Rome, Italy and Wageningen, Netherlands — On 28 August 2018, the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, will deliver a Public Lecture on strategies for unlocking Africa's agricultural potential at the Headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy.
Members of the UN Rome community, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, African Ambassadors, FAO and Permanent Representatives to UN Rome based agencies, among others, will attend the lecture. On the same day, President Adesina will sign a supplementary agreement with the Director-General of the FAO, José Graziano da Silva, to drive collaborative efforts towards catalysing investments in Africa's agriculture industries.
President Adesina will continue to The Hague, Netherlands where he will hold meetings with Dutch Government officials, civil society and private sector leaders to shed light on the work of the Bank in boosting Africa's transformation.
On 30 August 2018, President Adesina will be at Wageningen University and Research, Gelderland, Netherlands to deliver the opening speech at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Conference on zero hunger (SDG 2) and partnerships (SDG 17), under the theme 'Towards Zero Hunger: Partnerships for Impact'. He will subsequently join a high-level panel session to discuss the theme, together with Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever and Etharin Cousin, distinguished lecturer at Stanford University, USA and former Executive Director of the World Food Programme.
The meetings and public engagements of the President in Italy and Netherlands will showcase Africa's agriculture investment opportunities and galvanize additional support for the Bank's initiatives and programs including its Feed Africa Strategy aimed at accelerating agricultural development on the continent, with planned investment in excess of US$24 billion over the next 10 years.
