Feeding Africa Calls for Increased Investments and Expanded Partnerships
By Irene Gaitirira
Published April 23, 2021
Despite positive and ongoing gains in economic development in many African countries, hunger is on the rise, impacting some 246 million people. The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on the cracks in the continent’s food systems, already under strain from climate change, conflict and pests.
African Development Bank (AfDB) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and CGIAR System Organization, on the realisation that increased investments and expanded partnerships are urgently needed to promote Africa’s agricultural transformation through technology and innovation, shall co-host a virtual meeting dubbed Feeding Africa: leadership to scale up successful innovations, on April 29-30, 2021 at 10:00-15:00 GMT.
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The forum is expected to bring together African heads of state, senior government officials, heads of multilateral development banks, development partners, regional organizations, research institutions, business leaders, private sector operators, investment agencies, academia, civil society organisations and experts from across Africa and beyond.
The organisers say the event is aimed at:
- securing political commitments at the highest level of leadership to replicate success across the continent;
- showcasing stories of impact to secure resources and replicate in priority commodities across the continent;
- demonstrating what is working in regional agricultural research for development, and what needs to be done to sustain investments; and
- arriving at a shared vision for mobilising investments to produce technology and innovation that transform African food systems.
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The Feeding Africa meeting is expected to conclude with a communiqué that will contribute to the pre-Food Systems Summit in Rome in July 2021, and the United Nations Food Systems Summit later in 2021.
Participants are required to register for the event and to join the conversation using the hash tags #FoodSystems and #FeedAfrica.
