Grow Digital, leveraging digital transformation to drive sustainable food systems in Africa is the theme for this year’s Africa Green Revolution Forum which took place at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra, Ghana. This year’s forum brought together over two thousand five hundred delegates, about twenty-seven African Ministers of Food and Agriculture, stakeholders and saw some four hundred businesses making deals on the continent.
The African Green Revolution Forum is a platform that brings together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to discuss and commit to programs, investments, and policies to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the African continent.
During the conference, I attended a couple of sessions and I want to share with you the presidential summit plenary session. The presidential summit brought together very high delegates from across the continent of Africa and other parts of the world.
The session began with a video show of how far digital technologies have penetrated the Africa continent and how businesses such as small-medium enterprises and local farmers are taking advantage of the new era of technology to boost their businesses and agricultural produce on the Africa continent. Welcoming remarks and special remarks from Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA and Mrs. Nane Annan (Wife of the late Kofi Annan). Their remarks showed the efforts that have been put in place to ensure that the movement of the Africa Green Revolution Alliance become a success story and the contributions of the late former Secretary-General of the UN Kofi Annan.
This was followed by a Presidential remark from the President of Ghana as he stressed on the need for a green revolution in Africa. He also made mention of the plans his government has enrolled to boost the agricultural sector in Ghana from planting for food and jobs to the one district one dam project he has enrolled. These policies are meant to boost the agricultural sector in terms of food production and to provide employment for people especially the youth.
The session was also followed up by a panel session which was moderated by the former U.K prime minister Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, saw the Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo (President of the Republic of Ghana), H.E. Yemi Osibanjo (V.P. of Nigeria), H.E. Edouard Ngirente (P.M. of Rwanda) just to mention a few on what they are doing to help boost the Agric sector in their respective countries. During the session, the President of Ghana emphasized on the need that Ghana should be able to feed itself and other West African Countries in some years to come. The V.P of Nigeria made mention of the fact that most of the digital technologies we have are owned by young people and the fact that it is getting easier to manage from time to time, therefore, making it a comfortable tool for rural farmers to make use of. He did also encourage the fact that we have lots of women now having access to mobile technologies and it as an important tool that can aid them in their farming activities.
It was an interesting discussion to learn how these various countries are tackling the challenges facing the Agricultural Sector in the countries. Engaging with Stakeholders and Investors as well as the tech giants to help promote a digital transformation drive in the agricultural sector in order to achieve sustainable food systems in Africa.