AGRA

NAIROBI, Kenya, September 6, 2021: Farmers, heads of state and other government officials, scientists, and representatives of the private sector and civil society are gathering for the 11^th edition of the AGRF Summit to engage on how to create a sustainable and resilient food system in Africa.

Themed “Pathways to Recovery and Resilient Food Systems”, this year’s forum will open up a robust conversation with various African leaders on ways to accelerate the process of building and developing Africa’s food systems. The Alliance of a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is one of the partners in the event hosted by the Government of Kenya.

Speaking during the summit that runs from September 7 to 10, AGRA President Dr Agnes Kalibata, emphasised the need to urgently address challenges hindering sustainable food systems such as poverty and hunger, adverse impacts of climate change and health issues.

“This is an opportunity for the continent to collaboratively define what needs to happen in order to get our food systems right. We need to focus on boosting our productivity and innovatively fixing our food system in its entirety to deliver food and nutrition security for all,” Dr. Agnes Kalibata said.

The AGRF 2021 Summit is critical for the future of Africa’s agriculture. It is a defining moment to highlight and unlock many of the political, policy, and financial commitments and innovations the continent has achieved and needed to advance the commitments made at the Malabo Heads of State Summit and towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This years’ event also features a Virtual 2021 Agribusiness Deal Room, a matchmaking platform that aims to drive new business deals and commitments. Through the Deal Room, companies in the agriculture and agribusiness sectors have an opportunity to access finance, mentorship, and market entry solutions to support their growth objectives. It also creates opportunities for governments to present investment opportunities, promote investment incentives and engage with interested investors. Participants will also explore trade deals and partnership opportunities that enhance sourcing from African smallholder farmers.

Other highlights of the AGRF 2021 Summit include: Farmers’ Forum, announcement of the Africa Food Prize 2021 and release of this year’s Africa Agriculture Status Report.

Also taking part in the summit is AGRA’s Board Chair and former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dr Hailemariam Dessalegn.

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About AGRA

AGRA is a farmer-centered, African-led, partnerships-driven institution that is working to transform 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 has learned a lot from efforts during its first decade and 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.

About the AGRF

The African Green Revolution Forum was first held in 2006 as the African Green Revolution Conference (AGRC), hosted by Yara International ASA in Norway. The conference moved to Africa in 2010 with the championing of former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, who oversaw its transition to an African identity. The Forum now consists of an annual event combined with thematic platforms and activities throughout the year to ensure continuous progress over time. Kenya is the third country, after Rwanda and Ghana, to host the event twice, having successfully hosted the 2016 edition. Afterwards, Rwanda will host the event in alternate years, having been named the home of the AGRF seat. Other AGRF member countries will host the Forum in the years between. In its current format, the AGRF is organized by the AGRF Partners Group, a coalition of institutions that care about Africa’s agriculture transformation.  

For Media Inquiries Contact:

Hudson Sandler

Evelyne Wangui: +254 726 087451

Eugene Ng’ang’a: +254 703 516173

Agrf.media@hudsonsandler.com For more information on the AGRF agenda and partners, visit www.agrf.org.

KAMPALA, Uganda: August 26, 2021 Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Board Member of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, will on Friday, August 27, 2021 meet with Uganda’s President H.E. Yoweri Museveni for a conversation around Africa’s food system priorities.

The discussion will address ways to prioritize inclusive agricultural transformation in the promotion of resilient and sustainable food systems. This is in addition to the need for collaboration in driving the commitments made in the Malabo Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goals. 

H.E Kikwete, who travelled to Uganda’s capital Kampala on Thursday, August 26, 2021, will also use the opportunity to invite H.E. Museveni to the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit 2021, in Nairobi Kenya, while highlighting the opportunities for the continent ahead of the convening.   

Organized under the leadership of H.E Uhuru Kenyatta, and the AGRF Partners Group, under the theme, “Pathways to Recovery and Resilient Food Systems”, the AGRF Summit 2021 will assume a hybrid format with participation in Nairobi and virtually.

It is expected that over 10,000 delegates will join the event virtually, as close to 150 delegates gather in Nairobi for the Summit, among them Heads of State and Government, Ministers and high-profile leaders from the private sector and development organizations. 

Among other objectives, the Forum will give the continent a final chance to review and affirm Africa’s common position before joining the rest of the world at the UN Food Systems Summit, in New York later in September.-

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About AGRA

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. Together with our partners, we catalyze and sustain an inclusive agricultural transformation to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021.

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

About AGRF

The AGRF is the premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. The Forum is designed to energize political will and advance the policies, programs and investments required to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the continent. More information: https://agrf.org; Catherine Ndung’u cndungu@agra.org

NAIROBI, Kenya: August 19, 2021 – With Africa’s food security and sustainability playing a central role in the continent’s economic growth and adaptation to climate change, the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA), an initiative led by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), officially launched its first cohort of 80 leaders from eight focus countries across sub-Saharan Africa. To support agriculture leaders deliver on policy priorities across the continent, this week CALA’s inaugural Advanced Leadership Programme: Collaborative Leadership for Africa’s Food Security and Sustainability kicked off with individuals from government, the private sector and civil society from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. 

CALA has been established with funding from the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) through the KfW Development Bank and led by AGRA in collaboration with the African Management Institute (AMI), the Centre’s lead implementer and learning partner, and USAID’s Policy LINK, which has led the design and rollout of the leadership programme’s coaching component. The first cohort of 80 leaders from across government, the private sector, and civil society were selected from nearly 1,000 applicants. An application process for the programme’s second cohort will open in early 2022.

CALA’s first three-day Leadership Forum held virtually, began this past Monday with live remarks from AGRA’s Board Chair and former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, AGRA’s President Dr. Agnes Kalibata, AMI’s CEO Rebecca Harrison and USAID Policy LINK’s Regional Director Robert Ouma. 

“The complexity of agriculture transformation requires collaborative and coordinated effort amongst all stakeholders, and that is why these kinds of initiatives (like CALA) are important,” noted AGRA’s Board Chair, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn in his remarks.

AGRA President, Dr. Agnes Kalibata added, “To move steadily towards an inclusive Agriculture Transformation in Africa, we need strong networks of leaders who can learn together and from one another on how to advance our food systems in a way that is inclusive, equitable, sustainable and climate sensitive. CALA is an opportunity to bring agriculture leaders together to share knowledge across government, private sector and civil society, to support the implementation of agriculture sector priorities and hone leadership skills with the aim of enhancing the delivery of our commitments for the sector to contribute to ending hunger and malnutrition, poverty and improving livelihoods.”

The 16-month Advanced Leadership Programme learning journey is designed for established and emerging sector leaders spearheading priority country-level agriculture strategies to effect change. The programme focuses on developing the competencies of leaders in four core interrelated dimensions, including management skills for improved implementation, honing of leadership skills, institutional development and over time, systems change where leaders can effect change on a broader scale. The programme will also profile environmental sustainability practices which contribute to sustainable farming, food production, and resilient food systems in the face of increasing climate change impacts.

“For transformation, we know that it is collaborative leadership that will unlock results and progress for the continent in terms of food security and sustainability. Without strong and collaborative leadership, good ideas go unrealised, plans stagnate, and ultimately the opportunity for transformation can slip away,” said AMI CEO and Co-Founder, Rebecca Harrison.

“Good leadership is a factor of production, and in Africa, we need good, inspired leadership to transform our agricultural sector through motivation and influence,” said Policy LINK Regional Director Robert Ouma. “To support them in their learning and growth as leaders of their countries’ agricultural transformation, CALA’s leadership coaching will draw upon successful models of executive and team coaching.”

In addition to kicking off their practical leadership programme with facilitators and coaches, the inaugural cohort heard from agriculture Permanent Secretaries during a roundtable to discuss sector implementation issues, and from sector experts who work together to unblock implementation challenges. Speakers included:

• Hixonia Nyasulu, AGRA Board Member and Chairperson AECF; 
• Jean Claude Musabyimana, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), Rwanda; 
• Mrs. Karima Babangida, Director: Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA) of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Department (FMARD), Nigeria; 
• Erica Maganga, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, Malawi; 
• Eden Getachew, Centre of Government and Delivery Lead, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI)
• Joyce Nyamweya, Executive Director at The Results for Africa Institute

During its first three years, CALA’s Advanced Leadership Programme will work with 160 participants from the eight focus countries. Participants will engage in Leadership Forums held once every four months, regular virtual learning labs, elective and scheduled online courses which will highlight adaptive leadership skills, case studies of agriculture transformation and performance management skills to enhance implementation skills. Over the course of the 16 month programme, CALA’s participants will partner with professional leadership coaches in a high-impact process to harness the individual’s and the team’s strengths and experiences to catalyze learning, growth and results. Participants will also develop Action Learning Projects derived from participants’ ongoing work priorities and opportunities to apply learning from the program in real-time to on-the-job challenges within country-level agricultural priority programs.Information about CALA’s Advanced Leadership Programme and upcoming application dates can be found at http://cala.agra.org

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About AGRA

Founded in 2006, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is an African-led African-based organization that seeks to catalyze Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on putting smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. As the sector that employs the majority of Africa’s people, nearly all of them small-scale farmers, AGRA recognizes that developing smallholder agriculture into a productive, efficient, and sustainable system is essential to ensuring food security, lifting millions out of poverty, and driving equitable growth across the continent.

For more information visit: www.agra.org 

About AMI

AMI enables ambitious businesses and leaders across Africa to thrive, through practical tools and training. We equip leaders with tools to build their business, help companies train their teams and run work readiness programmes for young people starting their careers. AMI’s programmes combine online and mobile tools with interactive workshops and on-the-job practice and support. During the COVID period AMI is delivering fully virtual programming across the continent.

AMI has worked with a range of businesses and organisations to support entrepreneurs and managers build and grow their businesses across Africa including Uber, Nestle, Radisson Blu, Mastercard Foundation, USAID, Shell Foundation and Equity Bank. AMI has directly trained over 30,000 people in over 35 countries. AMI has offices in Nairobi, Kenya, Kigali, Rwanda, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

For more information on AMI visit: www.africanmanagers.org  

About Policy LINK 

Policy LINK is a global Feed the Future program to advance leadership and collaboration for better policy systems. Feed the Future is America’s global hunger and food security initiative, led by USAID. With regional activities in East Africa as well as an in-country presence in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, Policy LINK supports individuals and organizations to work better together by centering the people driving policy change, the platforms that bring them together, and the participatory learning that they generate.For more information about Policy LINK, please visit: www.policylinkglobal.org

Download the press release: https://agra.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CALA-press-release_19_August_Final.pdf

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania: July 15, 2021 – Former Tanzania President and Board Member of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) H.E. Dr. Jakaya M. Kikwete has urged African governments to create a conducive environment for private sector participation as a way of speeding up the sought-after agricultural transformation.

H.E. Kikwete was speaking on Wednesday July 15, 2021, during a press conference in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam. He was joined by H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, former Ethiopia Prime Minister and AGRA Board Chair, Tanzania’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Hussein Mohamed Bashe, and Prof. Riziki Shemdoe, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry in the President’s Office in charge of Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG).

In his remarks, H.E. Dr. Kikwete recommended the development of public infrastructure including roads, electricity, and market structures, which he described as necessary for attracting private sector participation in agricultural value chains.

Agreeing with H.E. Dr. Kikwete, Hon. Hussein Bashe said that his government’s investment in infrastructure and policy development had helped increase private sector investment in Tanzania’s food value chains to nearly Tsh. 4 trillion (USD1.7bn) in three years.

The Deputy Minister further announced that the government had prepared a ready market for the country’s maize farmers as a way to incentivize more production.

“With this year’s bumper harvest, the government will from August buy each kilogram of maize from farmers at Tsh. 500 (USD 0.22),” he said. The TSh.500 (USD 0.15) is a 43 percent increase from the Tsh. 350 that the National Food Reserve Agency paid for a kilo of maize in 2020.

H.E. Dessalegn announced that AGRA will support the Government of Tanzania’s agro-industrialization development program.  

“AGRA will work with the government on its industrialization agenda that seeks to drive the country’s diversification and expansion of agro-industries. AGRA will work with sector-line ministries to mobilize both technical and financial resources,” he said.

H.E. Dessalegn further invited all agriculture stakeholders to the 2021 AGRF Summit which will be hosted by the Government of Kenya from September 6 -10.

The Board Chair has been in Tanzania since Friday last week as part of a cross-Africa tour to witness the impact of AGRA’s work, while mobilizing political goodwill and private sector participation in the transformation of the continent’s food systems. He has so far travelled to Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. From here, H.E. Dr. Kikwete takes over the role as he visits Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique.

To pick up the momentum, H.E. Dr. Kikwete joined H.E. Dessalegn in an engagement with stakeholders from Tanzania’s seed sector on Thursday morning. The purpose of the session was to share the progress that has been made so far in seed subsector development in Tanzania, with support from AGRA and other development partners.

The seed program has been a key area of focus for AGRA since 2006 when it started operations in Tanzania. The subsector has remained central to AGRA’s strategy and operations even as it opens new areas of investment in policy and advocacy, soil health and market development.

About AGRA

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. Together with our partners, we catalyze and sustain an inclusive agricultural transformation to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021.

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

About AGRF

The AGRF is the premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. The Forum is designed to energize political will and advance the policies, programs and investments required to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the continent.

More information: https://agrf.org; Catherine Ndung’u cndungu@agra.org

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania: July 13, 2021 – Former Ethiopia Prime Minister and Board Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, has said that with proper investment, Tanzania has the potential to feed the whole of Africa.

According to H.E. Dessalegn, Tanzania’s favorable climatic conditions, good soils, a youthful population, and a propensity for mechanization can be harnessed to meet the continent’s food needs.

“Tanzania is one of the few countries in Africa that have the potential to feed the whole continent; very few countries can change their agricultural landscape but Tanzania can,” he said during an engagement with AGRA staff in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Monday morning. 

Also in the meeting was retired Tanzania President and AGRA Board Member, H.E. Dr. Jakaya Kikwete, who rooted for increased research, mechanisation, irrigation and farmer finance in transforming Tanzania’s agricultural prospects.

“Smallholder farmers are greatly affected by climate change, thus the need for experts and researchers to help them cope with the challenge and increase their productivity,” H.E. Dr. Kikwete said.

“Irrigation agriculture, too, is a way forward and should be made accessible for smallholder farmers,” he added, citing his 31-acre maize farming venture that failed after rains stopped, inspiring him to invest in irrigation. 

From here, H.E. Dr. Kikwete takes over the food systems tour as H.E. Dessalegn takes a break. The former Tanzania President is set to lead a delegation to Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique, where he will invite the heads of state and government to the AGRF Summit 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya from September 7 – 10. Meanwhile, H.E. Dessalegn will later this week meet with Tanzania’s president, H.E. Samia Suluhu, to deliver her official invite to the summit.

During the meeting, H.E. Dessalegn and H.E. President Suluhu are also expected to engage in dialogue on her government’s food systems priorities. This is especially important as Africa prepares for the September UN Food Systems Summit, where the world will take stock of the progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably the commitment to end hunger and poverty by 2030. 

H.E. Dessalegn has been in Tanzania since Friday 9 July as part of a cross-Africa tour to witness the impact of AGRA’s work, while mobilizing political goodwill and private sector participation in the transformation of the continent’s food systems.

During his site visits in the Bagamoyo District and downtown Dar es Salaam today, Tuesday, July 13, he explored private sector investments in milling and chick breeding, projects that contribute differently to Tanzania’s food systems development objectives.

Accompanied by H.E. Dr. Kikwete, the AGRA Board Chair first toured Joydons Limited, a maize flour processing business in the Coastal region, established by two sisters in 2012. From an initial capital of USD 2,156, Joydons has grown to have a USD 1.3mn operating capital base, and 248 workers.

“We currently sell our maize flour in four administrative regions on Mainland Tanzania – and plan to capture other markets soon enough, including export markets,” said the company’s co-founder and managing director, Joyce Kimaro.

From Joydons, the two principals and their delegation, visited AKM Glitters Company Limited in Dar es Salaam, which produces and sells improved chicken, and poultry feed. The company has in 14 years grown from a backyard poultry farm with 250 chicken to a hatchery plant yielding 320,000 day-old chicks per month.

Through its vast network, of primarily women-owned businesses, AKM Glitters has in the past four years alone distributed 7.2mn day old chicks of the dual purpose Kuroiler breed to at least 1.25mn smallholder farming households. The company also recently upgraded its milling plant to generate 120 tons of poultry feed everyday.

“By working with mostly female distributors in rural areas, we are able to support them in growing their own businesses as well as reach rural farmers and give them access to a high-quality breed of chicken and feed,” said Elizabeth Swai, the company’s founder and CEO.

About AGRA

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. Together with our partners, we catalyze and sustain an inclusive agricultural transformation to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021.

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

About AGRF

The AGRF is the premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. The Forum is designed to energize political will and advance the policies, programs and investments required to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the continent.

More information: https://agrf.org; Catherine Ndung’u cndungu@agra.org

ACCRA, Ghana: July 12, 2021 – The Food Trade Coalition for Africa (FTCA) held its General Assembly, Private Sector Engagement on the Regional Food Balance Sheet, and a Policy Dialogue on the impact of shocks on food systems, in Accra, Ghana from June 29 – 30, 2021. The General Assembly was opened by Hon. Okyere Baafi, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, on behalf of Hon. Minister Alan Kyerematen.

The following were the key messages from the three engagements:

• The Coalition shall intensify engagement with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat to align interests, and share lessons for the promotion of food trade in the continent;
• Addressing challenges around non-tariff barriers, state interventions in trade, non-harmonization of standards, informality, inadequate access to finance, and food supply disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic remains critical for better functioning regional food markets;
• Covid-19 alongside other shocks such as desert locusts, droughts and flooding has worsened the food security situation in volatile regions of the continent. Regular monitoring and reporting of these incidences remains a key task of the Food Security and Hunger Hotspots thematic working group of the Coalition;
• Monitoring of food trade flows along key trade corridors in the continent in order to uncover and address blockages emanating from COVID-19 measures and other factors will be a focus area of the Coalition;
• The Coalition shall prioritise the empowerment of women in regional value chains through policy engagement and coordination of investments aimed at increasing their participation in food trade;
• In recognition of the importance of safe food and the promotion of nutrition in food trade, the Coalition launched a new thematic working group focusing on the coordination of investments and coherence in policy influencing around food safety and nutrition standards;
• On the private sector engagement, AGRA and COMESA commit to continue consultations with the private sector in the development of the Regional Food Balance Sheet (RFBS) tool to ensure the initiative is relevant for businesses;
• During its policy dialogue, the Coalition discussed the policy responses to climatic shocks and the Covid-19 pandemic on domestic food value chains, international food trade, and food and nutrition security;
• The dearth in real time data and information on the extent of the effects of the shocks on food security and functioning of supply chains resulted in the implementation of restrictive measures by governments resulting in temporary disruptions of food flows;
• Women, youth and small farmers were particularly impacted by these shocks in various ways including limited access to inputs, markets for products, loss of jobs and income;
• The implications for the resilience of food value chains in Sub Saharan Africa hinges on the critical role of informal markets, vulnerability of perishable products to restrictions on mobility and transport, reliance on global food value chains, and scarcity of agri-food data in real (or near) time;
• Support to the functioning of informal markets and cross-border food trade: The limited interference with the operations of local and regional staple food markets proved successful;
• Strengthening the performance of food value chains – extending policy attention to include actors beyond “farm” and “plate”, such as input suppliers/transporters and food transporters, processors, traders, and retailers. These actors provide farmers with inputs or move food to consumers, and many are small and medium-scale enterprises that perform critical roles in maintaining the food system.

Key recommendations from the dialogue included:

• The need for evidence-based decision making – facilitating evidence generation and data systems that are real (or near) time;
• Building partnerships, improving coordination and collaboration to enable experience sharing to anchor future efforts. Strengthen public-private dialogues through instruments such as the Coalition;
• Support the functioning of informal markets through trade facilitation and policy reforms. The implementation of the AfCFTA, among other actions, should target increases in smallholder farmers’ access to stable and profitable regional agricultural markets.

About the Food Trade Coalition for Africa

The Food Trade Coalition for Africa was launched at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in 2019. It is a unique Coalition that brings together players in African food and agriculture trade, leveraging on their diverse views, experiences and knowledge to coordinate food trade investments and policy interventions across the continent. The members of the Coalition include representatives within Africa, and the international community; regional economic communities, private organizations, research institutions, development agencies, academia and think-tanks. With the combined strengths of its members and partners, the Coalition aims to build a stronger consensus on food trade policy, and increase policy coherence and predictability.

More information: https://ftcafrica.org/ ; Mumbi Gichuri: MGichuri@agra.org

About AGRA

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. Together with our partners, we catalyze and sustain an inclusive agricultural transformation to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021.

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

The AGRF 2021 Summit program will feature new commitments to the Future Food Systems on equitable livelihoods, nutrition & health, resilience, and competitiveness 

Nairobi, Kenya, July 8, 2021— A line up of 500 guests, including governments, private sector, youth, women leaders and farmer organization will convene in Nairobi, Kenya on September 6-10 for the AGRF 2021 Summit under the leadership of H.E Uhuru Kenyatta. They are expected to be joined virtually by over 10,000 delegates from more than 150 countries for the Summit, which will focus on accelerating progress towards the development of resilient food systems on the continent.

Under the theme of Pathways to Recovery and Resilient Food Systems, this year’s AGRF Summit will put a spotlight on new commitments to the future of African food systems and showcase how resilience will be built out of leadership at all levels.

The Summit will have a special focus on the role of women and youth in transforming Africa’s food systems with various issues faced by these groups expected to dominate the discussions at the First Ladies Forum and the Youth Hall respectively.

The former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and AGRF Board Chair, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, said that he was inspired to see Africans leaders make Agriculture as priority but noted that a lot more needed to be done.

“Now more than ever we must prioritise inclusive agricultural transformation. We must work collaboratively to ensure that policy, technology and finances respond to the needs of our farmers. This is critical to achieve zero hunger across the continent and around the globe. H.E. Dessalegn added.

Co-organized with the Government of Kenya, with the support of 26 partner institutions, this year’s Summit comes at a pivotal time when global voices convene under the Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) to shift the conversation on how food is produced and consumed and the role it plays to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  

As part of its contribution to the UNFSS, the AGRF 2021 Summit aims to elevate the single, coordinated African voice, by identifying immediate actions and steps to be taken to accelerate progress towards the development of resilient food systems.

Representing the host government, Kenya’s Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, the Hon. Peter Munya, said the conversation at the AGRF needs to extend beyond agriculture and consider the food system from farm to fork.

“We must change the way we approach and prioritize food systems on the continent. We can no longer limit food systems to the farm. Our approach must reflect the complexity and importance of food systems and value of collaboration, as governments, the private sector, development partners and consumers, to deliver more inclusive and resilient food systems on the continent,” he said.

COVID-19 highlighted the fragility of the continent’s food systems. Lockdowns, curfews and illnesses revealed threats in supply throughout Africa, and the pandemic was another example of the need to build more resilient food systems on the continent. Since 2014, droughts have cost the region US$372 billion. While the worst locust outbreak in a generation in Ethiopia and Somalia during 2019/20 destroyed over 356,000MT of cereals and almost 1.5 million hectares of crop and pasture in Ethiopia.

The AGRF 2021 Summit will provide a platform for all stakeholders to align on the actions and commitments needed to build resilient food systems which end hunger and support the delivery of the sustainable development goals.

Jennifer Baarn, Acting Managing Director AGRF said, the AGRF 2021 Summit is a defining moment for Africa’s food systems. “This is our time to create our own vision for Africa’s food systems,” she said.  It is our time to listen, innovate, plan and invest for Africa. What we invest in African agriculture today will determine the future of food in Africa and the world tomorrow,” she added.

Some of the key highlights at this year’s AGRF 2021 Summit will include the Agribusiness Deal Room, a platform connecting entrepreneurs and governments with investors. This year the deal room is aiming to showcase a pipeline of USD 5 billion of investment opportunities across Africa. The Summit will also feature the Africa Food Prize, a Presidential Summit, and a Ministerial Roundtable.

This year’s launch attracted among other dignitaries, Hon. Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda, and Hon. Salifou Ouedraogo, Minister of Agriculture, Bukina Faso. It was also graced by David Nabarro, Special Envoy on Covid-19 for the World Health Organisation; Godfrey Bahigwa, Director of Rural Economy and Agriculture at African Union Commission, among other guests.

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For Media Inquiries Contact:

Eugene Ng’ang’a

enganga@hudsonsandler.com

Tel +254 703 516 173

About the AGRF

The AGRF is the world’s premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. Under AGRF’s current strategy, the Forum is particularly focused on driving progress of the Malabo Declaration by 2025 as the priority set of commitments African Heads of State and Government have made to strengthen agricultural development at the center of the continent’s overall development and progress. The AGRF is organised by the AGRF Partners Group, a coalition of institutions that care about Africa’s agriculture transformation.   

About the AGRF Partner’s Group  

The AGRF Partners Group is made up of 26 leading actors in African agriculture all focused on putting farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economies. Members include: African Development Bank (AfDB), African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), African Union Commission (AUC), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Bayer AG, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CGIAR System Organization, Corteva Agriscience, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Government of Rwanda, Grow Africa (AUDA-NEPAD), Heifer International, IKEA Foundation, International Development Research Center (IDRC), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Mastercard Foundation, OCP Group, Rockefeller Foundation, Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), Syngenta Foundation, The Tony Blair Institute, UPL Limited, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Yara International ASA. 

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso: July 3, 2021-  Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Board Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA),  H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, will be in Burkina Faso on a four-day visit that will see him hold critical engagements with H.E. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and the Rgt. Hon. Prime Minister Christophe Joseph Marie Dabire .

H.E. Dessalegn will arrive in the country on July 4, 2021 and stay until July 8, 2021 as part of his tour of West Africa to assess the impact of AGRA’s investments in food systems transformation.

His dialogue with H.E. Kabore and Rgt. Hon. Dabire will center around the priorities of the Burkinabè government in agricultural development and food security, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AGRA Board Chair will also use the opportunity to welcome the participation of H.E. President Kabore’s government in the AGRF 2021 to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, between September 7 and September 10. 

Launched in 2010, the AGRF is the first global forum for African agriculture that brings together different stakeholders to boost the political will and advance the programs, investments, and policies necessary to meet the challenges of the structural transformation of African food systems.

This year’s AGRF will be held right after the UN Food Systems Summit (UN FSS), in New York, USA. The UN FSS is a special convening to deliver progress on all 17 of the SDGs while leveraging the interconnectedness of food systems to global challenges such as hunger, climate change, poverty and inequality. 

Together, the AGRF, the UN FSS will be critical for advancing dialogue and partnerships for the achievement of key food systems objectives, including the sustainable development goal of eradicating hunger and poverty by 2030. 

Meanwhile, before leaving Burkina Faso, H.E. Dessalegn will hold working sessions with stakeholders and beneficiaries of projects supported by AGRA in agricultural research, integrated soil fertility management, market access and stakeholder mobilization.

He will culminate his trip with a visit to rice production and processing sites in the Bagré region of Boulgou Province in the Eastern part of the country, as well as a corn-processing facility, in the industrial zone of the Kossodo District, some 9Km North-East of Ouagadougou.

ABOUT AGRA

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led, Africa-based institution that places smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a lonely struggle for survival into thriving agriculture. Together with our partners, we catalyze and support the inclusive agricultural transformation to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farm households in 11 African countries by 2021.

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

ABOUT AGRF

AGRF is the premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together agricultural landscape actors to take practical action and share lessons that will advance African agriculture. The Forum is designed to energize political will and advance the policies, programs, and investments needed to achieve inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the continent.

More information: https://agrf.org  ; Catherine Ndung’u, cndungu@agra.org

ACCRA, Ghana: July 1, 2021 – Former Ethiopia Prime Minister and Board Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has completed his trip to Ghana, which saw him meet with President H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for discussions on the future of Africa’s food systems. 

He was joined on the trip by AGRA President Dr. Agnes Kalibata and leaders from partner organizations.

H.E. Dessalegn arrived in Ghana on Sunday to witness first-hand the impact of AGRA’s investments in the country, and to consider how to scale Ghana’s successes across Africa.

“Agricultural transformation does not have a one-size-fits-all model that can be replicated everywhere. Instead, we need to document and build on successful approaches, contextualized to the approach to local conditions and assets of a specific country,” he said.

H.E. Dessalegn further sought to extend the goodwill of President Akufo-Addo’s government in supporting AGRA’s investments in Ghana for increased food and nutrition security and smallholder farmer incomes.

“From my personal experience in government, I know the importance of mobilizing strong government commitment to the agricultural sector – and AGRA is at the forefront of mobilizing African leaders in prioritizing agriculture in their policymaking,” he said. 

Ghana’s Agriculture Minister Hon. Owusu Afriyie Akoto described AGRA as a key partner for his government’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) flagship through investments in seed development and smallholder farmer support. The PFJ initiative seeks to revamp Ghana’s agriculture sector to produce more food and new jobs for its citizens. 

“AGRA, in my four and a half years in this job, has been the closest partner that Ghana has had in agriculture,” Hon. Akoto said. 

As part of his visit, H.E. Dessalegn toured the West Africa Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI) of the University of Ghana, and the Legacy Crop Improvement Center (LCIC), a seed breeding and multiplication company based in the Konko region of the Akuapem South Municipality.  The two facilities showcased the impact of AGRA’s investments in inputs development and private sector support in giving Ghana’s farmers access to the best yield-increasing resources. 

Created in 2007 with 11.5-million-dollar funding from AGRA, WACCI is training plant breeders and seed scientists to improve African crops in local environments. Since 2007, as presented by Professor Eric Y. Danquah, Director at WACCI, the Center has trained 149 students from Ghana and abroad in plants breeding and 65 in seed and science technology. While these students released 95 different seeds (soybeans, pearl millet, cowpea, rice, etc.) in Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, WACCI developed three high-yield-capacity maize hybrids distributed to farmers in collaboration with LCIC. “Supporting capacity building through partnership and funding of agro-entrepreneurship will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals two on zero hunger, ” Professor Danquah said in his conclusion on the lessons learned from the partnership with AGRA. 

H.E. Dessalegn and his delegation also engaged in discussion with partners supported by AGRA in rice, maize, cowpea, groundnut, and soybean. The session was the occasion to exchange on the key achievements and the challenges ahead. 

H.E. Dessalegn’s trip to Ghana came ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit in New York, the USA, and the 11^th AGRF Summit, in Nairobi, Kenya, both events happening in September 2021. The two gatherings are critical for advancing the dialogue and partnerships to achieve key food systems objectives, including the sustainable development goal of eradicating hunger and poverty by 2030.  

About AGRA

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the Center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. Together with our partners, we catalyze and sustain an inclusive agricultural transformation to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021.

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

About AGRF

The AGRF is the premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. The Forum is designed to energize political will and advance the policies, programs, and investments required to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the continent. 

More information: https://agrf.org; Catherine Ndung’u cndungu@agra.org

ACCRA, Ghana: June 28, 2021 – Former Ethiopia Prime Minister and Board Chair of AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, has encouraged other countries to look to Ghana in its progress in agricultural development over the last ten years. 

H.E. Dessalegn was speaking at the presidential palace in Accra, Ghana, where he met the country’s President H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for talks on Africa’s agricultural and food systems. 

H.E Dessalegn is in Ghana on a four-day tour to evaluate the impact of AGRA’s investments in West Africa’s agricultural sector, and to develop further opportunities for co-operation. AGRA supports the mobilization of political leadership and private sector participation in promoting agriculture to reduce rural poverty, promote food security and increase household income.

“Ghana has prioritized agriculture successfully over the last ten years as a way of supporting sustainable development”, said H.E. Dessalegn.  “We have seen how significant progress can be made in certain crops and regions – now AGRA supports the government in its quest for a transformation of agriculture in the country.”

Ghana’s investment in agriculture is particularly notable as Africa prepares for the September UN Food Systems Summit, where leaders will consider what is needed to create resilient and sustainable food systems.  

“AGRA supports Ghana in building resilience and environmental sustainability across its agriculture eco-system.  Its particular strength is to bring best practice and evidence supported innovation to nationally determined priorities,” said H.E. Dessalegn.

H.E. President Akufo-Addo reiterated that AGRA’s approach to inclusive agriculture transformation is aligned with the Government of Ghana’s social and economic development agenda.

H.E. Dessalegn also used the opportunity to invite President H.E. Akufo-Addo to the  2021 AGRF Summit to be held in in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 7 – 10, 2021. 

H.E. Dessalegn and his delegation will in the next two days conduct field visits in Ghana to witness AGRA’s contribution to agricultural growth in the region. 

-ENDS

About AGRA

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. Together with our partners, we catalyze and sustain an inclusive agricultural transformation to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021.

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

About AGRF

The AGRF is the premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. The Forum is designed to energize political will and advance the policies, programs and investments required to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the continent. 

More information: https://agrf.org
Catherine Ndung’u cndungu@agra.org