Kenya to host the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum

Kenya will host the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) which will be held in Nairobi from September 5-9.

This year’s forum in part will be commemorating the ten-year anniversary of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) whose theme is Seize the Moment: Africa Rising through Agricultural Transformation  will advance policies and secure the investments that will ensure a better life for millions of Africa’s farmers and families.

A statement obtained from AGRF’s website states, “Today, across Africa, big things are happening in agribusiness and on the millions of small family farms that are Africa’s main source of food, employment, and income. Over the last decade, African agriculture sector stakeholders have laid the foundations for a renaissance in Africa’s agriculture, one powered by the enormous progress increasingly evident in farmers who are gaining more options in the seeds they plant, in the fertilizers they use, and in the markets available to purchase their produce. So far, it’s just a glimpse of success, but it offers an inspiring new vision of a future Africa growing ever stronger through farming as a business. This future can be our reality if we act now and seize the moment for African agriculture.”

The conference is expected to bring together the Africa’s heads of state to share insights on how to create and leverage financial resources in developing game-changing and inclusive agribusiness models for Africa.

The leaders will advance the policies and secure the investments that would ensure a better life for millions of Africa’s farmers and families—and realize the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Invited speakers include Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta and African Development Bank (AfDB) president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

Others are AGCO vice president Dr. Rob Smith, YARA president and CEO Svein Tore Holsether, AGRA board chairperson Strive Masiyiwa and the organisation’s president Dr Agnes Kalibata.

AGRF was established in 2010, and it has emerged as Africa’s leading “platform for agriculture” bringing together a range of critical stakeholders in the African agriculture landscape to discuss and develop concrete plans for achieving the green revolution in Africa.

It is supported by a Partnership Group that includes: YARA International, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the African Union Commission, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, The Rockefeller Foundation, The MasterCard Foundation,  Groupe OCP Morocco, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the African Development Bank (AfDB), IDRC, Syngenta, the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), GROW AFRICA, AGCO Corporation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

AGRA is the implementing partner for the Forum and hosts the Secretariat at its head offices in Nairobi, Kenya.