Fara Calls on Egypt’s Ambassador to Ghana

Executives of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the apex organ of the African Union Commission, responsible for coordinating agricultural research for development in Africa, led by its Executive Director, Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo, paid a courtesy call on the Egyptian Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Emad Magdy Hanna in Accra.

The delegation which was also made up of Dr. Aggrey Agumya, Director of Stakeholder Engagements and Communication and Mr. Christoph Essikpe, Communications Specialist for FARA, briefed His Excellency the Ambassador on the activities of FARA since the signing of its Headquarters Agreement with the Ghanaian government in 2002. The Executive Director of FARA also used the opportunity to announce the impending 8th Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW8), scheduled for October 28 to 30, 2019 in Cairo, Egypt and to seek the embassy’s assistance to facilitate movement of FARA staff and participants from Ghana to the event.

Commenting on the role of FARA as a champion of scaling science, technology and innovation to improve the development outcomes and impact of African agriculture, notably food security, incomes and jobs, His Excellency Emad Magdy Hanna underscored the need for regional integration to enhance intra-African trade in agricultural products and services, “we need technology as well as integration to push the African agricultural agenda forward” he said.

Briefing the Ambassador on the preparations that have so far gone into organizing the AASW8, Dr. Akinbamijo highlighted the opportunity open to Egypt to leverage the hosting of the science week, to strengthen research and business connections with the rest of the continent.

His Excellency Emad on his part pledged the support of the embassy towards facilitating the movement of FARA staff in connection with the Science Week to be held in Cairo.

The theme for the 8^th African Agriculture Science Week is Innovations, Institutions and People. The AASW8 and FARA General Assembly meeting is the principal forum for all stakeholders in African agriculture Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) to reflect on their achievements and craft strategies and actions aimed at enhancing the contribution of agriculture STI towards accelerating the continent’s economic and social transformation. This event is organized every three years. The last such event, the 7th AASW and FARA GA, was held in Kigali, Rwanda in June 2016.

Source: 8^th African Agriculture Science Week