Agricultural sector experts and leaders are convening in Nairobi, Kenya from October 30 to November 3 for the African Conference on Agricultural Technology (ACAT).
The conference seeks to leverage technologies capable of advancing agro-industry for food security and cutting the continent’s rising import bill, The New Times understands.
The inaugural conference of its kind was organised by African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), in collaboration with the Government of Kenya (as a host country).
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The event comes at the backdrop of multiple challenges facing the continent, including poor farm productivity, rising food prices and hunger, as well as a soaring food import bill.
According to information from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the amount of money that Africa spends on importing food annually more than doubled, from $35 billion in 2015 to $75 billion currently.
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According to its organisers, the event is bringing together a dynamic community of agricultural researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators to exchange ideas, share best practices, and explore innovative solutions that can enhance agricultural productivity in Africa.
It is being held under the theme "Agricultural Resilience through Innovation,” and focuses on the centrality of science, technology, and innovation (STI) in fostering agricultural transformation on the continent.
Theme revolves around Africa’s state of science, technology, and innovation including policy, practice, and opportunities and sharing of new developments and learnings on innovative agricultural technology particularly biotechnology, AATF pointed out, adding that it will also highlight what Africa is missing when it is bypassed by global agricultural innovations and what impedes such development.
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In October 2020, AATF and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) held a High-Level Round Table discussion where delegates agreed to progress science, technology, and innovation integration into development policy of the continent through raising awareness, enhancing strategic collaboration, expanding partnerships, harmonisation of biotechnology policies and biosafety regulations.
The High- Level Round Table further agreed that strategic investment in agricultural technology would enhance Africa’s competitive advantage in agriculture and help to address persistent food and nutrition challenges, as well as scale up efforts "to reduce the continent’s yawning food import bill”.
Kenya’s Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development described the conference as an important forum at which he looks forward to discussing actionable solutions to the challenges facing the agricultural sector that will also drive change and foster growth, according to press release from AATF.
"The conference comes at an opportune time when the continent is struggling to feed its people and climate change is posing serious challenges to our collective prosperity,” he observed.
The AATF Executive Director, Canisius Kanangire, pointed out that ACAT will highlight the centrality of science, technology, and innovation (STI) in fostering agricultural transformation, especially in addressing key challenges facing African farmers.
"ACAT is the opportunity to fully showcase and celebrate STI’s contribution towards enhancing food security and livelihoods to encourage dialogue and innovation,” Kanangire said, adding that it will provide opportunity for stakeholders to share information on new and emerging agricultural technologies.
"This conference will help to put a spotlight on the numerous game-changing innovations that have been developed and highlight opportunities to address the multiple stressors facing the sector due to population growth, climate change and other factors,” he observed.