AGRF - Delivering on the African Agenda in Building Resilient Food Systems

7 - 10 September 2021. Nairobi. This year’s AGRF Summit explored the pathways and actions needed to accelerate this process and steer the continent towards food systems transformation. As part of the contributions to the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), this year’s AGRF Summit, under the banner “Pathways to recovery and resilient food systems”, elevated the single coordinated African voice to the UNFSS and identify immediate actions and steps that need to be taken to accelerate progress and recovery towards inclusive agricultural transformation. 

Several recordings of the AGRF were put online between 21-27 September.

The AGRF 2021 Program showcased solutions and elevate pathways to food systems transformation and recovery under four action tracks:

1. Equitable & Inclusive Livelihoods
2. Build Forward Better 
3. Sustainable Food Systems
4. Healthy People and Planet

See the pre-session in the AGRF pre-sessions blogpost

Main sessions:

AGRF 2021 - Food Systems & Nutrition

Healthy diets are currently out of reach for an estimated three billion people worldwide. This session seeks to identify innovations and strategies that are helping Africa improve the availability, access and affordability of nutrient rich food that is sustainably produced. Mechanisms for scaling up of these successful innovations and strategies will be highlighted.

• Keynote Presentation: Mrs. Nane Annan – Board Member and Nutrition Advocate, Kofi Annan Foundation
• Mr. Larry Umunna - Regional Director, West Africa, Technoserve
• Ms. Patience Mukweza, Operations Executive, Food Solutions, a subsidiary of Beams & Rays Packaging, Zimbabwe
• Dr. Dorothy Nakimbugwe, Director, Nutreal Ltd & Associate Professor, Department of Food Technology & Nutrition at Makerere University, Uganda
• Ms. Tei Mukunya Oundo, CEO, Nature Lock, Kenya
• Ms. Isabel Dimitrov, Cargill
• Ms. Lauren Landis, World Food Program Kenya, Representative and Country Director

 

AGRF 2021 - Rural and Market Development

African food security lies in its opportunity link markets and add value to improve the livelihoods. 80% of global multi-dimensional poverty occurs in rural areas so it is essential to see the agro-ecosystem as a continuum from the farm to value added processing to products on the grocery store shelves. Leading academics, insightful business leaders, and finance experts will help chart a course to more robust value chains on the continent.  From farmers, to aggregators, processors, to retailers, this session will speak about interventions in logistics and marketing as well as the means to get integrated value chains functioning more effectively in Africa.

Panel Discussion: Strengthening mechanisms in processing, logistics and market infrastructure 

• Prof. Siza Tumbo, Deputy PS, Ministry for Agriculture, United Republic of Tanzania 
• Mr. Ayodeji Balogun, Chief Executive Officer, AFEX Nigeria 
• Mr. Peter Njonjo, CEO & Co-Founder, Twiga Foods 
• Ms. Atsuko Toda, Director of the Agriculture Finance & Rural Development Department of the African Development Bank 
• Dr. Holger A. Kray, Practice Manager Agriculture & Food Security, The World Bank 

Panel Discussion: Strengthening Ag value chain systems 

• Ms. Hellen Onyango, Crop Aggregator, Farm to Market Alliance 
• Ms. Michelle Kagari, One Acre Fund’s Global Director of Government Relations and Policy 
• Ms. Jo Ryan, CEO, Tru Trade • Ms. Khadijah Mohamed Churchill, CEO, Kwanza Tukule 
• Prof. Edward Mabaya, Research, International Programs, Cornell University Conclusion: 
• Dr. Joe DeVries, President, Seed Systems Group, SSG: Agro-Ecosystem Development Enterprise

AGRF 2021 - Trade: Removing Barriers to Regional Trade in Food Staples

In order for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to be successfully implemented, African countries will need significant investments in building robust data systems to generate data and information for decision-making. Early warning systems for food and nutrition security are needed to provide alerts on a frequent basis, showing potential areas of surplus and deficits. This will enable different stakeholders to prepare in averting crises, and especially for the private sector to move food from areas of surplus to areas of deficit. To contribute toward the AGRF 2021 outcomes, the Food Trade Coalition for Africa will host two sessions during the AGRF 2021 Summit focused on 1) Removing Barriers to Regional Trade in Food Staples and 2) Building Robust Data Systems: The Regional Food Balance Sheet. 

• Moderator: Mr. Jonathan Said, Head of Inclusive Growth and Private-Sector Development Practice, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change 
• Keynote Presentations: Hon. Betty Maina, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development, Kenya 

Panel 1: Breaking the Barriers to Trade for Stronger Food and Nutrition Security in Africa 

• Keynote Address: H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, AfCFTA Secretariat 
• Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, Deputy Secretary, US Department of Agriculture, USA Panel Discussion: 
• Hon. Mr Lobin Lowe, Minister of Agriculture, Malawi 
• Mr. Melvin Spreij, Head, Standards and Trade Development Facility, World Trade Organization 
• Mr. Gerald Masila, Executive Director, Eastern Africa Grain Council, Kenya 
• Ms. Fatma Ben Rejeb, Chief Executive Officer, Pan African Farmer’s Organization 
• Dr. Bright Okogu, Chief of Staff to the Director General, World Trade Organization 

Panel 2: Building Strong Food Systems through Inclusive Data Sharing 

• Moderator: Dr. Nalishebo Meebelo, Senior Program Coordinator, ReNAPRI 
• Keynote Address: Hon. Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry; Ghana 
• Hon. Adan Mohammed, The Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of East African Community and Northern Corridor Development, Kenya 
• H.E Chileshe Kapwepwe, Secretary General, COMESA, Zambia Panel Discussion: 
• Dr. Ade Freeman, Regional Programme Leader, Regional Office for Africa, FAO 
• Mr. Mansoor Ahmad, Team Lead - Africa Agribusiness Investment & Regional Food Trade, Foreign and Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)

 

AGRF 2021 - Generation Africa

Generation Africa is taking this bold step of proactively examining the state of the ecosystem supporting young Agripreneurs and prescribing the effective interventions to achieving a strong support structure. The overall objective is to achieve well organized and coordinated national ecosystems supporting youth through their entrepreneurship journey across Africa. This will enable easy entry for youth in the food systems and promote their chances of success. In the end, healthy ecosystems will reduce the rate of youth unemployed and under-employed by encouraging and increasing the youth participation in agribusiness as self-employed and employers of fellow youth. The Ecosystem Development Framework (EDF) initiative will help countries shift from information and studies to a framework approach to strengthen the collaboration and coordination of youth support. This will ease entry for youths into agricultures as well as promote success in their ventures. 

• Keynote Remarks: Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, Executive Chairman, Econet Wireless International 
• Hon. Rosemary Mbabazi - Minister for Youth and Culture, Rwanda 

Sequence 1: Strengthening National Ecosystems Through the EDF (Panel Discussion) 

• Ms. Solange Tetero, Director General, Youth Empowerment, , Ministry of Youth of and Culture, Rwanda 
• Mr. Pierre Ferrari, President and Chief Executive Officer – Heifer International 
• Dr. Donal Brown, Associate Vice-President, Program Management Department-IFAD 
• Ms. Jane Lowicki-Zucca, Senior Youth Advisor & Program Officer, Inclusive Development Division – USAID 

Sequence 2: Supporting Youth in Their Recovery During and Post Covid-19

• Mr. Edson Mpyisi, Chief Financial Economist/Coordinator, Enable Youth – African Development Bank (AfDB) 
• Ms. Elizabeth Berthe, Associate Director, MSC Microsave 
• Mr. Eric Onchanga, Founder of IrriHub, Youth GoGettaz 
• Mrs. Fernanda Lopes Larsen, Executive Vice President Africa & Asia, Yara International

AGRF 2021 - Kenya’s Pathways to Sustainable Food Systems

   

AGRF 2021 - Building Interconnected African Markets

 

Strengthening Public private collaboration to increase investments in Agri food Systems in Africa.

Related:

21 September 2021. AGRA - UNFSS High Level Side Event: Delivering on the African Agenda in Building Resilient Food Systems

During the 2021 AGRF Summit 6-10 September, six African presidents joined by 8,000 delegates aligned with the African common position on building resilient food systems. Their shared vision will help achieve a transformation to improve livelihoods, defeat hunger and tackle malnutrition.

To highlight the national pathways and partner actions, AGRA and the AGRF hosted “Delivering on the African Agenda in Building Resilient Food Systems” a side event ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit. It will address African challenges and solutions in the transition to resilient food systems. Following the declaration (https://agrf.org/summit#summit-declaration) of the AGRF, it considered what must be done to turn political ambition into reality.