The African Development Bank (AfDB) and IFAD have pledged to support African leaders to address rising hunger on the continent. Other institutions like FARA and the CGIAR System Organization also agreed to shore up adequate financing to transform and modernize Africa’s food production.

The institutions declared their support at the opening of a two-day virtual high-level dialogue. The two-day high-level dialogue focused on modernizing food production, making African agriculture more business oriented, and strengthening agriculture value chains. To clarify, the dialogue aimed to accelerate agricultural transformation in the continent. The virtual event brought together government officials, multilateral development banks, development partners, among others from across Africa and beyond.

Across the continent, hunger poses an even greater risk than Covid-19. The number of people living with hunger increased from 214 million to 246 million between 2015 and 2020. Agricultural and agro-business related activities could provide employment opportunities for millions of young Africans, who account for 70% of the population.

“Getting new and appropriate technologies into the hands of African farmers is a key part of addressing Africa’s agriculture and food security needs. Unless we show strong collective resolve and turn ambition into reality, we will be confronted with enormous food shortages on the continent.”
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, African Development Bank President.

On his part, the IFAD President Gilbert F. Houngbo noted that Africa has the potential to feed itself and feed the world. He indicated the need to announce new financing to support food transformation and the creation of jobs in Africa’s agro-industry.

“If we commit today to increasing investments in modernizing agriculture, providing skills, finance and better access to food value chains, agriculture has the potential to become a thriving and successful sector that creates jobs and provides livelihoods for small-scale farmers and rural…”
Gilbert F. Houngbo, IFAD President.

AGRA’s new learning centre for African leaders in the agriculture sector

AGRA launched a unique centre to support African leaders in the agriculture sector. The Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) is a key part of a scale-up of investment to AGRA by the German Development Cooperation. CALA represents a deepening of AGRA’s ongoing support to state capability. It is also complementary to the technical assistance that AGRA has been providing to transform national and regional agriculture priorities.

“Africa’s agriculture is full of opportunity. However, as the last years have shown, as a continent we also face many threats brought about by natural shocks. We also encounter the challenges of continental trade and policy coordination.

“Our experience at AGRA has taught us that achieving Africa’s food security targets and achieving inclusive economic growth will require leaders who are responsive, adaptable and collaborative, while also being ready to integrate new strategies for environmentally sustainable agriculture together with a diverse set of stakeholders.”
Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA

Specifically, CALA will initially offer a 16-month Advanced Leadership Programme dubbed “Collaborative Leadership for Africa’s Food Security and Sustainability.” It is designed for established and emerging sector leaders spearheading priority country-level agriculture strategies. The programme’s core focus will be on supporting leaders with the practical skills to navigate, coordinate and better implement solutions to national agriculture challenges. The programme will also profile agro-ecological principles which are increasingly being recognized as contributing to sustainable farming and food production. Additionally, the programme will also profile resilient food systems in the face of increasing climate change impacts.