The African Development Bank (AfDB) has returned as a top-tier partner of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), Africa’s largest agriculture conference.
The Bank has earmarked $100,000 to support this year’s annual AGRF, which will be headlined by African Heads of State and Government, and will bring together delegates from governments, civil society, the private sector and research communities.
This was disclosed by the bank in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Beth Dunford, Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, African Development Bank, stated, “We are supporting this year’s AGRF with $100,000, which will be headlined by African Heads of State and Government, and will bring together delegates from governments, civil society, the private sector.
“As Covid-19 continues to cause disruptions across Africa, we must prioritize policy and facility support that focuses on rebuilding infrastructures that foster the production, processing and availability of more – and more nutritious – food to feed Africa. AGRF is the platform to move these policy conversations forward, addressing every facet of the continent’s food system.”
What you should know
Vice President Dunford leads to AGRF, the Bank’s “digital delegation” which includes; Atsuko Toda, Director for Agricultural Finance and Rural Development; Martin Fregene, Director for Agriculture and Agro-industry; Edson Mpyisi, Chief Financial Economist and Coordinator of the Bank’s Enable Youth program; Olukemi Afun-Ogidan, Digital Agriculture Flagship Coordinator; Grace Vuhya Obeda, Principal Youth Employment Officer; Hafou Touré from the Bank’s Agricultural Finance and Rural Development Department; and Bank Principal IT Solutions Architect Thierno Diarra.
The delegation will take part in more than a dozen AGRF 2021 sessions or pre-summit side events.
Dunford will deliver remarks during the launch of the Africa Agriculture Status report on Tuesday, 7 September, from 14:00 East Africa Time (EAT). The session focuses on unpacking the concept of sustainable and resilient agri-food systems. Dunford will be a panelist in the AGRF parallel workshop addressing Building Strong Food Systems through Inclusive Data on 10 September at 11:00 EAT. She will present at the Walking the Path: Commitments Framework session later on Friday, from 14:00 EAT.
Olukemi Afun-Ogidan lends her experience as the Bank’s Digital Agriculture Flagship Coordinator at AGRF’s AgTech and Digitalization parallel workshop, which will focus on ways to increase the innovation sustainability of digital solutions for African agriculture. The workshop starts online at 11:00 EAT on 10 September.
The Bank’s participation at AGRF 2021 is part of ongoing efforts to help align Africa’s voice into commitments to be made at the United Nations Food Systems Summit later this year.