Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Monday, September 14, 2020

AGRF: Fourth day of the virtual meeting: a selection

8-11 September 2020. AGRF Virtual Summit 
 In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tenth Annual Summit of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), which brings together over thousands of delegates from governments, the civil society, the private sector, research community and development partners will be held virtually from 8-11 September 2020 and will be co-hosted by the Government of Rwanda and the AGRF Partners Group.

11 September 2020. (selection) THEME OF THE DAY: Food Systems

Building back better and Defining the food systems Africa wants and being part of a multi-stakeholder vison for Africa and the world on the future of food.

This session focused on preparing farmers, input suppliers, agro-dealers, and the broader productivity ecosystems to come back to growth and profitability. Focus was on financing arrangements and mechanisms to reduce external dependencies to meet the compelling urban market. 
  • Hon. Bård Vegar Solhjell Director General, NORAD 
  • Prof. Joachim von Braun Director, Center for Development Research (ZEF) 
  • Mr. Jai Shroff Global CEO, UPL Ltd 
  • Mr. Feike Sijbesma Honorary Chairman, Royal DSM 
  • Ms. Amandla Ooko-Ombaka Associate Partner, McKinsey 
  • Dr. Fadel Ndiame Deputy President, AGRA Bio
The Future of our Food Systems 
This session framed Africa’s vision of an ideal food system for the future; one that offers fair livelihoods, healthy diets, and sustainable consumption and production. Looking at the role for national food plans and furthering the food systems dialogues the session crafted a path for Africa’s voice in the Future of Food Systems.
  • Ms. Barbara Stinson President, World Food Prize Foundation 
  • Ms. Petra Hans Head of Agricultural Livelihoods, IKEA Foundation 
  • Dr. Roy Steiner Senior Vice President, The Rockefeller Foundation 
  • Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u Executive Director, AERC 
  • Mr. Lionel Zinsou Founder and Managing Partner, South Bridge 
  • Hon. Musa Humma DPS, Ministry of Agriculture, The Gambia 
  • Ms. Ruramiso Mashumba Director, Mnandi Africa 
  • Dr. Martin Frick Deputy of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Food System Summit 2021
Defining Food Systems for the Africa We Want 
This plenary session discussed the opportunities and challenges, and place of food systems in reviving African economies and the opportunity to feed Africa’s growing urban population. It is now more urgent than ever that food systems are transformed to reduce poverty, improve food and nutrition security, and improve the quality of natural resources and ecosystem services by investing in enterprises and innovations to build a more sustainable and inclusive future.
  • Ms. Nozipho Tshabalala Conversation Strategist and Global Moderator 
  • H.E. Amb. Josefa Leonel Sacko Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union 
  • Ms. Gerda Verburg UN Assistant Secretary-General and SUN Movement Coordinator 
  • Honourable Karina Gould Minister of International Development, Canada 
  • H.E. Graça Machel Chairperson, Graça Machel Trust 
  • Rt. Hon. Tony Blair Executive Chairman, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and Former Prime Minister, United Kingdom 
Closing Ceremony - High-Level Presidential Panel Discussion 
Based on the discussions of the four-day summit, the Heads of State (HoS) and Government highlighted strategies to strengthen food security on the continent, post- COVID-19, and in view of the upcoming 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit and to put this in context the HoS and Government were joined by the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E. Amina Mohammed. The Prime Minister of Israel, H.E. Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, joined as honorary guests in attendance.
  • Ms. Nozipho Tshabalala Conversation Strategist and Global Moderator 
  • H.E. Paul Kagame President of Rwanda 
  • H.E. Abiy Ahmed Prime Minister, Ethiopia 
  • H.E. Amina Jane Mohammed Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations & Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group 
  • H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chair, AGRF Partners Group 
  • H.E. Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel 
  • H.E. Moussa Faki Chairperson, AU Commission

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