Africa ’s Agricultural Technology Research Giants Partner to Improve Food Security for African farmers
Two African agricultural technology research giants have announced partnership to improve food security among the continent’s farmers.
The two organizations, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), in their fresh agreement aim at enhancing knowledge sharing to improve understanding and uptake of innovative technologies by fostering and advocating for harmonization of seed policies in Africa.
According to a statement AATF sent to www.africandemystifier.com . the accord signed by the two parties seeks to upscale agricultural technologies to address farming challenges affecting key staple crops in Africa including rice, cassava, and maize and to utilise their knowledge and resources to implement agricultural and food security initiatives in CCARDESA countries.
In connection to the signing of the agreement Executive Director of AATF Dr. Canisius Kanangire pointed out that the partnership agreement with CCARDESA will help realise impactful engagements that will assist farmers in Africa improve their food security and livelihoods through creation, dissemination and adoption of value adding technology that will contribute to improved crop yields, knowledge sharing and empowerment especially of youth and women.
Dr. Canisius said “smallholder farmers in Africa continue to face various constraints that hinder their ability to increase their yields, improve their incomes, and contribute to food security.”
As to the Executive Director, the situation can change by investing in new farming technology for Africa—from better seeds to digital tools to machinery—which hold promise for transforming African agriculture into an engine of economic growth that will have benefits far beyond the farm sector.
“AATF is committed to building partnerships with continental including governments, national and international research institutions, farmer organisations, the private sector and all players along the agriculture value chain, to deliver agricultural value to our farmers,” he added.
Executive Director of CCARDESA, Prof. Cliff Dlamini on his part underscored that the two organisations will leverage each other’s competitive advantage for improvement of Africa’s agricultural vision and agenda.
Prof. Dlamini stated: “By bringing together the best minds in agriculture and food security, the collaboration will help create an enabling environment for adoption of agricultural technologies in Africa, including development of policies and programs on food security.”
According to the 2022 Global Report on Food Crises 2022, at least one in five Africans goes to bed hungry and an estimated 140 million people in Africa face acute food insecurity,
Similar reports from the World Bank and partners, the Horn of Africa is suffering from persistent drought and countries that depend on Russia and Ukraine for wheat and sunflower oil imports have seen prices skyrocket out of reach of ordinary people.
Moreover, impacts of climate change continue to intensify and global shocks upend business as usual. Regions including the Sub-Saharan Africa are feeling the brunt of what has been coined “the perfect storm” – a food, fuel, and fertilizer crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, scarring effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, soaring inflation, rising debt, and extreme weather.
Global inflation levels also urgently need to be tamed and the burden of debt made more sustainable, perhaps no priority is more pressing than addressing food insecurity to safeguard the calorie and nutrition needs of Africa’s one billion people and protect their human development.