By Joyce Ojanji
With Africa being the world’s most food insecure continent despite the enormous potential for agricultural production, the continent has been called upon to adopt research led interventions to tackle food insecurity.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Mithika Linturi said during the opening of a two-day conference themed ‘cultivating Africa’s Future (CultiAF)’ in Nairobi, Kenya.
He pointed out that as a continent, there is need for better coordination and increased investments in research and innovation to enhance food security.
Director of Climate Resilient Food Systems at International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Santiago Alba Corral, noted that Africa has the potential to not only feed itself, but to also become a net exporter of food – rather than an importer as it is the case presently.
He added that science, technologies and innovations are increasingly becoming key, with less land available to produce food and declining water levels.
‘’Together we can build prosperity, through inclusive, innovative, collaborative ,and dynamic systems, that are based on data driven decisions to ensure access to diverse diets from climate resilient production in the continent,’’ Corral said.
He urged the delegates to take note as the conference will provide a platform for learning sharing information and building strategic partnerships with the overall objective of identifying effective interventions to reduce food waste on the continent as well as push for research funding.
In addition, Eleanor Dean, General Manager Outreach and Capacity Building at Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), emphasized that for the transformation of food systems, a combination of knowledge, innovations and entrepreneurship is imperative.
“Farmers hold the key to a well fed continent and beyond. Lets rally behind them, support their needs and promote sustainable farming practices through the CultiAF Initiative,” Dean said.
CultiAF is a ten-year, CA$35 million partnership (AUD$37 million) between IDRC and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to improve food and nutrition security, resilience, and gender equality across eastern and southern Africa.
CultiAF funds applied research to develop and scale up sustainable, climate resilient, and gender responsive innovations for smallholder agricultural producers.
