Food is a fundamental human right, yet, "across our continent,” it remains a daily struggle to access sufficient, nutritious, and affordable food, Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente has said, calling for concerted efforts to change the status quo in Africa.

The premier made the remarks on September 3, as he officially opened the 2024 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFS Forum 2024). The event runs from September 2-6 in Kigali, and it is expected to attract approximately 5,000 delegates, according to the organisers.

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In the 2014 Malabo Declaration, under the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), African Union member states committed to ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2025. However, the fourth CAADP Biennial Review Report, which covered the period 2015-2023, showed that the continent was off-track to achieve the zero hunger goal.

In Africa, an estimated 298.4 million people were affected by hunger in 2023–up from 284 million in 2022–translating to one in every five residents on the continent. As per the report, the number of people facing hunger on the continent was 192 million in 2015.

"This year’s Forum is particularly significant as it precedes critical milestones for our continent. As you are aware, next year (2025) the African Union’s Malabo Declaration will elapse. We also have less than six years to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ngirente told participants at the AFS Forum.

"As we work to fulfill our commitments, we find ourselves facing a deeply concerning situation. Food is a fundamental human right, yet, across our continent, it remains a daily struggle to access sufficient, nutritious, and affordable food,” he remarked.

Some reports, Ngirente said, indicate that over 32 per cent of all African children under the age of five are stunted against a global average of 22 per cent.

"In addition, over 20% of our population is experiencing severe food insecurity. This means that nearly one in five Africans lacks regular access to enough nutritious food for a healthy life,” he said.

"Consequently, malnutrition weakens immune system and increases vulnerability to diseases among our people, and it also impairs physical and cognitive development in our children,” he said of the impact of the situation.

This, he added, results directly in higher healthcare costs, reduced workforce productivity and diminished capacity for innovation.

"Reports also show that malnutrition can reduce a country’s GDP by 3-16 per cent, costing our continent billions of dollars annually,” he said.

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Elaborating on the point, the premier indicated that when a country faces food insecurity, it must allocate huge resources to emergency food aid and social safety nets. As a result, he said, this diverts essential resources from critical sectors such as agriculture, education, infrastructure, and healthcare.

"We should always avoid this situation in our countries,” he advised.

"Therefore, our collective responsibility is to address these challenges. We must hold ourselves accountable for creating and implementing policies that promote more resilient and equitable food systems,” he stated.

Of those policies, he cited investing in sustainable agriculture, improving supply chains, reducing post-harvest losses, and improving processing capabilities on our continent.

He commended the choice of this year’s theme for AFS Forum: Innovate, Accelerate, and Scale: Delivering Food Systems Transformation in a Digital and Climate Era, observing that "this theme reminds us of our shared vision to scale up our efforts to transform our food systems.”

"I noted with satisfaction the move to turn this annual summit into an accountability platform. It is time to challenge ourselves and move from words to actions that make things happen,” he said.

Rwanda’s commitment

In Rwanda, improving the agriculture sector is key for the country’s economic growth and food security, Ngirente noted, adding that one of the main strategies is the adoption of modern agricultural technologies.

"In this regard, we believe that by integrating precision agriculture, advanced irrigation systems, and climate-smart practices, Rwanda will increase crop yields and resilience against climate change.,” he said.

The Government is also expanding access to agricultural insurance and affordable credit to ensure farmers can invest in their farms and recover from climate-related shocks more effectively, Ngirente said, indicating that those efforts, combined with supportive policies and investments in rural infrastructure, are creating more resilient and sustainable food systems in Rwanda.

"By leveraging digital technologies, adopting climate-resilient practices, and building inclusive systems, we can achieve our vision where every African has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Rwanda remains committed to playing its role in advancing agricultural transformation on our continent,” he said.