Lusaka, Zambia; Yaoundé, Cameroon; Tunis, Tunisia; Dakar, Senegal; and Kampala, Uganda — Following the official launch of Feed Africa strategy on September 19, 2016 at the African Development Bank headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the AfDB will conduct a series of regional Africa implementation engagement workshops on the document from November 8-24, as follows:
South African Region: Lusaka, Zambia,
November 8, 2016
Central Africa Region: Yaoundé, Cameroon
November 11, 2016
North African Region: Tunis, Tunisia
November 17, 2016,
West Africa Region: Dakar, Senegal
November 24, 2016
East Africa Region: Kampala, Uganda
November 24, 2016
The objective of the Feed Africa Implementation Engagement Workshop is to get traction for the implementation of "Feed Africa: Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa 2016-2025," approved by the Bank's Board of Directors in June 2016.
The Bank now seeks to mobilize partners and build momentum for the implementation of the strategy amongst a broad range of stakeholders. The participants will include public and private actors of AfDB regional member countries involved in the agriculture sector - farmers, farmers' associations, service providers (inputs, processing, marketing, ICT), financial institutions, agriculture small and medium enterprises, food and beverage companies, women, youth, researchers, civil society organizations, development partners, academics, and the media.
Transforming the agriculture sector can have a vital impact on inclusive growth on the continent.
As part of the Bank's High 5 Agenda and the objectives of Feed Africa, the Bank adopted "Feed Africa: Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa 2016-2025". This strategy brings its support to the Malabo commitments as well as the four specific goals of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program, including: contribute to eliminating extreme poverty in Africa by 2025; end hunger and malnutrition in Africa by 2025; make Africa a net food exporter; and move Africa to the top of export‑orientated global value chains, where it has comparative advantage.
The Strategy seeks to transform a group of 18 commodity value chains across the various agro-ecological zones on the continent and is premised on a set of seven enablers:
Increase productivity by catalyzing the development of effective input distribution systems and reduction in post-harvest waste and loss;
Realize the value of increased production by facilitating increased investment into output markets and supporting market incentives;
Increase investment into enabling infrastructure, both hard infrastructure (such as roads, energy and water) as well as soft infrastructure (especially ICT, which can have positive effects);
Create an enabling agribusiness environment with appropriate policies and regulation;
Catalyze flows of capital (especially commercial lending and private investment) to scale agribusinesses;
Ensure that transformation delivers on broad-based needs of Africans, by ensuring inclusivity, sustainability and effective nutrition beyond what the market may deliver otherwise
Coordinate activities to kick start transformation, align activities and investments of different actors, and guide initial activities to the point where private sector actors can be crowded in.
