Category: Blog

There has never been a time in Africa when sustainability and resilience have been more important – food security and a robust agri-food system are crucial in a world where climate and health shocks are ever more prevalent.

This year’s Africa Agriculture Status report was unveiled today (Tuesday 7^th September, 2021) with a focus on how we build sustainable and resilient agri-food systems, technology, job creation, market opportunities, global sustainability, enhancing nutritional quality of food products and regreening Africa through ecosystem restoration.

We know that sustainability is a key objective of development policy, but resilience has been neglected.

Dr Louise Fox, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institute, acknowledged that resilience has been taken for granted in the global North because it seems to have always been there, but no-ones knows how it got there.

This century, resilience is having its moment, highlighted by so many shocks. Now each country needs to find its own way, to develop its own path and strategy.

Dr Fox highlighted the strength of this year’s report, saying that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, because we have to recognise that if we are too ambitious we won’t make it. There is no 75-point plan, but there are ideas, recommendations and encouragement for how countries can find their own way forward.

Prof. Adesoji Adelaja, Michigan State University (MSU), talked of how Ebola, cholera, malaria and other endemic diseases weaken Africa’s health systems. Now there is COVID, and we can expect more in the future unless the root causes are addressed and reversed.

Meanwhile, climate change continues. These shocks, and others, must be mitigated by resilience strategies that are in addition to existing growth strategies, because it is resilience that will hasten the journey to sustainability.

Wandili Sihlobo, Chief Economist, Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, added climate change, biosecurity, animal disease and pests as additional drivers and called for an effective policy environment and the need for tax incentives for SMEs in order to encourage investment. Private sector investment will come if policy issues are addressed, but African governments need to ramp up the pace of policy reforms and continue to invest in infrastructure.

Poor quality diet is the main driver of disease wherever you are – Africa or Europe.  Dr. Lawrence HaddadExecutive Director, GAIN, wants us to move away from hunger and talk about nutrition. 75% of Africa can’t afford a healthy diet and preventing malnutrition should be our priority – it destroys muscle, the brain and the immune system. We have the opportunity to not just focus on staples, but look beyond to the more nutritious sources, and they need to be promoted by governments. They need to look at their own procurement, in schools and hospitals, and ask if they are sending the right signals. But whatever the future holds, we must acknowledge that taking a food systems approach can seem really very complicated, a wide-angled approach is required to sequence what needs to happen and prioritise our actions.

Dr Agnes Kalibata,President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), officially launched the ASSR 2021 report by echoing the important of nutritious food.

“Nutrition is one of our biggest challenges. There’s no continent better placed to feed its people the right food, but we just don’t know where to start when it comes to healthy eating. It’s impacting everyone, it’s costing us dollars.”

Africa cannot expand at the cost of the environment and natural resources. The cost of food is often discussed, but the true cost of food is not just monetary, it is counted in the cost to health and to the environment. Resilience is part of the solution.

Officially unveiling the report, Professor Joachim Von Braun, Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), said: “The AASR is here. We are standing on the launch pad and the rocket is to boost agriculture in Africa.”

Eradicating hunger and achieving food security remain major challenges to humanity and to sustainability. More than 690 million people in the world are hungry, Covid19 has exacerbated this further. Indeed, farmers, who are at the core of food systems continue to adversely shoulder the agony of the crippling demand vs supply shortfall.

Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA and UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Food Systems Summit gave her opening remarks at the Famers Forum citing, “7-10 people farm in Africa and hence why in this forum we are prioritizing the voice of farmers who live with everyday difficulties of agricultural systems,”. She also emphasized the facts that famers need us all to work collectively and do better to reduce climate change so as to alleviate the burden to the 7-10 farmers who are continuously living in abject poverty.

During the fireside chat moderated by Ms. Nozipho Tshabalala the CEO of The Conversation Strategist, panelists delved into discussions on the global state of farming and also if farmers are getting the fair share from their produce. As a reaction to this, Mr. Ajay Vir Jakhar Chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj (Farmers’ Forum India) emphasized that there isn’t adequate documentation of failures. “We need to build knowledge and to document failures to achieve equitable regenerative systems, and equally incentivize farmers to create a transformative shift” he quipped.

Ms. Elizabeth Nsimadala, President, Panafrican Farmer’s Organisation (PAFO) also indicated that farmers usually get low returns because they are in the production part of the chain which is longer and riskier to which this risk isn’t distributed along the value chain actors. “There is need to engage farmers in value addition activities to move them up the values chain”, she said.

“We have not taken time to attach value to the kind of food that farmers are producing in Africa, a continent that produces the most nutritious food globally,” said Ms. Agnes Kirabo CEO, Food Rights Alliance Uganda. She stated these remarks in the equitable livelihoods roundtable. There was a passionate plea and emphasis by Ms. Kirabo to have commodity pricing as a regulatory framework in governments to improve investing by farmers for better profits.

Mr. Nga Célestin CEO, PROPAC in the same breadth indicated that small scale farmers have limited resources, with no access to markets. Modernization has equally brought conflict and climate change effects such as floods and droughts. “In the Central African region, we have to develop farming of food such as yams, cereals and other local food products and make a call to reduce social political fights to protect people against violence so as to grow the food security,” he said.

Immediately next off was the commitments framework that digested what farmers need from key value chain actors to succeed. As a response Mr. Cris Muyunda, Chair, CAADP Non-State Actors Coalition (CNC) reminded all on the Malabo Declaration that had governments commit 10 percent of their national budget yearly to the agricultural sector to grow. He urged famers to constantly hold their governments accountable to this promise and to ensure that they are involved in policy formulation that affects agriculture. “The Bi-nnual review by each government has to have farmers also speak to the reports that are generated on the agricultural progress so that numbers are not doctored,” he finalized.

Beatrice Makwenda speaking on behalf of Betty Chinyamunyamu, Chief Executive Officer, National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM) said that it is critical to create a conducive environment to have famers access inputs that are well priced and accessible. “Public Investment should be geared towards having more trained and qualified extension officers to support famers in the grassroots,” she said.  The key backbone of the farmers forum were the famers who were present to also give their voice to the discussions. Josephat Mokaya, a young farmer in Kenya, quipped, “I am a beneficiary of the enable youth program in Kenya. I applied because there would be grants to farmers but after joining there were no grants, governments should have mechanism to follow up this commitment for 10% funding to farmers.” Other farmers from Uganda and Malawi as well shared the sentiments that youth engagement and empowerment needs to be prioritized so as to ensure sustainable employment opportunities in agriculture.

^{Courtesy: Nation Daily, Bean harvest in Djibomben village, North Togo. AFP}

By Peter Munya, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives

What you need to know:

• The government listed food security as one of its four priorities for development.
• While we have made critical steps towards the attainment of 100 per cent food and nutrition security, a lot more needs to be done. 

In the last 10 years, Kenya’s population has increased by 32 per cent to reach 53.8 million people. Over this period, the urban population has risen from 10 million to just over 15 million.

These two factors – a general rise in population and an increase in the number of urban dwellers – have tremendously increased the pressure on the country’s food systems, calling for a rethink of how we approach our agri-food investments.

The government listed food security as one of its four priorities for development. While we have made critical steps towards the attainment of 100 per cent food and nutrition security, a lot more needs to be done. 

The focus must now be skewed to agriculture, which stands out as the backbone of the country’s economy, directly contributing 25 per cent of the GDP and another 25 per cent indirectly.

Undoubtedly, the sector can do even more than this, noting that the country’s resources, including extensive arable lands, favourable climates and a youthful population remain vastly underexploited. 

Enhance food production

Indeed, opportunities abound in agriculture for over 500,000 youth that enter the labour market every year, especially now that the government has in place structures allowing for more access to high-quality inputs, better markets and affordable finance.

These are some of the underpinning agenda that we created to centralise agricultural development in our government’s economic transformation plans. 

And with the foundation firmly in place, we now advance to a period of rapid development that will see us shift from net food importation, hunger and nutrition insecurity, and joblessness. 

This is our time to intensively tap on youth, science, technology and innovation to enhance food production, while de-risking agricultural investment. All these while enhancing intra-regional trade by harmonising policies that allow us to contribute to Africa’s food security.

Development agenda

From today, Kenya will host Africa’s heads of state and government, private sector players, farmers, scientists, youth and other partners at the AGRF Summit 2021 in Nairobi to discuss the best ways for harmonising our development agenda, for food and nutrition security plus the creation of jobs that improve the livelihoods of our people.

It is, indeed, an honour for Kenya to be hosting the AGRF 2021 Summit for the second time after the 2016 edition. The 2021 Summit comes at a critical time when the country is working towards rebuilding our food systems following the shocks brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic lay bare the fragility of our food systems, which had already been negatively affected by the effects of climate change including droughts, floods and locust invasions.

These challenges called us to rethink our approach to food production, and as we now seek to build back better. Additionally, this year’s event has more prominence because it comes in the run-up to the UN Food Systems Summit in New York, where world leaders meet later this month to review the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

For African leaders and other food system stakeholders, the Summit seeks to consolidate our progress, objectives, plans and critical next steps for the transformation of food systems on the continent.

Mr Munya, EGH, is the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives

In a critical year for food systems transformation, 140 distinguished delegates from the private sector, governments, civil society, media, and development partners gathered at the Sankara Hotel, Nairobi, for the AGRF 2021 Summit launch. More than 900 people joined virtually.

Rallying cries for accelerated action towards the AGRF’s 2021 themes of Pathways to Recovery and Resilient Food Systems were made by the Chair of AGRA and the AGRF Partners Group, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn; Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda, Hon. Gerardine Mukeshimana; Managing Director of The Rockefeller Foundation William Asiko; Special Envoy on COVID-19 for the World Health Organization (WHO) David Nabarro, and many others.

It was widely agreed that Africa’s food systems are not working for all of its people and that the answers to future resilience lie in collaboration – specifically partnerships with and investment from private sector organizations; leadership commitments; and the elevation of the voices of children and youth.

At the launch, Tom Staal, Deputy Mission Director, USAID, said: “The upcoming AGRF 2021 Summit is a great opportunity for the private sector community to forge partnerships in the agriculture sector.

“The AGRF 2021 themes of Pathways to Recovery and Resilient Food Systems are right on point,” he added.

COVID-19 was also a key point of discussion, with many saying the pandemic was a catalyst for change, not the single cause of the recent rise in moderate and acute food insecurity globally.

“[The pandemic] is causing challenges and revealing weakness – including that food systems are not working as they should and highlighting the need for food systems transformation everywhere,” Special Envoy on COVID-19 for WHO, David Nabarro, said.

In a hard-hitting address, Jai Shroff, CEO of UPL Limited, empathized with Africa’s smallholder farmers, highlighted the serious threat of climate change, and brought to light the opportunities, not just the challenges, that lie ahead.

“UPL started in India; we understand the pain and challenges being faced by the smallholder farmer and food systems. We have this challenge of climate change; we have food prices at all-time high and commodity prices high – these are fantastic opportunities for farmers,” he said.

“Climate change is the single biggest risk the world is facing. Agriculture is one of the most important areas to reduce the impact – it can reduce the carbon from the atmosphere and plough it back into the soil,” he added.

All delegates agreed that with increased working capital – that will come in part from the de-risking of agriculture for private banks – agriculture can drive GDP growth and prove farming can be a business.

The President of AGRA, Dr Agnes Kalibata, stated: “Our continent lives on farming. 70% of our people are involved in agriculture. 60% of women are farming. Yet we are not making enough out of this. We need to make it a viable business.”

In a heartfelt statement, Senior Vice President of Africa Programs at Heifer International, Adesuwa Ifedi, said: “The next generation of farmers are not begging for job opportunities in agriculture. Agriculture in Africa is actually begging for their involvement to unleash its potential.”

Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and AGRF Chair, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn urged African youth to come forward and mobilize towards achieving resilient food systems, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the AGRF’s contributions to the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS).

“I invite all of you to join us in the campaign for agricultural and food systems transformation, and I hope you will all join us at the Summit 6-10 September. It is your participation and thought leadership that makes AGRF the leading Forum for our shared cause,” said H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn.

Nairobi, 1 July 2021 – Kenya will host the AGRF 2021 Summit, which this year will focus on the bold
actions needed for agriculture to fuel the continent’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and
continued food systems transformation. The four-day Summit will take place from September 7 until 10
in Nairobi, Kenya.

Speaking during a courtesy call to H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President, Republic of Kenya, H.E.
Hailemariam Dessalegn, the former Ethiopia Prime Minister and AGRF Board Chair, applauded the
Kenyan Government for making agriculture a priority, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s inspiring to see the progress Kenya has made in agriculture, this is the kind of visionary leadership
that the continent needs to end hunger and malnutrition and for our continent’s shared prosperity,” H.E.
Hailemariam Dessalegn said.

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.

Jennifer Baarn, acting Managing Director, AGRF, said that the 2021 Summit is taking place at a defining
moment for the continent. “This year’s AGRF takes place when the global voices converge around food
systems. It is also the time when the world’s focus turns to the economic and social recovery from the
COVD-19 pandemic. We have learned a lot in the past 18 months, there are a lot of opportunities to
accelerate and catalyse agricultural transformation,” Ms. Baarn said. She added that the 2021 Summit
will provide a platform to highlight and unlock many of the political, policy, and financial commitments
and innovations needed to get back on track to targets outlined in the Malabo Declaration and the
Sustainable Development Goals.

This year the Summit is expected to host over 10,000 delegates virtually with a scaled-down physical
event in Nairobi.

For Media Inquiries Contact:

Simon Crump – +254 791 398 792
Eugene Ng’ang’a +254 703 516 173
agrf@hudsonsandler.com

About 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.
https://agrf.org/

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,
Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), 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