technologies in crop improvement programs, strengthened seed systems, etc.

Providing the donors’ perspective, Dr Julianne Biddle, Director – Multilateral Engagement, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), highlighted the role of global partnerships to tackle complex food systems challenges in dryland agriculture and emphasized the importance of gender integration in our approaches to ensure food and nutrition security.

“We need to work with the agenda to turn the tide and leave no one behind,” said Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). “International development agencies need to enhance their focus in the dryland regions, as the population living in these regions accounts for high hunger and malnutrition, and without addressing the challenges of these regions, we cannot achieve global food and nutrition security,” he added.

“A strengthened seed system is as important as developing improved crop varieties with higher yield, nutrition and resistance to several biotic and abiotic stresses, for ensuring accessibility of these improved varieties by smallholder farmers at the right time and in the right place,” underlined Dr Jane Ininda, Head, Seed Research & Systems Development, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Government of India, mentioned the urgent need for adopting a multisector approach for inclusive development across agricultural value chains.

Dr Mohapatra also highlighted several flagship initiatives of the government of India that include crops, livestock, horticulture, soil health etc., which can be replicated across dryland regions of the world under south-south collaboration.

From development of improved varieties (including through molecular breeding),   seed systems and value chains, to water management interventions and land restoration, Dr Arvind Kumar, Deputy Director General-Research, ICRISAT, portrayed the success stories delivered by ICRISAT together with partners. Dr Kumar also underlined the importance of organizations like ICRISAT, which is well positioned to deliver impact on ground and the recent recognition to ICRISAT with the Africa Food Prize 2021 as a testament to this.

Dr Rajeev K Varshney, while thanking all the panelists, appreciated them for highlighting challenges, opportunities and potential interventions, which may serve as food for thought, for developing an effective roadmap toward achieving food and nutrition security in dryland regions.

The event was co-organized by Drs Anthony Whitbread, Research Program Director – Resilient Farm and Food Systems; Michael Hauser, Research Program Director – Enabling Systems Transformation; Rebbie Harawa, Regional Director – Eastern & Southern Africa; Ramadjita Tabo, Regional Director – West & Central Africa, and supported by Mr Nilesh Mishra, Senior Scientific Officer, RP- ACI and Mr Prasad Bajaj, Manager- Computational Biology, Genomics, Pre-breeding & Bioinformatics.

About World Food Prize Foundation’s International Borlaug Dialogue

Held each October in conjunction with the presentation of the World Food Prize, the “Borlaug Dialogue,” is a three-day symposium that brings together international experts, policy leaders, business executives and farmers to address cutting-edge issues in global food security and nutrition. The event, which takes place in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, and regularly attracts over 1,000 participants from more than 50 countries, has been referred to as “the premier conference in the world on global agriculture.” The Borlaug Dialogue has featured an array of celebrated international speakers, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, AGRA Chairman Kofi Annan, HRH Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Bill Gates, who launched his multi-million-dollar initiative to uplift Africa at the World Food Prize in 2009. Through the Borlaug Dialogue, the World Food Prize Foundation helps build alliances in the struggle against world hunger and malnutrition.

Reported by: Nilesh Mishra, Senior Scientific Officer
Research Program- Accelerated Crop Improvement, ICRISAT

In the past three months, food prices in Ghana have shot up, a rise that the Minister for Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, attributes to a drought in 2020, leading to the underproduction of staple foods like maize.

In a media interview, Dr. Akoto noted that the country has experienced droughts at least once every five years for the past six decades, and that food prices typically go up every year from August to September.

While the honorable minister expressed optimism that the prices will normalize in January 2022, the current situation has drawn attention to our need for resilient food systems that provide adequate food for everyone all year round – a key resolution of the UN Food Systems Summit (UN FSS), in New York, USA, last month.

Immediately before the UNFSS, AGRA participated in the AGRF Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, where it launched the Africa Agriculture Status Report 2021 (AASR21). The AASR showed that sub-Saharan Africa has registered the most rapid rate of agricultural growth of any region in the world since 2000.

It, however, added that the region remains largely food insecure, accounting for one third or 256 million of the world’s 795 million hungry people. In response, the AGRF Summit concluded with a declaration that addressed the matters of first concern for Africa, underscoring a new understanding of food systems and the criticality of food and agriculture in the continent.

All these activities are part of AGRA’s priorities and activities in its 11 focus countries. In Ghana, to support the country’s food systems, AGRA partners with the government in identifying capacity gaps and supporting the implementation of evidence-based interventions that accelerate the country’s agricultural transformation.

We are also keenly promoting policies that incentivize and de-risk private sector participation in the agricultural sector contributing to enhanced access to finance, and the development of active and stable markets for smallholder farmers.

This is in addition to driving the adoption of climate-smart technologies and the optimal use of yield-enhancing technologies including high-quality seed and regenerative agriculture.

We are pleased to note the government and civil society support for these initiatives. On World Food Day, on October 16, we saw increased appeals for more food system investments including the better management of food loss and waste and a greater emphasis on environmental sustainability and enhanced food quality. 

This is especially after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of our food systems to external shocks and highlighted the need to build more resilient food systems and strengthen the resilience of actors in our food chains.

Going forward, and as we seek to reform our food systems to achieve lasting change, we now know that we must continue engaging governments, which hold the authority to ensure that agricultural research, development and extension systems receive a significant share of total public expenditures, given their centrality in raising agricultural productivity – a key recommendation of the AASR 2021.

Additionally, smallholder farmers must be trained and encouraged to increase food production, through techniques that do not leave adverse effects on the environment. This is in line with the recommendations of the New York Food Systems Summit recognizing the potential nutritional benefits of diverse foods and food systems, and the need to reduce demand-driven pressures globally while ensuring food security in all its dimensions

Finally, we are also looking to be part of the development of food systems that are inclusive, promoting the participation of youth and women in meaningful economic opportunities along different value chains.

The writer is the Country Manager for AGRA, Ghana.

This year, three high-profile events have been held to define the future of Africa’s agricultural and food systems. These were the AGRF Summit, the UN Food Systems Summit and the 26^th Climate Convention (COP26). AGRA had a central role in these three events; with representation from key institutional heads including the Board Chairman, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn and AGRA’s President, Dr. Agnes Kalibata. With a special focus on Nigeria, the Nigeria Economic Forum was also held towards the end of October, again with AGRA participating in the influential dialogue. Against this background, we spoke to H.E. Dessalegn, for his perspective on the four summits, and especially their impact on Africa’s agricultural and food system transformation. 

Question: What are some of the reflections from the 2021 AGRF Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya?

H.E. Dessalegn: The AGRF is one of the pre-eminent gatherings for making important decisions on Africa’s agricultural and food systems. In its 10 years of existence, the forum has gained wide recognition in Africa and beyond as a showcase of strategies for building robust agro- economies. 

This year’s edition was attended by more than 8000 people from 100 countries.  The delegates included heads of states, entrepreneurs, researchers, the civil society and farmers.

We are glad to note that the summit achieved its core mandate of bringing together the relevant stakeholders to outline the next steps for the development of resilient and sustainable food value chains across Africa.

Guided by the Africa Common Position Document and the UN Food System Summit, at the AGRF Summit we called out five areas of urgent priorities in this area, including: 

1. Catalyze rapid expansion in agriculture and food productivity, with a particular focus on smallholder farmers and women;
2. Boost investment financing for Africa’s food systems;
3. Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all;
4. Strengthen Africa’s local and regional food markets;
5. Build resilience especially through social safety nets, and early warning systems.

Question: With the recent conclusion of the UN Food Systems Summit, what’s next for Africa? 

H.E. Dessalegn: The Food Systems Summit presented a great platform for world leaders to discuss the pertinent issues affecting the  food sector. In particular, leaders engaged in various conversations around food insufficiency, malnutrition and obesity, with the aim of finding the best solutions for nourishing the world.  Among these solutions was the development of public-private partnerships that drive investments towards projects that boost national food security. A global agreement was also reached to support smallholder farmers in increasing their output. Increasing their output is key to supporting well-nourished societies. Meanwhile, it was agreed that there is a new urgency for Africa to actively participate in combating climate change, realizing that its effects are adversely affecting the continent’s food and nutrition systems.

Question:  From COP26, what must be done to address the climate change challenges in the world?

H.E. Dessalegn: Africa’s contribution of greenhouse gases is minimal when compared to other regions. However, the continent appears to be suffering more from the negative effects of climate change including droughts, floods, mudslides and pest attacks.  Going forward, it is important that the promises and commitments made towards climate justice are delivered upon, especially by the large emitters. At COP26, AGRA was pursuing immediate remedial actions against climate change, which at this point, also involves educating smallholder farmers in Africa on how to adapt to climate change, including through the use of modern agricultural technologies. 

Question: What are the key initiatives that AGRA is working on to transform Africa’s food systems?

H.E. Dessalegn: AGRA is working closely with smallholder farmers across Africa through programs that provide education on environmentally-friendly agriculture. Similarly, as a catalytic intermediary, we are working closely with governments and the private sector in projects that improve food security by pursuing the increased output of local agricultural products.  In our relationships with governments, we play a vital role in supporting policy formulation and capacity building. It is also worth mentioning our participation in the development of Nigeria’s seed and fertilizer laws.   

Question: Why was AGRA participating in the Nigeria economic forum?

H.E. Dessalegn: The Nigeria Economic Summit presented a key opportunity for us to consolidate our support of the country’s leadership in driving an all-inclusive economic transformation. AGRA was participating in the forum as an organization that looks out for the interest of the more than 21 million smallholder farmers, who actively drive Nigeria’s economic growth. The Economic Forum was, therefore, an ideal platform for AGRA to rally both the public and private sector players to invest in agriculture as a key influencer of economic transformation.

Question: How can Africa’s youth be encouraged to invest in the continent’s food sector? H.E. Dessalegn: In order for youth in Africa to see agriculture as a desirable and economically viable career path, we, as leaders, must double our effort to change the negative perceptions associated with the agriculture industry. We must make agriculture attractive by modernizing it, through among other ways, digitizing production processes and investments. Today’s youth are technologically savvy and will take to agriculture if it is re-drafted as a forward-thinking industry that is well mechanized. Governments and the private sector leaders have different roles in this transformation but if they each fulfil their end of the bargain, then Africa will achieve a youth-led food system transformation.

African leaders and experts met at the sidelines of the COP26 Climate Summit Tuesday to discuss the steps towards the achievement of AFR100, a pledge made in 2015 to restore more than 100 million hectares of degraded lands by 2030. 

The AFR100 (the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative) is a country-led effort to bring 100 million hectares of land in Africa into restoration by 2030.

The speakers addressed several issues of urgency including how to incentivize farmers to embrace regenerative agriculture and other techniques that contribute to a reduction in greenhouse emissions.

Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), proposed carbon marketing as a key strategy for renewing damaged agro-ecologies across Africa. 

Carbon marketing is an incentive program that involves issuing financial rewards to individuals and communities that plant trees or rehabilitate their farms and landscapes to satisfy established carbon financing requirements. 

“We need to start doing carbon farming and letting those farmers that are working on regenerative agriculture benefit from a carbon farming perspective…there must be people that are prepared to compensate these farmers for their effort,” Dr. Kalibata said.  

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank Group, added that a proper valuation of forests must be conducted to come up with an ideal carbon pricing framework. 

“By placing a proper price on carbon, we will create better incentives for forest preservation by carbon sequestration. Without incentives or payments for environmental services, we simply are not going to see change,” he said.  

Dr. Akiwumi further noted that investments which enable smallholder farmers to increase their food crop yields end up leading to a reduction in forest destruction, something that Dr. Kalibata confirmed citing the success of different AGRA projects in Kenya. 

“Our work with GEF and UNEP in Western Kenya stopped farmers from encroaching on the Mt. Elgon Forest after they increased their maize yields by 146%, doubled their vegetable yields and increased their bean yields by 46%. This is more than they wanted from their land, so they are willing to step back and let the land go; and they actually planted 250 million trees in this period!” Dr. Kalibata said. 

The AFR100 was initiated at COP21 as a pledge to restore more than 100 million hectares of land in 15 years. To date, 32 African governments have pledged to restore 128 million hectares, although actual confirmed restoration activities are only taking place on 4 million hectares, mostly due to insufficient financing. 

Charlotte Pera, the VP for Strategy and Programs at the Jeff Bezos Earth Fund, said that the restoration activities could be quickened through the combined financial resources of philanthropic, public and private sector organizations. 

“Philanthropic resources are very modest compared to public funding, and certainly private financing, and we need all of it – restoring nature will cost trillions of dollars every year. We require a level of resources that require public and philanthropic funding, but ultimately, it is going to be the private sector that is going to get us to those trillions,” she said. 

The session concluded with an appeal from Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, the Mayor of Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, to ground all afforestation work on communities as a way of securing the buy-in needed for sustainable restoration work.  

The COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, was launched in Glasgow, Scotland on 31 October; it ends on 12 November 2021. The forum summit is bringing parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

With operations in every corner of the world, they produce as much as $1.5 trillion worth of food, fuel and timber every year.

But it is not Unilever, Kraft or Danone. Instead, the largest private-sector player in food and agribusiness is in fact the world’s 500 million smallholder farmers, who are responsible for around a third of global food supplies.

And these producers, who often depend on rain-fed agriculture and forests to make a living, face an uphill struggle to cope with the increasingly severe impacts of climate change.

As world leaders gather in Glasgow, it is imperative they recognise that there is no fair and just climate action without action on food systems to enable millions of families worldwide to adapt to new and extreme conditions.

The recent UN Food Systems Summit inspired the launch of national pathways and global coalitions to champion the rights and needs of grassroots producers, and this should be reflected in every country’s climate targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

In the first instance, national climate plans should include efforts to adapt food systems that work with the changing natural environment, rather than against it.

East Africa, for example, is facing a higher risk of drought across 65 per cent of its landscape, including Djibouti, Eritrea, parts of Ethiopia and Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.

Land degradation already affects 65 per cent of Africa’s land area, and every year the continent loses about four million hectares of forest.

African smallholders need tools and techniques to continue to produce food amid increasingly scarce natural resources, and several African countries have joined the Coalition for the Transformation of Food Systems Through Agroecology mostly to do their part- adopt policies guided by agroecological principles that might hold promise to reduce emissions of Agriculturalsystems..

But advanced economies can support this transition by channelling climate finance for developing countries to deal with loss and damage,advance agroecology research and Regenerative practices and to facilitate local innovation.

Second, governments should harness the benefits of knowledge from among Indigenous Peoples, who manage a quarter of the Earth’s surface, including rainforests, but preserve 80 per cent of the remaining biodiversity. They are the best stewards of our environment and make the rest of us pale in comparison.

Organisations from across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia united at the Food Systems Summit behind the creation of Indigenous Knowledge Research Infrastructure (IKRI).

Commitments to support a hub for indigenous knowledge would provide a new resource to help countries identify ways to conserve agricultural biodiversity and develop more sustainable food production practices.

Finally, officials at COP26 must also acknowledge and uphold the importance of climate adaptation to the lives and livelihoods of smallholder families.

At present, price incentives and subsidies in low- to middle-income countries can penalise farmers to protect poor consumers, disincentivising them to innovate and diversify production.

Meanwhile, climate-related disasters and risks could push 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 and 720 million people by 2050, many of whom are family farmers who are already struggling.

Yet by directing climate finance towards helping smallholders adapt to the effects of increased temperatures, it is possible to build their resilience enough to transition towards healthy and sustainable food production.

Several countries backed a new Coalition for Family Farming but it is in everyone’s interests to support the UN’s Decade of Family Farming, given the importance of smallholder farmers to global food security.

Smallholders are the unsung heroes of global food systems, yet less than two per cent of climate finance is invested in supporting them as they face increasingly challenging conditions.

The Food Systems Summit recognised climate change as both a threat to and a consequence of food systems. Now, climate negotiators must recognise food systems transformation as an opportunity not only to survive climate change, but to thrive.  The time is now and these farmers and other low income communities are betting on our leaders demonstrating urgency and ambition at COP26.

The author is a Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the UN Food Systems Summit.

OCTOBER 26, 2021: Kigali, Rwanda – AGRA President H.E. Dr. Agnes Kalibata has today been conferred with the Distinguished Award for Meritorious Service by the African Plant Breeders Association (APBA) at the second Plant Breeders Conference (#APBACONF2021), currently taking place in Kigali, Rwanda. The award recognizes Dr. Kalibata’s contribution to the transformation of Africa’s agricultural and food systems. 

In his citation, APBA President H.E. Prof. Eric Yirenkyi Danquah recounted Dr. Kalibata’s commitment to fighting hunger and poverty in Africa, starting with her college days as a bachelor’s degree student in entomology and biochemistry, to her time as Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture, and now as AGRA President.

“In the six years you were Minister of Agriculture, Rwanda’s poverty dropped more than 20%. You grew the agricultural sector annual budget from US$10 million to US$150 million. Rwanda also became the first country to sign a compact under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme. You are heralded as one of the most successful Agriculture Ministers in sub-Saharan Africa,” read Prof. Danquah’s citation, in part.

Dr. Kalibata served as Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources from 2008 to 2014, implementing a science-based approach to agriculture that greatly increased efficiency and productivity, and transformed Rwanda into a largely food-secure nation.

Afterwards, she briefly served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Institutional Advancement at the University of Rwanda before joining AGRA as its President in September 2014.  At AGRA, she leads a team of more than 200 agricultural specialists across 11 priority countries to increase the access by farmers to high-quality farm inputs, financial support and markets. This is achieved through, among other ways strengthening agricultural policy development by governments and the establishment of beneficial partnerships with the private sector.

The APBA recognition is the latest for Dr. Kalibata, who has been previously feted with the Yara Prize, (2012), honorary doctorates from the Universities of Liège (2018) and McGill University in (2019), and the Public Welfare Medal by the National Academy of Sciences (2019), amongst many others.

In 2019, she was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Special Envoy to the 2021 Food Systems Summit, which took place in New York, USA, last September. In this role, she worked with the United Nations system and key partners to provide leadership, guidance, and strategic direction towards the Summit.

-ENDS

About AGRA

AGRA is a farmer-centered, African-led, partnerships-driven institution that is working to transforming smallholder farming from a solitary struggle to survive to a business that thrives. In collaboration with its partners—including African governments, researchers, development partners, the private sector and civil society— AGRA’s work primarily focuses on smallholder farmers – men and women who typically cultivate staple crops on two hectares or less. AGRA is now recognized across the continent as a strong voice for African rural development, a prosperous agricultural economy, and for supporting thousands of small African businesses and millions of African families to improve agriculture as a way to ensure food security and improve their livelihoods.

More information: https://agra.org ; Rebecca Weaver, rweaver@agra.org;

About APBA

The African Plant Breeders Association is an initiative of experienced agricultural scientists, students and professionals in Africa from higher education institutions, research organizations and private companies who see the need to change the narrative of crop improvement and the seed sector in Africa. It is a forum dedicated to promoting scientific plant breeding and related research, developing human capacities, identifying solutions to food and nutrition insecurity in Africa and providing tangible solutions to governments, seed companies, non-governmental organizations and farmers. The APBA was inaugurated at the University of Ghana in October 2019. The inaugural conference was a resounding success. Over 400 scientists from 30 countries converged in Accra, Ghana to share ideas and develop a plan of action. At the business meeting held to approve the constitution and elect officers, it was resolved that the APBA platform would drive an agenda for innovation in plant breeding on the continent to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger and the aspirations of the African Union, “the Africa We Want” by 2063 as documented in the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).More information: https://africanplantbreeders.ug.edu.gh; Alma-Lisa Lartey alartey@wacci.ug.edu.gh

KIGALI, Rwanda: October 25, 2021 – From 25^th-29^th October 2021, scientists, entrepreneurs, institutional leaders and students from Africa and beyond are meeting in Kigali, Rwanda and online for the second continental African Plant Breeders Association Conference (#APBAConf2021)

Guided by the theme, “Accelerating Genetic Gains in Plant Breeding for Resilience and Transformative Food Systems and Economic Growth in Africa”, participants at the hybrid event are set to explore current research outputs and outcomes in plant-breeding and related disciplines.

AGRA is partnering with the Government of Rwanda, the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), host of the Secretariat of the APBA and USAID at the #APBAConf2021, a forum that seeks to shine the spotlight on plant breeding as a key component of fast-tracking the continent’s agricultural transformation. Strategic partnerships are crucial in the fight against food and nutrition security in Africa, said Prof. Danquah, Founding Director of WACCI and President of APBA.

“The #APBAConf2021 draws attention to the need for crop improvement and seed sector development in Africa to help us build resilience in the staple crops of Africa, and to increase productivity in farmers’ fields. AGRA is proud to have been part of training plant breeders who are now churning out locally adopted crop varieties. I encourage all of us to support these scientists and sustain the momentum to put high yielding as well as drought tolerant crops in the hands of farmers.   I am pleased to be part of this conference which brings together scientists from across the continent to help provide solutions that ultimately improve the lives of smallholder farmers,” Dr. Kalibata said.

Since 2007, AGRA has supported 1,100 African scientists to obtain post-graduate degrees whilst developing solutions to address the challenges of smallholder farmers with respect to seeds, soils, applied agricultural economics and policy. This is in line with the APBA platform which aims at driving an agenda for innovation in plant breeding on the continent to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 2: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” and the aspirations of the African Union, “the Africa We Want” by 2063).

The APBA conference was first held two years ago in Ghana, where resolutions were made to mobilize resources and build institutional capacities for the long-term strategic development of the agricultural sector in Africa through effective plant-breeding programs.

The 2021 edition will track the progress towards the commitments made in Accra, in addition to presenting tangible solutions to other problems presenting in the plant breeding and seed industry as an outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic and other unforeseen difficulties like the locust invasion of East Africa.

-ENDS

About AGRA

AGRA is a farmer-centered, African-led, partnerships-driven institution that is working to transforming smallholder farming from a solitary struggle to survive to a business that thrives. In collaboration with its partners—including African governments, researchers, development partners, the private sector and civil society— AGRA’s work primarily focuses on smallholder farmers – men and women who typically cultivate staple crops on two hectares or less. AGRA is now recognized across the continent as a strong voice for African rural development, a prosperous agricultural economy, and for supporting thousands of small African businesses and millions of African families to improve agriculture as a way to ensure food security and improve their livelihoods.

More information: https://agra.org ; Rebecca Weaver, rweaver@agra.org;

About the APBA

The APBA is an initiative of experienced agricultural scientists, students and professionals in Africa from higher education institutions, research organizations and private companies who see the need to change the narrative of crop improvement and the seed sector in Africa. It is a forum dedicated to promoting scientific plant breeding and related research, developing human capacities, identifying solutions to food and nutrition insecurity in Africa and providing tangible solutions to governments, seed companies, non-governmental organizations and farmers. The APBA was inaugurated at the University of Ghana in October 2019. The inaugural conference was a resounding success. Over 400 scientists from 30 countries converged in Accra, Ghana to share ideas and develop a plan of action. At the business meeting held to approve the constitution and elect officers, it was resolved that the APBA platform would drive an agenda for innovation in plant breeding on the continent to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger and the aspirations of the African Union, “the Africa We Want” by 2063 as documented in the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

More information: https://africanplantbreeders.ug.edu.gh; Alma-Lisa Lartey alartey@wacci.ug.edu.gh

ABUJA, Nigeria: October 23, 2021 – AGRA’s  (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) Board Chair, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, will be engaged in a high-profile panel discussion at the two-day Nigerian Economic Summit, which kicks off on Monday, October 25, 2021, in Abuja, Nigeria.

The session: “Building a Secure Nigeria: Key Priorities for Economic Growth and Inclusion”, has been planned to shed light on the economic, political and governance imperatives for repositioning Nigeria on the path to economic, social, political, environmental, and physical safety.

Also on the panel are Dr. Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning; Dr Benedict Okey Oramah, the President and Chairman of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank); Mr. Atedo Peterside, the Co-Chair of Nigeria’s Steering Committee of the National Development Plan, Agenda 2050, and Mrs. Ndidi Nwuneli, Managing Partner of Sahel Consulting and AACE Foods and also AGRA Board Member. Mrs. Eugenia Abu, the CEO and Managing Partner of the Eugenia Abu Media will moderate the session.

The conversation will address the key factors required to strengthen Nigeria’s institutions in establishing an equitable, safe, and secure society, as well as highlight the role of the private sector in reversing the fragilities across the country’s economic, environmental, and social spheres. This is in addition to identifying the implementation priorities of a National Economic Plan and a National Vision for 2050.

H.E. Dessalegn will share insight on Africa’s priorities for supporting economies. This will draw from his experience as former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, where he led the development and implementation of growth and transformation plans that propelled the East African country into  sustained double-digit economic growth. The AGRA Chair will also bring to the discussion his perspective on the areas of focus for achieving food security.

Now in its 27^th edition, the Nigerian Economic Summit is a partnership between the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning. This year’s event will be held under the leadership of H.E. Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

About AGRA

AGRA is a farmer-centered, African-led, partnerships-driven institution that is working to transforming smallholder farming from a solitary struggle to survive to a business that thrives. In collaboration with its partners—including African governments, researchers, development partners, the private sector and civil society— AGRA’s work primarily focuses on smallholder farmers – men and women who typically cultivate staple crops on two hectares or less. AGRA is now recognized across the continent as a strong voice for African rural development, a prosperous agricultural economy, and for supporting thousands of small African businesses and millions of African families to improve agriculture as a way to ensure food security and improve their livelihoods.

More information: https://agra.org ; Rebecca Weaver, rweaver@agra.org;

The entrance AIF’s Headquarters in the Kigali Special Economic Zone.

The Government of Rwanda (GoR) realised that there was malnutrition in the country and the wider Region and agreed to set up a company to address the challenge by producing highly nutritious local foods. It is with the above challenge in mind that Africa Improved Foods (AIF), a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) by the Royal DSM (a Dutch multinational corporation active in the fields of health, nutrition and materials), FMO (a Dutch development bank), DFID (the British Department for International Development which was responsible for administering foreign aid), IFC (the International Finance Corporation is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries and a member of the World Bank Group), CDC ( which is UK’s development finance institution) and the Government of Rwanda was created.

In collaboration with the GoR, AIF products are intended to solve the issue of malnutrition which is prevalent among the segments of societies that may be vulnerable. Africa Improved Foods manufactures high quality nutritious foods for the Rwandan and regional markets where they are exported. AIF is not only addressing malnutrition and stunting challenges but social and environmental issues in communities in which it operates.

Before it partnered with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA, AIF faced challenges in sourcing quality maize that would produce quality products in terms of enough quality and volumes supplied. The maize produce that was sourced locally had high levels of Aflatoxin. In the year 2017, ninety (90%) percent of the maize that was sourced locally was rejected due to high levels of aflatoxin. AIF tested the maize supplied at the gate and the produce which did not meet the expected levels of Aflatoxin was rejected. (In a country where agriculture is the main economic activity, with 72% of the population engaged in the sector which contributes thirty-three (33%) of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), rejection of harvested produce hurts many more people along the value chain who have invested in its production, harvest, storage and transportation. Such loss ultimately pushes families to below poverty line especially if the invested money was borrowed. This negatively impacts farmers, aggregators and transporters but especially smallholder farmer’s livelihoods who are most vulnerable.

Aflatoxins are saprotrophic and pathogenic fungi that belong to a family of toxins produced by Aspergillus flavus. They are mainly found on agricultural crops such as maize, peanuts, cottonseed and tree nuts according to the United States’ National Cancer Institute. Crops can be contaminated at harvest and during storage. Aflatoxins are mostly found in improperly stored produce and are a major health constraint in hot and humid countries.

AIF is very sensitive to the quality of maize supplied and requires that the moisture content should be below 14%. The testing for moisture content is done at the company’s own laboratories.

Aflatoxins are saprotrophic and pathogenic fungi that belong to a family of toxins produced by Aspergillus flavus. They are mainly found on agricultural crops such as maize, peanuts, cottonseed and tree nuts according to the United States’ National Cancer Institute. Crops can be contaminated at harvest and during storage. Aflatoxins are mostly found in improperly stored produce and are a major health constraint in hot and humid countries.

AIF is very sensitive to the quality of maize supplied and requires that the moisture content should be below 14%. The testing for moisture content is done at the company’s own laboratories.

AGRA’s wok in Rwanda is aligned with the GoR’s Strategic Plan for Transformation of Agriculture (PSTA 1V)[1]. The partnership between AIF and AGRA was geared towards intervention in the post-harvest handling to ensure that the farm produce, especially locally produced maize, is well processed and handled with low or no levels of aflatoxin. Due to the lack of quality maize produce grown in Rwanda, AIF initially imported more than 80 percent (80%) of its annual maize requirements from Tanzania, Zambia and Uganda because the local maize had unacceptable level of aflatoxins.

Aflatoxin can be controlled by reducing the moisture content of the produce through using local drying sheds, referred to as gusharika in Kinyarwanda which brings the moisture levels in maize harvest from between 18-22% moisture to 14 % with no aflatoxin contamination.

Rwanda’s Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation phase 4 (PSTA-4) outlines the government’s priority investments in the agricultural sector and estimates required resources for the entire sector for the period 2018-2024. PSTA-4 is the implementation plan of the National Agricultural Policy (NAP) and represents the agriculture sector’s strategic document under the country’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST).

Aflatoxin can be controlled by reducing the moisture content of the produce through using local drying sheds, referred to as gusharika in Kinyarwanda which brings the moisture levels in maize harvest from between 18-22% moisture to 14 % with no aflatoxin contamination.

When sourcing directly from the farmers, the maize grain normally has moisture which requires drying.  AIF got a matching grant worth eighty-five thousand (USD 85,000) United States Dollars from AGRA with which it bought different machines; the maize Sheller which can shell maize form cobs into grain and two driers that can dry maize grains to reduce moisture content. According to the grant modalities, AGRA would provide the equivalent of forty (40%) percent of the cost while AIF provided sixty (60) percent of the cost. Each of the two (2) purchased dryers has capacity to shell twelve (12) metric tons per batch and can carry out three (3) batches per day which translates into thirty-six (36 MT) tons per day. Using manual labour, an individual can shell between fifty (50) and eighty (80) tons of maize per day. Mechanization of the process not only speeded up the process but reduced the human effort required. Thanks to the support from AGRA, where AIF earlier needed 554 people to shell 36 tons, the purchased machines do the job in a single day. The machines are automated and can remove and sort grain reducing the time and labour required to make the produce ready for manufacturing.

With the support from AGRA, AIF can now buy directly from farmers irrespective of the moisture content and mechanically dry it in a short period, saving farmers and produce dealers who supply them, from losses associated with rejected produce.

AIF can now buy maize cobs directly from farmers, dry it and produce the final product in a short time. The support from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa has had several benefits to AIF, Rwandan farmers especially smallholder farmers and Rwanda’s economy as shown below:

1. The support from AGRA has increased AIF’s local sourcing from less than twenty (20%) percent in the year 2017 to approximately sixty (60%) percent today and reduced rejection of locally sourced maize due to aflatoxin from ninety (90%) percent to below ten (10%) percent thereby replacing grain hitherto imported from other countries with local purchases especially from local farmers’ cooperatives and agro-dealers who deliver to its factory.
2. With the machines acquired, purchasing from Rwandan farmers is cheaper and easier to manage in terms of logistics, compared to imports especially those that are sourced outside the COMESA
3. With support from AGRA, the issue of moisture content, which creates the favourable grounds for aflatoxin contamination and propagation, has been improved so much that now a mere five percent (5%) of local purchases is rejected. By June, 2021, of all AIF’s maize requirements as raw materials, sixty (60%) percent has been sourced locally and there is optimism that more maize accounting for 30% of its raw material will be purchased locally. The total purchase of AIF is therefore projected to reach ninety (90 %) percent, a far cry from the ten (10) percent before AGRA’s intervention.
4. With a mere ten (10%) percent local sourcing from Rwandan farmers, there was debate about the viability and sustainability of the AIF’s investments in the country since maize imports, the biggest cost drivers for the company, continued to be imported. With over sixty (60%) percent local sourcing, AIF is sure its investment is viable and sustainable in the long run.
5. The mechanization of the drying process has allowed AIF to reach its set standard of thirteen and a half (13.5%) percent moisture content. AIF’s turnaround time increased tremendously for example whereas, it took a Rwandan farmer fifty (50) days to harvest, dry, sell to aggregators before (s)he was paid, with the mechanized system supported by AGRA, (s)he needs only ten (10) days to get paid.
6. The increase in local sourcing from ten (10%) percent earlier to sixty (60) percent today and still increasing, has enormous implications for the local maize producer, dealer, transporter and the economy as a whole given the contribution of agriculture to Rwanda’s GDP. Imports of grain from outside Rwanda negatively impacts the country’s balance of trade; spends the country’s precious foreign currency; denies local farmers, produce traders, transporters and other actors along the maize value chain incomes and stunts its growth.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a free trade area that brings together twenty-one member states from the north, east and south of the African continent. It was formed in December 1994 to replace the defunct Preferential Trade Area (PTA).

Aflatoxin contamination increases rapidly after harvesting and especially under poor storage facilities. With the funding from AGRA, AIF was able to increase its processing capacity and can today buy maize directly from the farm immediately after harvesting relieving the farmer with no adequate storage infrastructure to handle the postharvest management of the maize produced. Before the partnership with AGRA, AIF collaborated with partners to outsource most of the post-harvest activities. With funding from AGRA, AIF partnered with Kumwe Harvest and other stakeholders to introduce a new model of processing harvested maize in Rwanda using better trucking and logistics, and establishing mobile collection centres near farms. Using mobile shelling machines, maize produced is shelled and transported to AIF for industrial drying and storage in the same day. By eliminating on-farm post-harvest delays, the produce can reach the market (AIF stores) in two days instead of two months and one hundred (100%) of maize delivered still on the cob-web is accepted by AIF. The model was christened, “the Cob-Web Model”. As a result, 83% of the volume sourced in the first season of 2020 was maize still on cobs which increased its acceptability. The model is possible thanks to the support from AGRA.

Originally from: https://africaimprovedfoods.com/

By Dr. Agnes Kalibata

In my experience as a leader in Africa’s agricultural and food systems, I have witnessed first-hand how innovative rural women can be. In the Bagré commune of Boulgou Province in Eastern Burkina Faso, where all land is assigned to men, I have seen women establish themselves as rice processors, immediately transforming their households’ incomes. 

In Mozambique, Maria Elsa Antonio, a 30-year-old mother of six is now a respected agribusiness advisor, after receiving agricultural training from an AGRA (the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) project. Formerly a struggling subsistence farmer, Ms. Antonio now knows how to work her production to grow enough maize for household consumption with surplus for the market. Her agricultural enterprise has flourished so much that she now supplies farmers in her community with the same yield-increasing inputs that she uses on her farm, with her customers gaining the added advantage of agronomic advice from her. 

These are not unique examples; there are numerous such cases across the continent showing how rural women work around limiting constraints to establish growing agri-food ventures. Yet, even as they play a critical role in Africa’s food systems, many rural women in agriculture still have to contend with greater constraints than men in accessing productive resources like land, financial assets, technologies and markets. These difficulties impinge their ability to grow. 

These endemic challenges were brought to the fore at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, early last year. Women were disproportionately affected by the lockdowns and movement restrictions as they were left to find alternative ways to fend for their families, amidst difficulties that were new to the whole world. Indeed, various studies have confirmed that the pandemic disproportionately affected rural women’s productive, reproductive and income-generating capacities while at the same time increasing their workload and escalating gender-based violence. 

It is such difficulties that the world needs reminding about around this year’s International Day of Rural Women, organized by the United Nations to recognize the role that rural women play in producing food and building a sustainable agricultural and rural development world.

While the spotlight shines on our rural grandmothers, mothers and daughters, it is also an opportune time to declare that, as a continent, we must now do all it takes to alleviate the strife that our women in agriculture undergo to keep us well nourished, while securing a better future for coming generations. 

Going forward, we must create an environment where rural women benefit from their investments – including generating more time, money and energy. Rural women should receive equal pay that is commensurate to their input. There is no reason why they still do not have equal access to land ownership and other important productive resources.  

Our journey to the equitable world that I envision will be quickened through a conducive policy environment that considers the role of women in agri-food systems and ensures that their needs are adequately addressed. To get here, governments need to invest in women’s leadership and engage rural women in the design and implementation of policies to include their perspectives while ensuring that their priorities are considered. 

 As we pursue action from policymakers, we all must play our role in fast-tracking this transformation, which is now long overdue. 

On this note, the private sector is invited to create additional focus and initiatives for the fair participation of women farmers and entrepreneurs in agri-food systems. Financial services institutions, especially, are encouraged to create support mechanisms targeting rural women in agribusiness. This support includes lower interest rates and credit lines targeting rural women and driven by higher risk tolerance and expanded collateral requirements. 

The scientific community must also continue generating appropriate data and innovative technologies for equalizing gender-related inequalities. Better data and monitoring will guide the design of solutions by stakeholders that address the differentiated needs and priorities of rural women.

Some of this data has been gainfully used by AGRA, the institution I lead, to develop high-impact initiatives like Value4her, a continental program linking women agripreneurs to markets, capital, skills and business intelligence.  The Value4her network prepares women-led businesses to become visible through digital networking, creating more financing opportunities for them. Similar impactful and scalable products and technologies can be developed and scaled, guided by improved and disaggregated research and data. 

In conclusion, let us celebrate the role of rural women and remind ourselves of the need to work together on solutions to the ingrained challenges and inequities that they continue to face. Collaboration will put us on a path to the attainment of inclusivity goals, leading to even more benefits for food and nutrition security, and eradication of poverty from Africa.

By Dr. Agnes Kalibata, the President of AGRA (the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) and the UN Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit.