As the inaugural “African Conference on Agricultural Technologies” (ACAT) of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) opens tomorrow, 30 October 2023, in Nairobi, AATF is expected to showcase the state and roles of emerging innovations within the continent’s agriculture technology sector.
AATF has been promoting the need for transformation in innovative agricultural technologies and working with partners to access 24 innovative and cutting-edge agricultural technologies setting aside over US $ 650 million spread across 24 countries and reaching 4.8 million smallholder farmers for the last five years.
This time around, the continental conference brings together government representatives, industry thought leaders, policymakers, technical experts, private institutions, farmers, women and youth across the globe to discuss and define practical actions and solutions to the challenges of technology access and use in the agriculture sector.
AATF in its recent statement sent to journalists , has reiterated its commitment to rapidly expand farmers’ access to innovative and cutting-edge agricultural technologies to improve their food production, assure food security and raise incomes.
Concerning the conference, Goodluck Jonathan (Ph.d.), former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and AATF Ambassador for Agriculture Technology in Africa expressed support for the conference and cited in the statement as saying : “ACAT will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to “walk the talk” and move beyond discussions about new technologies to embracing and adopting them.”
He also underlined that agriculture plays a pivotal role in Africa’s economic agenda, contributing significantly to employment, food security, and economic growth and it should be supported with proper science and technology.
The Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and AATF, have announced that the inaugural African Conference on Agricultural Technology (ACAT) will take placein Nairobi, Kenya from 30 October 2023 to 3 November 2023 and Kenya will be the first country to host ACAT.
Kenya’s Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Mr. Phillip Harsama also underscored: “As a country, we are pleased to co-host the inaugural ACAT 2023 and are honored to welcome to Nairobi the global, regional and local community to this important forum and look forward to discuss actionable solutions to the challenges facing the sector that will also drive change and foster growth.”
“The conference comes at an opportune time when the continent is struggling to feed its people and climate change is posing serious challenges to our collective prosperity,” he said and added that ACATwill serve asthe premier platform for advancing African agriculture technology transfer and advocating for the uptake of innovations.
AATF Executive Director, Dr. Canisius Kanangire, on his part indicated that ACAT will highlight the centrality of STI in fostering agricultural transformation, especially in addressing key challenges facing African farmers and adding that ACAT will intensify efforts to forge partnerships with like-minded organizations working in the agriculture technology sector and provide opportunity for stakeholders to share information on new and emerging agricultural technologies.
Dr. Kanangire said that ACAT will provide a unique platform to discuss barriers to technology transfer and propose strategies for transforming existing technologies into super Next Generation technologies capable of enhancing productivity and effectively addressing the challenges faced by African farmers.
“Often the role of STI in agriculture and especially innovative technologies has not been emphasized. ACAT is the opportunity to fully showcase and celebrate STI’s contribution towards enhancing food security and livelihoods to encourage dialogue and innovation,” said Dr. Kanangire.
“AATF has been at the forefront of facilitating access, development and commercialization of agricultural technologies and this conference will help to put a spotlight on the numerous game-changing innovations that have been developed and highlight opportunities to address the multiple stressors facing the sector due to population growth, climate change and other factors,” He pointed out.
Last May 2023, AATF unveiled its new strategy for 2023-2027 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that outlines an ambitious plan to enhance technology development and commercialization for farmers in Africa to complement key commitments to agricultural transformation as envisioned in the African Union Agenda 2063.
The key plank of the strategy was meant to deploy Next Generation (NextGen) agricultural technologies and a renewed focus on effective scaling to achieve transformation.