How far has the African continent made progress in the last decade? What can be done to bring Africa’s agriculture to a new level? The answers to these questions will be found during the Africa Green Revolution Forum 2019, an event being held this week in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
The AGRF is considered the world’s most important and impactful forum for African agriculture. In this edition, the participants will discuss digitization as an essential factor for agricultural transformation. “Given the unprecedented growth and adoption of digital technologies, Africa has an opportunity to leapfrog the agricultural transformation trajectory of the past and revolutionize life by overcoming isolation, speeding up change, creating jobs of the future and taking success to scale”, affirms Foster Boateng, West African Regional Director of Alliance for Green Revolution Alliance (AGRA).
The Forum has annually brought together Heads of State, Ministers, business leaders, farmer organization representatives, and youth entrepreneurs. “One major problem is the Youth not involving themselves in the Agricultural venture. We have tried enough but all efforts are proving futile but we have not lost hope as we will continue to push for their involvement”, says Boateng
High-level personalities and speakers expected at the event including Ghana’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto; the president of the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Agnes Kalibata; FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, Abebe Haile Gabriel; and African Development Bank vice president Jennifer Blanke.
Brazilian Participation
The president of the Brazil Africa Institute (IBRAF), João Bosco Monte, will be attending AGRF 2019. He will be a panelist of the session entitled “South-South – Policies and Innovations: Learning from China and Beyond”, scheduled for September 5th.
IBRAF is responsible for holding the Brazil Africa Forum 2019, which this year will address the theme “Food Security: The Road to Economic Growth” and the Youth Technical Training Program (YTTP), a training program for young Africans in Brazil.
Ghana again
The Forum was hosted Tanzania (2012), Mozambique (2013), Ethiopia (2014), Zambia (2015), Kenya (2016), Ivory Coast (2017), and Rwanda (2018). The first AGRF was held in Ghana in 2010. This is the first time the event is once again hosted in one place.
Africa Food Prize
During AGRF 2019 programming, the winner of the Africa Food Prize will be known. The $ 100,000 prize is given to a person or organization that excelled in changing the reality of agriculture in Africa.