AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) is analysing the expanding profile of Village-based Advisors (VBAs), to inform the development of AGRA’s 2030 strategy as it seeks to reach even more smallholder farmers.

‘’As we design our next strategy we want to make sure it will be informed by what we are learning from important partners such as the Village-based Advisors,“ said Dr. Agnes Kalibata in a virtual meeting with VBAs from Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria and Malawi.

Initially focusing on practically training farmers on yield-enhancing technologies including Good Agronomic Practices (GAP), the majority of the VBAs are graduating to become agri-entrepreneurs, either becoming agro-dealers, agents of agro-dealers/seed companies or agents of offtakers. AGRA has over the last three years facilitated the training of over 2,000 VBAs as rural agrodealers.

Since inception of our input distribution strategy ,  our partners have identified and trained about 33,000 VBAs who have directly reached about 6 million small-holder farmers by delivering critical extension services, underlying their crucial role in the overall AGRA mission of directly improving the productivity and livelihoods of 9 million smallholder farmers.

Dr. Kalibata said that such an impact can only be improved if VBAs have a forum for providing constant input in their achievements, challenges and vision for the programme. “If we can hear your perspective on what you think the future holds for you in this job, we can see how to ensure our strategy supports you,” she told the VBAs.

VBAs who spoke at the Conference explained how they have succeeded in helping farmers increase their yields. They also explained how they have started to generate income from different business lines including sale of inputs, and also as Agents of aggregation for farmers’ produce.  Apart from creating rural self-employment opportunities, VBAs are helping farmers to sustainably access technologies and services at the last-mile thereby reducing the distance farmers have to travel to purchase yield-enhancing inputs.

“My engagement with farmers has enabled me to notice various gaps and needs among farmers, and I have now moved on from only training farmers to become a manufacturer and supplier of home-made poultry and pig feeds, thus reducing costs for local farmers,” said Timan Macharia, a VBA from Karai Ward in Kenya’s Kiambu County.

VBAs also spoke about their challenges. These included lack of access to finance to expand their businesses, as well as with transport to reach farmers, especially with the current COVID-19 containment measures that prohibit large congregations.  As a result, many VBAs are forced to reduce the number of farmers they can mobilize for training, meaning they have to make more visits to reach individual farmers.

World Food Day is celebrated across 150 countries making it an important day in the calendar of the United Nations.

The event brings together governments, businesses, NGOs, the media, and the general populace to rally worldwide awareness and action for people who suffer from chronic hunger and unhealthy diets.

The theme of this World Food Day 2021 is ‘Our actions are our future -Better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life’.

This year’s day is being celebrated against the backdrop of the increasing number of hungry and malnourished people despite enough food being produced to feed the entire global population.

In 2020, about 811 million (9.9 percent of the total global population, one third of whom live in Africa) people were hungry and 161 million more people became undernourished compared to 2019, a situation circumstanced largely by conflict, climate change, and COVID-19.

Women play a critical role in the food supply chains, especially in the food production, post-harvest, and consumption domains of the global food systems.

In Uganda, 76 per cent of women compared to 62 per cent work in farms. However, women face a myriad of barriers that prevent them from participating in profit- able downstream nodes of food value chains such as trade and ultimately limit their contribution in ensuring that nutritious food gets to the most deserving in our communities.

Conversely, participation in local low-value markets disincentive women from being innovative in diversifying their products and having a wider customer base thereby perpetuating a vicious cycle of low investment in their farms and sub- optimal productivity.

Other barriers that women confront in their quest to move food from farm to folk are limited movement due to cultural norms and family responsibilities, limited access to infrastructure-more importantly, digital infrastructure that negates the need for movement, limited access to networks, and in- formation and poor enabling environment.

Increasing the level of women participation in the food trade starts with recognizing the barriers that disfranchise them and addressing the most critical ones.

For example, experience of intervention of the AGRA (Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa) in Uganda has shown that with minimum effort and investment in digital platforms such as WhatsApp, women do not have to move over long distances nationally or across borders the source for food products to sell or as raw materials in their businesses.

Through Regional East Africa Community Trade in Staples-II (ReACTS-II) project funded by AGRA, eight women under the auspices of the Network of Producers and Exporters of Uganda (NePEU) in Uganda and the Agro-processors Association of Kenya (APAK) were linked and facilitated to make orders via WhatsApp, transfer funds and receive cargo from Uganda without necessarily traveling across the border.

In a record of nine months since June 2020, the women traders had imported more than 2,000MT (of maize and beans), worth $ 383,562 from Uganda. Women could now procure big volumes of produce without the need to traverse across borders thereby reducing cost and time for aggregation and reducing security concerns.

Another winner with the introduction of the WhatsApp group was that at a click of a button, women could easily access information on quantities and quality of products, prices, and logistical arrangements to guide better decision-making.

Limited access to otherwise readily available trade-related information such as on requirements of quality and standards as well as trade regulation has traditionally constrained women participation in trade.

Yet, targeted and effective net- working platforms can transform women’s entrepreneurial ideas into profitable business ventures specifically in moving healthy and nutritional foods from farms to consumers across and beyond their borders.

To this end, grassroots mobilisation of women to form business-oriented groups to exploit economies of scale and facilitate access to information, and connecting them to national, regional, and international platforms can be a game-changer in exposing women to more diverse food supply chains in which they can sustainably participate.

The VALUE4HER Connect a programme of AGRA is such a plat- form. It is Africa’s first women in agribusiness digital marketplace with a current membership of 1,830, 128 of whom are in Uganda, offering integrated business solutions to women agro-enterprises.

The platform seeks to expand women’s presence in markets where they trade, access new markets nationally, regionally, and internationally, and acquire the capital, business, and technical partners and resources required to support their growing businesses.

Leveraging access to market information by women and empowering them through softer sensitive infrastructure is essential for increased women engagement in the food trade.

The role of the government in promoting policies that removing gender-based barriers in food trade is all-encompassing but most important would be those that re- move inequalities in access to productive assets, information, and infrastructures such as targeted trade promotion policies, export preparedness programs, and other business development services.

These are especially critical because women have disproportionate access to information, networking capital, and technology.

Written by Ms Lilian Githinji, Associate Programme Officer, AGRA – Uganda

Anthony Ngosi, regional technical lead for Markets at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) says the youth need to take up business opportunities in agriculture if African countries can ensure food security for the populace.

Ngosi is urging governments and development partners to increase support for youth involvement in agricultural programmes to help make the continent food secure.

Speaking to Asaase Radio’s Emmanuel Aboagye Wiafe on “The 12 O’Clock Report” ahead of World Food Day, he noted agriculture can provide a lot of employment and help ensure that the energies of young people are channelled appropriately.

Saturday’s (16 October) World Food Day celebration is under the theme, “Our actions are our future – better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life.”

Ngosi said, “Youth involvement in agriculture is very important because we are in an era when youth employment is causing a lot of social problems across the African continent.”

He cited South Sudan, Burundi and Somalia, as some of the countries where youth unemployment has been responsible for a lot of instability and socio-economic upheavals.

“There has also been rural-urban migration and a lot of youth are trying to cross the Sahara Desert to Europe. So, this is a very big problem,” Ngosi said.

He said there are lots of opportunities in the agricultural sector that government and development partners should be investing in for the benefit of the youth.

“The youth are quick to adopt technologies. They can use innovative tools. They can improve efficiency across the value chain,” he observed.

Ngosi says the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has rolled out an initiative called the Youth Agri-preneurship Development in the SADA-Zone (YADIS) which is a good model that can help provide job opportunities for the youth.

YADIS which AGRA runs in collaboration with Nestle and Sahel Grains Limited has trained hundreds of youth agri-preneurs on good agricultural practices and provided them with support.

This has helped them produce aflatoxins free maize which they have been able to sell to companies like Nestle to produce baby foods.

This was previously not possible because a lot of the maize from Ghana contained high levels of aflatoxins.

Sahel Grains implements the YADIS program and buys the grains produced by the farmers for further cleaning and aggregation, while Nestlé provides technical assistance and ready market for the high-quality gains.

“Through the project, they have been able to produce maize for Nestle and firms like that…” Ngosi said.

Kwame Boateng, CEO of Sahel Grains Limited said YADIS focuses on empowering youth aged between 20 and 25 years old so they can treat agriculture as business.

“Agriculture and entrepreneurship is being fused together. Farming is no longer cutlass and hoe business. There is no difference with how you run a typical business. We are making sure we understand problems and critical rethinking and how to manage our farm as a business,” he told Asaase Radio.

Building more resilient food systems will require a mix of approaches from agroecology to the latest crop and soil science, writes the chair of AGRA.

When Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) was founded in 2006, it was out of a clear, urgent need for leadership in transforming the continent’s agricultural systems. This would deliver increased food and nutrition for all, better incomes for farmers, and resilience for the environment.

Having been there from the start, I can confirm that it was clear from the beginning that the agricultural transformation AGRA was created to spur had to be pursued in a unique way. Critically, it was important that any approach was African-owned and African-led.

Over the years, AGRA has pursued these headline goals, with a mixed bag of success and lessons learned. While there have always been detractors of our approach and success, these voices have become louder, deciding to campaign against our work through the media, despite being offered opportunities and engage directly. And unfortunately, some facts, have been lost in the process.

[Read: Open letter: The Green Revolution in Africa has unequivocally failed]

Let’s start with some facts I hope we can all agree on. Africa’s 33 million smallholder farmers are the beating heart of the food system, growing about 70% of the food we eat every day. Over the last two decades, the African continent has registered the most rapid rate of agricultural production growth of any region of the world. Unfortunately, most of this growth has been through the expansion of agricultural land, not an increase in productivity. With our population expected to double by the middle of the century, our farmers need to continue growing more, while using fewer resources.

There is no question that our food systems need to be transformed if we are to meet this challenge. Since 2006, our work has been focused on this task. Recently we’ve seen links drawn between our work and increasing levels of hunger. AGRA accounts for 1% of funding for African agriculture. We are such a small part of the ecosystem, so to attribute increasing levels of hunger to us is wrong and terribly misleading given it seems to ignore the impact conflict, the pandemic and climate change have on food security.

Disappointingly recent discussions on AGRA’s work have moved to ideological debates, where the solutions for transforming Africa’s food systems come down to one approach over another. Such binary debates are unhelpful and at times counterproductive. Building more resilient food systems on the continent will require a mix of approaches from agroecology to the latest crop and soil science.

Consider this: you can have the healthiest soil in the world, but if it is missing a micronutrient, or the crop variety you are using has limited yield potential, you will be no more productive than the farmer next door with poor soil. The judicious application of nutrients to agricultural soils is an established fact for helping improve soils, so why prohibit Africa’s farmers from doing it?

Another area I would like to correct is our work on seeds. Since 2006, AGRA’s funding has created almost 700 new crop varieties across 18 crops. Many, if not all the varieties were developed by local scientists at national institutions, who were working with local farmers to specifically tackle the challenges they face. Our funding has helped almost 120 entrepreneurs develop or expand their local businesses to ensure these and many other seeds and supplies can get to farmers. As a result, farmers need to travel 10km to get supplies, a decade ago they would travel at least 30km.

The idea that Africa’s seed systems have been overtaken by multinationals is not just wrong but insulting to the hundreds of entrepreneurs running seed local companies working with farmers day-in-day-out.

Since 2006, we have decided to invest in action over debates. Our work has been to ensure we put in place the environment needed to help farmers thrive.

In Ethiopia, for example, we equipped the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) with the technical support leading to exemption of duties on selected agricultural machinery, irrigation technologies and animal feed processing machinery, as well as agricultural inputs. The outcome of this support has been increased access to high-quality mechanisation services and technologies by smallholder farmers, with projected increases in yields.

While in Rwanda, AGRA has extensively supported the government’s plan to develop the local seed industry, leading to the country becoming self-sufficient in improved high-yielding maize varieties. Such success may not have been forthcoming without the participation of over 37 scientists trained by AGRA to lead the development of 47 varieties of different crops, among them maize, beans, soybeans, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas and more.

And in Kenya, we have seen a rapid rejuvenation of the Kakamega Forest, the country’s only tropical rainforest, through investments in agroecology and other regenerative agriculture strategies. So far, this project has seen over 6,000 hectares of land in the Kakamega-Nandi ecosystem under sustainable land use with plans for replication and scaling for more-encompassing benefits.

These are just three examples of how our work supports local partners, to build on their knowledge while boosting food production and respecting nature.

The task of tackling hunger, malnutrition and climate change requires all of us working together to deliver resilient food systems in the continent. What the continent needs is sustainable agricultural practices that deliver sufficient food. Each of us share this vision and we all can contribute to achieving it.

Ultimately, it is the collaborative efforts of Africa-based organisations like AGRA, governments and other interest groups that will lead to more food and trade opportunities for the continent. I call upon the entire African continent to work together to contribute ideas and lessons to tackle the hunger challenge we face.

Read a response to this piece by members of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA): Time to change course: The future is in agroecology.

AGRA leads conversations and important partnerships at the AGRF and the UN Food Systems Summit

With just nine harvests left to achieve critical commitments including the eradication of hunger and poverty from Africa, communities around the world spent over one year mobilizing voices and stakeholders towards commitments and coalitions to transform local and global food systems. The outcome of these efforts was highlighted in September 2021, a month when two critical events – the AGRF 2021 Summit and the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) were held to review the milestones towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As a convenor and thought-leader on agricultural systems, AGRA contributed to, and drove the momentum in the two events by designing platforms and sessions that cast the spotlight on Africa’s priorities and key actions to achieve resilient and sustainable food systems.

At the AGRF Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya between September 6 and 10, AGRA  curated high-profile AGRF thematic platforms including a Presidential Summit, a Youth Townhall, a Farmers Forum and a workshop on Collaborative Food Systems Leadership hosted by an AGRA Initiative, the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA). AGRA organized and presented four awards: the Africa Food Prize, the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize, the VALUE4Her Women Agripreneurs of the At the AGRF Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya between September 6 and 10, AGRA  curated  a Presidential Summit, a Youth Townhall, a Farmers Forum and a workshop on Collaborative Food Systems Leadership hosted by an AGRA Initiative, the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA). AGRA organized and presented four awards: the Africa Food Prize, the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize, the VALUE4Her Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA) and the Pitch Agrihack Competition. The awards were held to recognize the role of youth and women entrepreneurs and innovators in the transformation of Africa’s agri-food systems. AGRA launched the 2021 Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR) and the Center of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa (CESSA), which will  champion the development of high quality and improved seed varieties in the continent. 

At the same time, and in the run-up to the UN FSS, AGRA invited the continent’s leaders, food systems entrepreneurs and innovators to side-events, where the continent’s priorities for the transformation of the continent’s agri-food systems were outlined. The side-events included a high-level panel focusing on food systems priorities emerging from the AGRF, a VALUE4Her TalkCorner featuring this year’s WAYA winner, and a GoGettaz Favorite Food Extravaganza with renowned Chef Ali, Paul Newnham, and youth agripreneurs from across Africa. These side-events drew from the regional priorities identified at the AGRF Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, two weeks prior to the UN FSS. After the UN FSS, AGRA President Dr. Agnes Kalibata and USAID Administrator Samantha Power met to discuss the strategies for implementing the Biden Administration commitments made at the New York Summit, with particular emphasis on priorities in Africa. In the same trip, Dr. Kalibata met with the US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, on the importance of research, extension and food trade towards catalyzing transformation in Africa, and the renewal of AGRA’s partnership with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) leveraging our previous Memorandum of Understanding.

For more information about AGRA at the AGRF 2021 Summit, click here.

Delivering on commitments and increasing investment in food and agriculture in Africa preoccupies technical teams and continental thought leaders across the continent. Catalyzing thematic working groups and mobilizing critical stakeholders are core to AGRA’s mission. Five teams worked tirelessly with dozens of partners and institutions and governments to organize the AGRF 2021 Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya from September 6-10. The AGRF Summit is Africa’s pre-eminent forum that brings together political leaders, scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and farmers on a common platform to discuss strategies and strike partnerships for the transformation of the continent’s food systems.  The AGRF Summit and Partners Group are AGRA’s premier advocacy platform and communications highlight of the year.

At the AGRF 2021 Summit, AGRA launched the Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR), and curated a Youth Town Hall, which brought the needs and aspirations of youth to the attention of governments and other stakeholders. AGRA also supported a high-level presidential summit, which brought together five of Africa’s presidents to review the strategies for fast-tracking Africa’s food system transformation.  The newly-launched Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) hosted a dialogue on African leadership for food systems transformation. This was as the Farmers’ Forum cast a spotlight on the continent’s farmers by inviting them to chart the pathways to resilient food systems in the continent. Meanwhile, the prestigious Africa Food Prize was awarded to ICRISAT for improving food security in the continent. Additional information about these and other highlights of AGRA at the AGRF are presented below.

Status Report, Center of Excellence Unveiled to Guide Africa’s Agricultural Transformation Plans

Africa Agriculture Status Report – Among the most important publications in Africa’s food systems is the Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR), which is published annually as a handbook for governments and other partners to provide direction for agricultural transformation.  The 2021 AASR, unveiled at the AGRF Summit by AGRA President H.E. Dr. Agnes Kalibata and Chief of Staff and Strategy Andrew Cox, addresses the tough questions that accompany the challenge of delivering inclusive growth and enhancing government capacity. The 2021 AASR is a product of intense scholarly work aimed at stimulating discussion and a productive synthesis of ideas around the creation of sustainable and resilient food systems in Africa. A diverse set of researchers from different disciplines were involved in writing the AASR21.

CESSA – Seeds are an important entry-point for increased agricultural productivity, better nutrition and the promotion of resilience among smallholder farmers. It is against these backdrop that AGRA unveiled the Center of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa (CESSA) to champion the development of quality seed of improved varieties in Africa. Hosted by AGRA, CESSA will convene seed actors to help fill gaps, and build capacities and varieties that respond to needs of farmers in Sub Saharan Africa. The Center will begin operations in 2022, supporting governments, private sector and development partners to deliver modern, effective and resilient seed systems that serve African farmers better. It will also strengthen the seed value chain, particularly variety development and release, production and distribution of both early generation and certified seed, farmer awareness creation and participation, quality assurance, national planning, policy and regulatory frameworks.  

Innovating, Scaling new Technologies, Delivering on Commitments and Mobilizing Investments drove AGRA Sessions at the AGRF

Presidential Summit – A high-level Presidential Summit at the AGRF 2021 Summit brought together five of Africa’s presidents to review strategies for fast-tracking Africa’s food system transformation. The five were: host Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Dr. Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), and Hage Geingob of Namibia. Joining them in a panel discussion were Tanzania’s Vice President Dr. Philip Mpango, IFAD President Gilbert F. Houngbo,Josefa Sacko, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the Africa Union Commission, Salamatu Garba, the Senior Gender Specialist at UNDP-GEF Project, and Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group. The session was moderated by Dr. Vera Songwe, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa. 

Youth Townhall – AGRA curated and organized a Youth Townhall that provided a unique platform for young people to present their issues, challenges, aspirations to governments and stakeholders for policy consideration as well as interact with various ecosystem players and their peers. The Townhall cast a spotlight 4-K Clubs, a new policy recently approved by Kenyan government, with the aim of returning agricultural learning and clubs in schools, both at primary and secondary schools’ levels in Kenya. At the session, an agreement was made with stakeholders to create awareness about the 4-K club’s policy, bolster its implementation in Kenya and inspire other governments in Africa to replicate this policy.

Collaborative Food Systems Leadership – The newly-launched Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) hosted a dialogue on the nature of African leadership for food systems transformation. The session sought to catalyze a professional movement of food system leaders who work collaboratively to build sustainable food systems for the well-being of all African citizens and its environment. The session also started a new dialogue on the nature of African leadership for food systems transformation in Africa.

Farmers’ Forum – Seeking the voice of smallholder farmers, the key stakeholders in Africa’s agricultural and food systems was a Farmers’ Forum, which invited attendees to chart the pathways to resilient food systems in the continent. The session was premised on the fact that inclusive and sustainable agriculture transformation is pegged on the revolution of smallholder agriculture into a highly productive, efficient, competitive, and sustainable business. Its outcome was a concrete list of priorities for smallholder farming enterprises and actionable next steps for complete food system transformation.

AGRA Awards and Prizes at the AGRF

In appreciating the important work of Africa’s innovators and food system entrepreneurs, AGRA supported the presentation of awards totaling USD278,500 across different categories. Three of the four awards were designed to draw attention to the role of women and youth in food system transformation, by rewarding innovative and scalable enterprises by individuals in the two demographics.

Africa Food Prize – The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) was awarded the 2021 Africa Food Prize, for its work in improving food security across 13 sub-Saharan Africa countries. ICRISAT, a CGIAR Research Center, is an international organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT became the ninth winners of the USD100,000 award, which was first held in 2016 and sometimes shared between two innovators.

WAYA – Three winners were awarded the inaugural VALUE4HER Women Agripreneur of the Year Awards (WAYA), which celebrates women agripreneurs that show remarkable innovation in their businesses. Bagging the USD10,000 top prize was Dr. Hajia Salamatu Garba, the Founder and Executive Director of the Women Farmers Advancement Network WOFAN, a network of cooperative societies owned by small-scale, low-income rice farmers in Northern Nigeria. Beatrice Nkatha M’Munyi of Kenya’s Sorghum Pioneers was the first runners-up, winning USD 7,000 while Linda Manyeza, the founder and director of South Africa’s Food Masters Limited took home the USD 5,000 third prize.  

Pitch AgriHack – Six youth-led agribusinesses with market-ready innovations for African farmers won a share of the USD 45,000 Pitch AgriHack 2021 competition. SAYeTECH Company Limited in Ghana, which designs and manufactures climate-smart agricultural machinery won the early-stage category with Nigeria’s Rural Farmers Hub taking second place. The mature/growth-stage category was won by Liberia’s J Palm limited, for their innovative labour-saving technology in the production of palm oil. Nigeria’s Farmcrowdy Limited was the runners up. Meanwhile, Kenya’s GrowAgric won the women-led award, in recognition of their end-to-end solution, which optimizes the entire agriculture value chain, providing small and medium-scale farmers with training, marketing linkages and accessible working capital. Zimbabwe’s Fresh In A box took second place. In a fourth, invitation-only category, known as the AYuTe Africa Challenge, US$1.5 million in grants were awarded to two agritech businesses- ColdHubs and Hello Tractor. Cold Hubs provides solar powered cold storage options to smallholder farmers, while Hello Tractor connects farmers to tractor owners via a mobile app.

GoGettaz – Two agribusinesses working towards food systems transformation in Africa shared the USD100, 000 grand prize in the third GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize. The winners were Kenya’s Tracy Kimathi, founder of Tree_Sea.mals in Kenya and Rwanda’s Nshimiyimana Alexandre, co-founder of Sanit Wing Ltd. Kimathi’s company provides affordable off-grid cooling solutions for farmers while Alexandre’s enterprise is a community-focussed avocado processing and manufacturing company dealing with oils, cosmetics and soaps. Beyond the two grand prizes, four entrepreneurs won USD 2,500 each in the Impact Social and Environmental category. These were: Fily Keita, co-founder and CEO of Agrowomen in Mali; Diana Orembe, co-founder and CEO of NovFeed in Tanzania; Gabriel Eze, co-founder and COO of Rural Farmers Hub in Nigeria, and Costantine Edward, founder of AgriLife in Tanzania.

Poor rice fields development is a major impediment to the mechanisation of rice cultivation in the country, a study conducted by the John Agyekum Kufuor (JAK) Foundation has found.

The study, which focused on mechanisation and infrastructure delivery for the rice value chain, found that tree stumps, roots, debris, among others, on rice fields created barriers for effective use of farm equipment.

It also found that machinery operators and contractors suffered “weak skill capacities” in developing lowlands with requisite water regulatory structures for rice cultivation.

The foundation has proposed, among others, the use of equipment such as skid shredders, mulchers and laser levellers for land development.
The findings of the study were disseminated at a stakeholder workshop in Accra last Monday.

The study assessed Ghana’s current infrastructure and machinery relevant to the rice value chain in 143 rice production districts, with major focus on the Volta and Northern regions because of high rice production in those regions.

The researchers also analysed data from 10 regions to identify the infrastructure and mechanisation gaps.

The study formed part of the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership for Competitive and Inclusive Rice Value-Chain Development: Planting for Food and Jobs — Rice Chapter Project, an initiative of the JAK Foundation in collaboration with the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Findings

Presenting the findings, a Consultant for the JAK Foundation, Mr. Patrick Ohene Aboagye, said the Volta Region emerged as the region with the most advanced infrastructure and recorded the highest productivity yields of 5.1 metric tonnes per hectare (mt/ha) and the highest production.

He said although the Northern Region recorded the second highest level of production, it reported the lowest yield productivity of 2.01mt/ha, lower than the weighted average of 2.96mt/ha for all the regions.

A Policy Advisor at the JAK Foundation, Nana Ama Oppong-Duah, identified inadequate coordination and synergy among players in the rice production sector as a factor which hampered the progress of the industry.

Until 2017, Rwanda depended on imports to meet its need of hybrid seed for maize, soybean and wheat, some of the country’s staples. The country was importing around 3,000 tons of hybrid maize seed, 800 tons of wheat and 700 tons of soybean every year to meet its local demand. 

However, through support from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Rwandese government and private seed companies in the country were able to advance their seed production and multiplication capacity to such an extent that the country is now self-sufficient in hybrid maize. 

To date, AGRA has invested in 15 private seed companies across Rwanda including Ignite Seed Company, one of two women-owned seed companies in the country. Ignite produces soybean, bean and maize seed. Founded in 2014 by veterinarian Norah Kamashazi, the company has grown to produce 4.2 metric tons per hectare of hybrid maize and has operations in three districts — Gatsibo, Bugesera and Nyagatare. To promote further growth, AGRA is helping Ignite procure large-capacity seed conditioning machines. 

Likewise, the Rwanda Improved Seed Company (RISCO) has increased its production of maize and bean seed to 100 tons per season from just 12 tons previously. Through the partnership, RISCO has increased its cultivation of early generation seed from 30 to 84 hectares, creating new employment opportunities as well.

“Currently, we employ over 100 casual workers and four retained staff compared to 30 casual workers and one retainer previously,” said John Muvara, RISCO’s managing director, in recognition of the benefits accrued from the partnership. 

To ensure sustained improved seed production, AGRA funded the training of Rwandan researchers (29 with Master of Science degrees and eight with Doctor of Philosophy degrees), who have now developed 47 improved crop varieties of quality seeds, including maize, beans, soybeans, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes and bananas. 

Overall, the partnership has invested USD $10.8 million in creating a functional and strong seed system in the East African country with over 4,500 metric tons of certified hybrid maize, bean, potato and soybean seed being produced and sold locally. 

On the understanding that a strong regulatory environment is needed for the seed value chain to meet international standards, USD $1.7 million was invested in establishing a policy and legal framework for the industry. This was to ensure that smallholder farmers in the country have access to high-quality seed of improved varieties and that local seed companies would be positioned to export their seed to the rest of the world.

The partnership supported a study tour by Rwanda’s seed system players to Kenya to study the country’s Seed Enterprise Management Institute (SEMIs) for best practices, and to Zambia to observe the Seed Control and Certification Institute’s regulatory approach to inspections and services. 

“Through the study tour, I realized that institutional partnerships play a major role in seed regulation and stabilization of seed systems,” said Saidi Rumanzi Mbaraka (Ph.D.), College of Agriculture, Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine (CAVM), University of Rwanda.

“The trip was a proper opportunity to practically experience how various stakeholders jointly contribute to high-quality seed availability,” added Kadafi Misago (Ph.D.), College of Business and Economics, University of Rwanda.

Through such investments, 463,500 farmers now have access to improved seed, out of whom 239,055 have adopted these yield-raising inputs. Rwandan farmers now source 80% of improved seed locally. 

“Farmers are able to get quality seeds at affordable prices and plant on time. This is important to improve crop production and farmers’ household incomes,” said Fidel Nizeyimana, a researcher at the Rwanda Agriculture Board.

Farmers in the country are now reporting impressive harvests from the improved seed, with hybrid maize yielding 7 tons per hectare, in comparison to traditional varieties that average 2 tons per hectare.

Additionally, because of the low cost of domestically produced seeds relative to imported seeds, farmers are able to save on input investments, further increasing their profits. Hybrid maize seed produced by RISCO cost RWF 1,450 (USD $1.44) per kilogram, while imported improved seeds retail at RWF 2,050 (USD $2.04) per kilogram. 

Going forward, the production and distribution of improved seeds will remain part of AGRA’s strategy for supporting a food systems transformation in Rwanda and Africa. This focus is in keeping with research findings showing that farmers’ incomes and overall food security can be significantly improved through the cultivation of improved crop varieties and high-quality seeds, accompanied by other technologies, such as fertilizers.

Originally published

Last month, over 100 world leaders gathered at the UN Food Systems Summit (UN FSS), during the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, to review the progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals Last month, over 100 world leaders gathered at the UN Food Systems Summit (UN FSS), during the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, to review the progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the run-up to the high-profile forum, and afterwards, AGRA and the AGRF convened government leaders, scientists, international organizations, donor partners, and farmers in side-events to outline the priorities for the next nine years. These side-sessions (summarized below) drew from the regional pathways and priorities identified at the AGRF Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, two weeks ahead of the UN FSS; they were also informed by the Africa Common Position to the UN Food Systems Summit.

• Six African heads of State and 20 ministers presented national pathways emerging from the past year of national dialogues on Food Systems transformation at the UNFSS. Country teams and technical experts from AGRA supported more than 15 African countries in the development of their food systems agendas and pathways, in addition to facilitating development of the African continental position paper, also presented by the African Union President, H.E. President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi.
• September 21, 2021: AGRA and the AGRF hosted a high-level UN FSS side event under the theme: “Delivering on the African Agenda in Building Resilient Food Systems”. The event brought together two high-level cross-cutting panels to address African challenges and solutions in the transition to resilient food systems. The speakers further highlighted what needs to be done to turn political ambition into reality, building on commitments and ambition out of the Ministerial Roundtable outcomes from AGRF.
• September 22, 2021: AGRA, through its VALUE4Her platform, hosted a special side event to highlight the role of women in food systems transformation, and to create awareness on the critical role of women in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The TalkCorner event featured Dr Hajia Salamatu Garba, the founder of Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), who reflected on the lessons from her work in advancing women’s participation in food systems transformation. Dr Garba is the winner of the inaugural VALUE4HER Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA2021), recognized for her effort in mobilizing functional women led smallholder farmer’s groups, as well as creating commercially registered women agribusinesses.
• September 24, 2021: Generation Africa, a thematic platform of the AGRF Summit; in conjunction with AGRA, hosted a youth-centric UN FSS side event titled, ‘The Favourite Food Extravaganza’, which showcased and highlighted the nutritional aspects of Africa’s indigenous dishes in a fun and relatable manner. The extravaganza was planned in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – in particular, to end malnutrition in all its forms by 2030 and to strengthen the link between diet, food systems and health.
• September 29, 2021: Dr. Kalibata met with the US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, in a meeting that was also attended by UN Chief of Staff, Adam Gerstenmeier, AGRA’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Chief of Party, Vanessa Adams, and AGRA’s US representative Marshall Matz. Discussions at the meeting covered research and extension, as well as the support that AGRA might gain from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) through a new Memorandum of Understanding. 

September 29, 2021: AGRA President Dr. Agnes Kalibata met with USAID Administrator Samantha Power to review the outcomes of the UN FSS especially focusing on President Biden’s commitment of USD 10bn, of which half will be for global support. The two principals discussed strategies for supporting countries in fast-tracking the transformation of their food systems, and implementing critical agricultural and food systems transformations to reduce hunger and malnutrition while adapting to climate change extensively highlighted in the National Pathways submitted by member states prior to the New York Summit. Administrator Power and Dr. Kalibata also discussed how AGRA can support Feed the Future’s strategy refresh and significant in-country efforts to reach increase farmers productivity with climate-adapted crop varieties and enhanced food fortification, while building more nutritious, sustainable, and equitable food systems.

Delivering on commitments and increasing investment in food and agriculture on the continent preoccupies technical teams and continental thought leaders across the continent. Catalyzing thematic working groups and mobilizing critical stakeholders are core to AGRA’s mission. The AGRF Summit is Africa’s pre-eminent forum that brings together political leaders, scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and farmers on a common platform to discuss strategies and strike partnerships for the transformation of the continent’s food systems.  The AGRF Summit and Partners Group are AGRA’s premier advocacy platform and communications highlight of the year.

The 2021 AGRF Summit was held from September 6-10 in Nairobi, Kenya. At the AGRF Summit, AGRA launched the Africa Agriculture Status Report,  and curated a Youth Town Hall which brought the needs and aspirations of youth to the attention of Governments and stakeholders. AGRA also supported a high-level presidential summit which brought together five of Africa’s presidents to review strategies for fast-tracking Africa’s food system transformation.  The newly-launched Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) hosted a dialogue on the nature of African leadership for food systems transformation in Africa. The Farmers’ Forum cast a spotlight on the continent’s farmers by inviting them to chart the pathways to resilient food systems in the continent. The Africa Food Prize was awarded to ICRISAT for improving food security on the continent. Additional information about these and other highlights of AGRA at the AGRF are presented below.

Launches

Africa Agriculture Status Report  – AGRA President H.E. Dr. Agnes Kalibata and Chief of Staff and Strategy Andrew Cox led the launch of the Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR), which addresses the tough questions that accompany the challenge of delivering inclusive growth and enhancing government capacity. The AASR serves as a handbook for governments and their supporting partners to deliver agricultural and economic transformation.

CESSA – AGRA unveiled the Center of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa (CESSA) to champion the development of quality seed of improved varieties in Africa. Hosted by AGRA, CESSA will convene seed actors to help fill gaps, and build capacities and varieties that respond to needs of farmers in Sub Saharan Africa. The Center will begin operations in 2022, supporting governments, the private sector and development partners to deliver modern, effective and resilient seed systems that serve African farmers better. It will also strengthen the seed value chain, particularly variety development and release, production and distribution of both early generation and certified seed, farmer awareness creation and participation, quality assurance, national planning, policy and regulatory frameworks.  

Innovating, Scaling new Technologies, Delivering on Commitments and Mobilizing Investments drove AGRA Sessions at the AGRF

Presidential Summit – A high-level presidential summit brought together five of Africa’s presidents to review strategies for fast-tracking Africa’s food system transformation. The five were: host H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), H.E. Paul Kagame (Rwanda), H.E.  Dr. Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), H.E. Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), and H.E. Hage Geingob of Namibia. Joining them in a panel discussion were Tanzania’s Vice President Dr. Philip Mpango, IFAD President Gilbert F. Houngbo, H.E. Josefa Sacko, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the Africa Union Commission, Salamatu Garba, theSenior Gender Specialist at UNDP-GEF Project, and Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group. The session was moderated by Dr. Vera Songwe, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa. 

Youth Townhall – AGRA curated and organized a Youth Townhall that provided a unique platform for young people to present their issues, challenges and  aspirations to Governments and stakeholders for policy consideration as well as interact with various ecosystem players and their peers. The Townhall cast a spotlight on 4-K Clubs, a new policy recently approved by the Kenyan government, with the aim of returning agricultural learning and clubs in schools, both at primary and secondary schools’ levels in Kenya. At the session, an agreement was made with stakeholders to create awareness about the 4-K club’s policy, bolster its implementation in Kenya and inspire other governments in Africa to replicate this policy.

Collaborative Food Systems Leadership – The newly-launched Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) hosted a dialogue on the nature of African leadership for food systems transformation in Africa. The session sought to catalyze a professional movement of food system leaders who work collaboratively to build sustainable food systems for the well-being of all African citizens and its environment. The session also started a new dialogue on the nature of African leadership for food systems transformation in Africa.

Farmers’ Forum  – The Farmers’ Forum cast a spotlight on the continent’s farmers by inviting them to chart the pathways to resilient food systems in the continent. The session was premised on the fact that inclusive and sustainable agriculture transformation is pegged on the revolution of smallholder agriculture into a highly productive, efficient, competitive, and sustainable business.  

AGRA Awards and Prizes at the AGRF

Africa Food Prize – The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) was awarded the 2021 Africa Food Prize, for its work in improving food security across 13 sub-Saharan Africa countries in. ICRISAT, a CGIAR Research Center, is an international organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT became the ninth winners of the USD100,000 award, which was first held in 2016 and sometimes shared between two innovators.

Pitch AgriHack – Six youth-led agribusinesses with market-ready innovations for African farmers won a share of the USD 45,000 Pitch AgriHack 2021 competition. SAYeTECH Company Limited in Ghana, which designs and manufactures climate-smart agricultural machinery won the early-stage category with Nigeria’s Rural Farmers Hub taking second place. The mature/growth-stage category was won by Liberia’s J Palm limited, for their innovative labour-saving technology in the production of palm oil. Nigeria’s Farmcrowdy Limited was the runner up. Meanwhile, Kenya’s GrowAgric won the women-led award, in recognition of their end-to-end solution, which optimizes the entire agriculture value chain, providing small and medium-scale farmers with training, marketing linkages and accessible working capital. Zimbabwe’s Fresh In A box took second place. In a fourth, invitation-only category, known as the AYuTe Africa Challenge, US$1.5 million in grants were awarded to two agritech businesses- ColdHubs and Hello Tractor. Cold Hubs provides solar powered cold storage options to smallholder farmers, while Hello Tractor connects farmers to tractor owners via a mobile app.

GoGettaz – Two agribusinesses working towards food systems transformation in Africa shared the USD100, 000 grand prize in the third GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize. The winners were Kenya’s Tracy Kimathi, founder of Tree_Sea.mals in Kenya and Rwanda’s Nshimiyimana Alexandre, co-founder of Sanit Wing Ltd. Kimathi’s company provides affordable off-grid cooling solutions for farmers while Alexandre’s enterprise is a community-focused avocado processing and manufacturing company dealing with oils, cosmetics and soaps. Beyond the two grand prizes, four entrepreneurs won USD 2,500 each in the Impact Social and Environmental category. These were: Fily Keita, co-founder and CEO of Agrowomen in Mali; Diana Orembe, co-founder and CEO of NovFeed in Tanzania; Gabriel Eze, co-founder and COO of Rural Farmers Hub in Nigeria, and Costantine Edward, founder of AgriLife in Tanzania.

WAYA – Three winners were awarded the inaugural VALUE4HER Women Agripreneur of the Year Awards (WAYA), which celebrates women agripreneurs that show remarkable innovation in their businesses. Bagging the USD100,000 top prize was Dr. Hajia Salamatu Garba, the Founder and Executive Director of the Women Farmers Advancement Network WOFAN, a network of cooperative societies owned by small-scale, low-income rice farmers in Northern Nigeria. Beatrice Nkatha M’Munyi of Kenya’s Sorghum Pioneers was the first runners-up, winning USD 7,000 while Linda Manyeza, the founder and director of South Africa’s Food Masters Limited took home the USD 5,000 third prize.