The AGRF, Africa’s premier forum for driving the continent’s food and agriculture agenda, will host its 12th annual summit from September 5 to September 9, 2022 in Kigali under the theme: ‘Grow. Nourish. Reward. Bold actions for resilient food systems.’ In an exclusive interview with The New Times, Ms. Jennifer Baarn, Acting Managing Director of the AGRF, talks about the role of the forum and the summit for Africa food systems as well as expectations for the event. Excerpts: Why have you chosen the theme “Grow. Nourish. Reward. Bold actions for resilient food systems” for the AGRF summit? If you just look at what is happening around the world, it is a critical time for Africa food systems. Firstly, we are just emerging out of Covid-19 which has had an impact not only on food security but also commodity prices, job security and in other areas. Secondly, COP27, the global annual climate summit, will take place in Africa in November and there is a unique opportunity to put food systems, African farmers and calls for action at the heart of the conference discussions. Thirdly, the Russia-Ukraine crisis has amplified existing challenges putting increased pressure on prices and African food security. So, what are the bold actions for resilient food systems that we need to take? It is a very timely question. What is interesting is that everybody knows the problem and challenges to our food systems. We have structural weaknesses in how we produce food, how we care for the environment and how we create food security. So, we need to address these structural challenges. To do so we need to take bold actions. The African continent has made so many commitments such as the Malabo Declaration, under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). We need these commitments to the next level and take bold actions in the next six to twelve months, in investments, commitment, leadership and coordinated action.. According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 by FAO, Africa is the region with the highest hunger prevalence in the world, with 278 million people on the continent – or 20.2 percent of its population – being hungry in 2021 [from 257 million individuals in 2018]. Yet the continent had a target to end hunger by 2025, as per the 2014 Malabo Declaration, under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). How could Africa achieve the end hunger target, and what contribution is the AGRF expected to make in this regard? Every crisis knocks us back. In Africa, there are a couple of things needed if we want to move the needle and end hunger. Number one, African food systems need to be a key priority on the agenda for African governments. The AGRF is the leading platform to serve that agenda and we have to not only identify the key actions but also narrow down to and who needs to do what. In September every year, there need to be actions which encourage accountability. Number two, we need to deepen conversations that we are having especially the one on investment. If we look at AGRF, you will see we have the Agribusiness Dealroom, a platform that is mobilizing $5 billion of agreed investments on the continent. Three years ago, when we started the Agribusiness Dealroom in Kigali, we asked where is the money? We want to have conversation about the money at different levels. How can we mobilize investments? How can we make sure these investments happen? How can we make sure SMEs, small farmers, benefit? What are central banks doing in order to move on more financing to the agriculture sector? Another area where the AGRF is critical is in providing that shared responsibility and alignment. We need the leadership, investments and collective will and action to advance action. Agriculture is one of the complex and riskier sectors in the world and in the context of climate change there should be alignment in the food systems. We have to look at the whole system, with input from trade companies, consumers, governments, the private sector. We have to make sure the approach is holistic. Africa continues having high reliance on food imports -- with the continent being a net food importer. Why is this the case, and what is expected from the forum in line with tackling the problem? There are couple of things that we need to do. The AGRF is not just an event, it is a partnership platform with over 26 institutions with a shared vision on inclusive agricultural transformation for the African continent. One of our main objectives as the AGRF is agenda setting, mobilization of investments and ensuring innovations and partnerships play a role to make it happen. We call for action. For the commitments towards investments and policies that will allow for this transformation, we have to drive and hold people accountable for making them happen. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement is going to be the biggest gamechanger for food security on the continent. We have to make a lot of noise to policymakers to make it happen. During the summit we will see companies coming to the Agribusiness Dealroom. All we want is access to finance, affordable packages, access to markets and cross border trade. We will bring all parts of the value chain together. Governments and partners will be there to discuss progress to support food value chains because the agriculture sector is complex. With the rising cost of living partly resulting from the increase in commodity prices occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war impact, what could be Africa’s best way out from this situation? In the short term, it is really making sure that we have the funding and interventions to cater for the existential crisis caused by conflict, climate change and COVID 19 make things happen. For example, when it comes to input like fertilizers, what can we do with our partners to address this? Big fertilizer companies will be at the AGRF summit to discuss that. In the long-term, there are a couple of measures that need to be taken. Governments have to live up to their commitments. The Malabo Declaration said 10 per cent of the national budget should go to agriculture. We should be living up to that. At the moment only Rwanda is on track to reach its targets. Where governments are having challenges, we need to have those conversations. The other thing is talking to the technology partnership sector. You cannot just develop agriculture by only looking to government. We also need to look at the type of technologies and innovations that are required and partner with those. At the summit, we will also have companies and institutions showcasing technologies; seed technology, on-farm technology and processing technology that make things happen. Extreme weather events such as drought and floods are some of the major threats to food security on the continent. How is the forum expected to support agriculture resilience to drought and floods for sustainable food security? We do know that technology will be the future of agriculture in terms of addressing challenges. Technology does not only mean the use of all kinds of machines and robots, but also for farmers to access the latest information and technology that can help them improve productivity. When it comes to climate action there will be conversations on that subject at the AGRF summit and also COP27 in Egypt. The first thing to do is to bring the voice of African farmers to the heart of the delegation. That is why the AGRF is so well-timed. We have farmer community organizations that are coming and pushing for actions to make sure we have strong voice. Access to finance to get the needed farm inputs for improved productivity, has been one of the bottlenecks facing farmers. How could the AGRF 2022 contribute to addressing this situation? It is really about deepening the conversation. For every problem, we have to come up with solutions. We have to bring partners into the forum to talk and exchange ideas. Everybody has responsibility to fix part of the food systems. When it comes to access to climate finance, we will make sure we deepen the conversation on climate finance, bring in investment opportunities and discuss climate mitigation actions that can be taken. The other thing is partners. If we have partners like the African Development Bank, IFAD, FAO, we have an opportunity to actually guide the prioritization of investments and set the agenda. What is expected from the forum in line with solving the high cost of animal feed which is still a hindrance for farmers in livestock production? Inability to really drive a strong animal protein sector on the continent is a reflection of the challenges that we have. It is difficult to build a completely commercially viable animal protein sector if we do not fix the weaknesses. Every AGRF talks about commodities, animal feed for the animal protein sector to convince largest investors to boost the livestock sector. We engage and inform policymakers and other key actors about the challenges across the whole value chain. You cannot understand the problem of a lack of improved soya seeds, if you do not look at the poultry value chain for instance. We bring these together successfully at the summit. In 2021, at AGRF, small and big investors in poultry came together. In September this year, the biggest poultry companies in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Rwanda and others will come together and discuss the challenges to be able to become profitable and skilled. We will have to address governments about the challenges, gaps and priorities and discuss investments. People should showcase their products in the Agribusiness Dealroom. How many participants are expected at the forum? We are expecting presidents, ministers, corporate leaders and others to attend. We were expecting 2,000 participants, but the AGRF summit usually attracts about 3,000 participants. When we did it online during Covid-19 there were 10,000. Now it will be hybrid so some can follow online. Young people and women in agriculture will be participating at the summit. We also recognize and reward champions and pioneers making transformative strides in agriculture. You need to have the people. Africa will have two billion people in few years’ time – a real asset for Africa - and they need food, they need jobs.
