13 June 2023
Scientists, business leaders, and policymakers across the African continent have been invited to come up with practical solutions to the great global challenge of food insecurity for over 800 million people.
This food insecurity is mainly due to factors like climate change, population growth, inadequate energy supply and moral scarcity in global food systems. This was according to Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform, during her opening speech at the 8th Africa Agriculture and Science Week (AASW8) at the Durban International Convention Centre this week.
Didiza said that there have already been reports about looming El Nino weather patterns. For this reason, she said that the event should focus on dealing with extreme weather events that threaten crop and livestock production throughout the continent.
The AASW8, organised by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), brought together more than 300 innovators, researchers, technology developers, private sector representatives, investors and policymakers from over 50 African countries under the theme “Linking Science, Innovation, and Agri-Business for Resilient Food Systems”.
Africans need to be able to respond quickly to climate change effects, such as droughts, floods, cyclones, desert locusts, and fall armyworms, which have devastated large parts of the continent, according to Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank Group. He said climate change costs Africa $7-15 billion in losses annually and is projected to rise to $50 billion by 2030. “Yet, Africa lacks the resources it needs. Currently, the continent receives less than $30 billion in annual climate finance, while it requires $2,7 trillion between 2020 and 2030,” he said.
The African Development Bank, in partnership with the Global Center on Adaptation, is mobilising $25 billion for the African Adaptation Acceleration Program. “We pledged to commit 40% of our total finance to climate finance. We have exceeded that as we devoted 45% of our climate financing last year,” said Dr Adesina.
He explained that the Bank supports farmers to adapt to climate change through its flagship programme, Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT). TAAT is the largest effort to reach millions of farmers across Africa with advanced technologies. It combines partnerships with entities like the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), national and regional agricultural research institutions, as well as the private sector.
A total of 25 million farmers have been reached through TAAT’s climate-resilient agricultural technologies over the past three years, which is 62% of the total target of 40 million farmers. Dr Adesina said that when drought hit East Africa in 2018, TAAT helped deliver water-efficient maize developed by CGIAR and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation to more than 5,2 million farmers, preventing food shortages. “To combat fall armyworms, TAAT deployed technologies to 2 million farmers and provided NERICA rice varieties to over 3.2 million farmers in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe,” he added.
According to Didiza, in 2022, South Africa adopted the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) plan that, in conjunction with the Department of Science and Technology, aims to increase investment in agricultural research and innovation. “The government needs to be more hands-on, particularly with the private sector in research and technology, as well as financial institutions, to increase production and strengthen food systems,” she said.
She further said that investing in, developing, and deploying innovative technologies to improve food system resilience is essential to the continent’s success. “If we fail, the food system will not be able to deliver food for all as anticipated, and we will not have achieved food security, nutrition, or have alleviated poverty for our people and the continent at large,” she emphasised.
