By Abdallah el-Kurebe
ASHENEWS reports that the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and the African Union Commission (AUC) on Monday in Addis Ababa, signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to raise agricultural productivity in Africa through research, technology development, and uptake by framers.
The partnership agreement will facilitate deployment of agricultural technologies to address farm productivity constraints faced by smallholder farmers in African such as the impact of climate change and infestation of pests and diseases.
According to Her Excellency Amb. Josefa Sacko, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, the agreement with AATF is a sign of commitment to drive collective action, coordinated efforts, enhanced collaboration, cooperation and synergies, that lead to the realization of the common goals and shared aspirations of Agenda 2063: the African we want.
H.E. Amb Sacko offered personal felicitations to AATF on the May launch of the 2023-2027 AATF Strategy, with the Strategy’s focus on commercialisation and scaling towards improving farmer productivity and livelihoods, promoting climate change resilience and sustainability to achieve food and nutrition security in Africa.
Dr. Canisius Kanangire, the Executive Director of AATF, noted that the partnership agreement with AUC will strengthen efforts towards raising agricultural productivity aimed at improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers on the continent.
“Given the remarkable results achieved under the previous collaboration agreement between our organisations, this renewal of our partnership with the AUC will accelerate technology transfer efforts towards getting innovations and products that make a difference to people’s lives into farmers hands for a food and nutrition secure Africa,” said Dr. Kanangire.
He pointed out that AATF’s new Strategic Plan 2023-2027 builds on gains realised over the last two decades with a clear roadmap on scaling technological interventions for impact.
“Our roadmap towards delivery of agricultural technologies during the next five years will not only contribute to food and nutrition security in Africa but will also engender agricultural transformation and resilient food systems in line with the aspirations of the Africa Union (AU) Agenda 2063,” he said.
He stated that AATF will continue convening strategic dialogues on agricultural technology in Africa, bringing various voices to weigh in on the contribution of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) to agricultural development and how Africa can efficiently and effectively leverage it for economic growth and attainment of the Malabo Declaration, Africa’s agriculture vision and the agenda 2063.
The Executive Director announced that AATF will host the 1st African Conference on Agricultural Technologies (ACAT), a platform that will advocate for the uptake of agricultural innovations and advance agricultural technology transfer in Africa, in October 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya.
