WEBINAR: Unlocking scale in Africa’s agriculture and food systems

14 October 2020. Unlocking scale in Africa’s agriculture and food systems, for resilient and rapid recovery to climate and pandemic impacts. Synchronizing strategic government development flagships with impact investor priorities.

Video and presentation forthcoming

This side session to the World Food Prize’s annual Borlaug Dialogues - connected insights from government leaders and advisors, development finance institutions, with agribusiness, investor and sovereign wealth/pension fund perspectives.

This session shared insights from key role players in African agriculture, including public, private and civil society, and explore ways to unlock scale in recovery and rebuilding efforts for long term African agricultural growth and resilience to climate and disease impacts.

The objective was to identify key impediments and explore what is needed to accelerate direct investment in large agriculture and food ‘flagship’ and ‘greenfield’ projects, that can generate economic growth, improve local and regional food security and jobs, and provide export opportunities.

Identify key impediments to scale and rapidity on both sides, and explore what additional information and actions are needed to unblock these.
Make clear the information and enablers that private investors and value-chain actors need from governments to make an investment commitment in these types of investment.
Understand stakeholder priorities for large-scale investment projects in the agriculture and food sector, and what governments can do to accelerate private-sector investment into these large projects.

The panel discussed governments’ expectations and experience in trying to attract investment in their country’s agriculture sector, as well as lessons on the opportunities and challenges to investment in African agriculture.

Ms. Katrin Glatzel, Director Policy Innovation, Akademiya2063
Mr. Lloyd Le Page, Senior Adviser for Agriculture and Food Investment, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Mr Ousmane Badiane, Distinguished Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural

Economists
AKADEMIYA2063 was established to continue and expand the portfolio of policy research and capacity strengthening support for the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) which was initiated and incubated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) over the past 15 years.
Mr. Ibrahim Gourouza-Magagi, Chief Operating Officer, GrowAfrica.
Ms. Atsuko Toda Director, Agricultural Finance and Rural Infrastructure Development Department, African Dev’t Bank.
Mr. Hubert Danso, Chairman, AU Continental Business Network (CBN), CEO Africa investor (Ai), Chairman: AiSWPFF
Mr. Bill Kayonga, Independent Consultant, Former CEO NAEB, MINAGRI Rwanda, Former Amb.to Kenya
Mr Michael Strain, Partner, Clyde & Co Law Firm, UK and Tanzania
Mr Elad Levi, Vice President, Head of Middle East & Africa, Netafim
Mr. Jonathan Said, Head of Inclusive Economic Growth for Africa, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Related:

Upcoming: 3 - 5 November 2020. Virtual 2020 ReSAKSS Annual Conference

AKADEMIYA2063, in partnership with AUC, is convening a virtual 2020 ReSAKSS Annual Conference to promote review and dialogue on the role of public policies in ensuring sustainable and resilient agrifood systems and their transformation in Africa. The conference will take place virtually on 3–5 November 2020 under the theme of “Sustaining Africa’s Agrifood System Transformation: The Role of Public Policies.”

AKADEMIYA2063 IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19

AKADEMIYA2063 has developed a broad data, analytics and communications agenda on the impacts of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic among African countries.
The knowledge products are housed and disseminated via AKADEMIYA2063’s online COVID-19 portal. The portal will be updated regularly with publications and resources, including all briefs and bulletins and recordings of webinars and podcasts.