Rwanda will host the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit digitally from 8 to 11 September 2020 to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a statement by event organizers.
The summit to be held in September of this year is the 10th edition of the AGRF and the first such event to be held online.
AGRF is considered to be the most dynamic and multi-dimensional forum on African agricultural transformation to advance the continent ‘s agricultural agenda.
The AGRF Summit brings together more than 2,000 participants from governments, civil society , the private sector, the science community and development partners, and will take place on the theme of the conference tagged, “Feed the Cities, Grow the Continent – Leveraging Urban Food Markets to Achieve Sustainable Food Systems in Africa.”
Organisers argued that the focus of the summit is a call for action to reconsider African countries’ food systems in order to provide robust, better-nourished and more sustainable results for everyone.
Of the 821 million hungry people in the world, 256.1 million are living in Africa, accounting for 20% of their population; according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World in 2019.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Agency, more than half of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will live in urban areas by 2050, presenting major challenges to poor cities that already face challenges such as poverty and inequalities.
With cities at the center of the continent’s civilization, the organizers said, it will become increasingly important for food to be centrally represented in the planning of urban areas. According to the World Bank, there are 472 million urban areas in Africa, a figure that is expected to increase in the next two decades.
High-level officials, including current and former Heads of State and Government; Agriculture and Finance Ministers; Central Bank Governors; leading and emerging industry leaders from the private sector; leaders of farmer organizations; prominent leaders of global and regional development institutions; and key non-governmental implementing partners have been invited to discuss these issues.
To order to make it engaging, registered delegates will be able to ask questions to speakers via integrated chat features, as well as via social media, using the conference hashtag. (#AGRF2020; and #FeedTheCities).
Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources of Rwanda, said “Rwanda looks forward to hosting this virtual gathering, just as much as we will welcome delegates to Kigali, the AGRF home, in future years.”
“Rwanda knows how to build and adapt. We will be driving an agenda of food systems that works for inter African trade, our cities and our rural communities at AGRF. Building the right food systems for Africa will improve the lives of millions,” Minister Mukeshimana observed.
The 2020 AGRF summit comes at an unprecedented time when African major cities, particularly those that depend mainly on imported food, face a potential hunger crisis following lockdowns in many countries to contain the spread of Covid-19.
It also comes at a time when Africa is facing a variety of other problems, including climate change, hunger , poverty and pests such as desert locusts and fall armyworms.
“We need food systems that are equitable, sustainable, resilient, and capable of meeting the global challenges of malnutrition, poverty and climate change as well as be responsive to emerging and unforeseen challenges – such as those posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA and Special Envoy to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.
“We must not relent in our effort to transform food systems for the benefit of everyone,” she remarked.
The AGRF Summit will encourage and call for the adoption of specific measures and commitments by governments , the private sector, farmers and processors and other stakeholders in the agriculture and food systems sector.