Category: Announcement

Mar 28, 2024 | Announcement, News

Rwanda to Host the Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 and Calls for Radical Transformation of African Food Systems.

Speakers during the launch ceremony advocate for a global and inclusive summit that is grounded on Africa’s food systems priorities to ensure food security for all.

Kigali, Rwanda – March 26th, 2024 – Rt. Hon Dr Èdouard Ngirente, Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda, has this afternoon officially launched the Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 annual summit, the premier forum for African agriculture and food systems in Kigali, Rwanda.

The theme for this year’s summit – Innovate, Accelerate and Scale: Delivering food systems transformation in a digital and climate era – underscores the urgent need to radically transform African food systems.This transformation should enhance local food production, bolster resilience to climate change, uplift African livelihoods, and harness the continent’s potential to tackle global challenges.

The theme highlights the need to prioritize three key actions: innovating, accelerating, and scaling up. Regarding innovation, the 2024 Summit will shine the spotlight on innovative policy delivery mechanisms, financing initiatives, research, and business models. As we evolve in a digital age, the summit will showcase cutting-edge technologies and equipment to manage climate impact, digital and financing gap, food waste and loss to name a few. Participants and delegates will have the opportunity at the Summit to network with the innovators and thought leaders driving these state-of-the-art technologies and developments.

Speaking at the launch, the Rt. Hon, Ngirente said, “To transform the agriculture sector into a powerful engine for economic development, our country is embracing innovation and making evidence-based-policy decisions. In this context, the Government has focused on de-risking the sector to ensure that it becomes more profitable and attractive for the youth and private sector actors,” he said.

The Prime Minister emphasized the imperative for African nations to bolster local production efforts. Emphasizing the critical link between local food production and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he stressed the significance of meeting domestic needs and fostering inter-African trade. Highlighting the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as a pivotal instrument for realizing these goals, his address also underscored the need to cultivate youth involvement in agriculture.

The AFS Forum will take place from September 2-6, 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda. The summit is expected to host approximately 5000 delegates from across the food systems eco system. Speaking to the significance of the event, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, the Chair of the AFS Forum Partner’s group, emphasized the pivotal role of youth in accelerating the delivery of sustainable and prosperous food system.

“With an abundance of emerging African young talents, remarkable innovations, and proven practices and solutions both locally and internationally, scaling up adaptation and replication is feasible. However, achieving this requires mobilizing actions and investments on a large scale, especially from the private sector,” he said.

The launch ceremony is the premier drum beat and kick start event towards the Africa Food Systems Annual Summit , in September. The summit will bring together business leaders, potential investors, high-ranking government officials, thought leaders, and farmers under the same roof to make the connections needed to unlock investment and financing opportunities for medium and small enterprises (MSMEs), youth, women and government-led deals and unleash the potential for faster, widespread, food systems transformation across Africa.

About AFS Forum

The Africa Food Systems Forum (AFS Forum), is the world’s premier forum for African agriculture and food systems, bringing together stakeholders to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African food systems forward. The Forum is a multi-sector platform comprising of 28 partners leading in African agriculture all focused on putting farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economies. The AFS Forum exists to progress Africa’s Food Systems and promote agricultural excellence across the diverse landscapes of our continent.

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About MINAGRI

The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) has the mission of promoting the sustainable development of a modern, efficient and competitive agriculture and livestock sector, to ensure food security, agriculture export and diversification of the productions for the benefit of the farmer and the economy of the Country.

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For more information on MINAGRI please contact

Eugene Kwibuka, Agriculture Information and Communication project manager at MINAGRI  on  ekwibuka@minagri.gov.rw

For more information on AFS Forum please contact

Catherine Ndu’ngu, Senior Communications and Advocacy Officer on cndungu@agra.org

Jan 29, 2024 | Announcement

The Africa Food Systems Forum Strategic Plan 2023-2027

The Africa Food Systems Forum Strategic Plan 2023-2027 defines how the Africa Food System Forum Secretariat will engage with and work on the Food System Transformation agenda over the next five years in Africa. The overarching goal is to scale up the continent’s efforts to build healthier, more inclusive, sustainable, resilient and equitable food systems that have the power to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa by 2030.

Read the Strategic Plan

Feb 14, 2023 | Announcement, Press Release

Amath Pathé Sene announced as the new Managing Director for Africa’s food Systems Forum (AGRF)

The Africa’s Food Systems Forum (AGRF) secretariat is pleased to announce the appointment of Amath Pathé Sene the new Managing Director of the Forum.

As Managing Director, Pathé will be responsible for driving AGRF’s strategic growth and running the day-to-day business of its Secretariat as an independent, panAfrican, and multi-partner forum. He will continue to build on the great momentum already underway to take the AGRF a notch higher in its
vision and impact, by advancing and stewarding its multi-year strategy as agreed with the AGRA leadership and the AGRF Partners.

Pathé is an Agricultural Engineer by training and Climate and Environment Expert. He has over 18 years’ experience in the fields of agriculture, green finance & Agri value chains development, environment, climate change and sustainable natural resource management, food systems and nutrition security, rural development, and poverty reduction; rural infrastructure development; safeguards and de-risking public and private sector investments in sustainable agriculture. In his professional career, he has occupied various technical, managerial and leadership roles both at local, country, regional and global level, working across four regions in the World (Africa, South America, Central Asia and Europe).

Prior to joining AGRF, Pathé was the IFAD Lead Regional Environment and Climate Specialist for West and Central Africa based in Rome and later in Abidjan. He also acted as Director of the IFAD Abidjan sub regional office, and Country Director for Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, and Liberia. Before joining IFAD, Pathe was Policy Specialist on sustainable development with UNDP Global Policy Centre on Sustainable Development based in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). He previously worked with both UNDP and UNEP as Regional Program Advisor based in Nairobi (Kenya), providing technical assistance to African Countries on mainstreaming poverty, environment and gender objectives into national development and investment frameworks. Before that, he served as Program Officer and acting Team Lead with the UNDP Country Office in Mauritania.

Pathé’s other previous positions outside the UN include food security program and sub office manager in Afghanistan, a consultant with European Union in France and Agricultural Researcher at the Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute. He holds an MSc and post-graduate degree in Rural Societies, Territories, Sustainable Development and Natural Resources Management from Institut Agronomique Mediterraneen de Montpellier, France; an MSc on Agricultural Engineering from Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknes (Morocco) and MSc on Agribusiness, entrepreneurship and Gender from the Centre for International Agricultural Development Cooperation (Israel). Pathé speaks French, English, Portuguese, Wolof and Serer. He is a married and father to three awesome children.

Jul 17, 2021 | Announcement

Side Events – 6 September

Side events are an enriching, dynamic part of the AGRF. At the upcoming AGRF, which will be held from 7-10 September 2021, the side events will be on the preceding day – 6 September. Last year, 10,000 people participated in AGRF and we hope even more will join us at a special hybrid event this year, hosted by the government of Kenya. The theme of the Forum is Pathways to Recovery and Resilient Food Systems.

All applications will be considered against important criteria:

The side-event application form attached may be completed before the deadline of July 30, 2021. There are often many applications, so events may be combined or adapted, and not all can be accommodated. Once approved, the events are self-organized and briefings will be held to integrate the event into the Forum platform. We look forward to your proposals. Sessions will be held in a mix of 45 minute and 105 minute slots.

  • The relevance to the theme of Pathways to Recovery and Resilient Food Systems
  • Diverse speakers bringing unique voices to the themes
  • AGRF Partnership and New commitments

 

Click here to download the Application form

 

 

Kindly send your completed form to Catherine Ndung’u cndungu@agra.org cc’ing AGRFProgram@agrf.org