"We must march forward with force to deal with emerging and contemporary scenarios in our agri-food sector," said key speaker at the FARA conference, Tumusiime Rhoda-Peace, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission (AUC) in an address to delegates. There is a need to develop a healthy agribusiness environment to reduce Africa's dependence on imports through the creation of new agro enterprises.
FARA has identified various agro technologies in Africa and Asia through its partner organisations and has commercialised them through the creation of a five-year US$ 150 million, approximately R1,5 billion, incubation program. The African Agribusiness Incubation Program has been developed to roll out the creation of new agribusiness incubators and to support competitive SMEs in agribusiness. The focus of the program is to engage in creating jobs in the agricultural sector and aims to employ over 65% of Africa's labour force, opening new doors for new agribusiness avenues.
The African Union has bought into the program and pledged support to raise funds for up-scaling the initiative, and similar discussions are underway with African Development Bank. A number of universities, research organisations, private sector and governments have also expressed interest in partnering with FARA in agribusiness value chain development and to replicate the "Agripreneur" model. "The quest for African entrepreneurs for new technologies has never been addressed," says Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director for FARA. "Now through FARA's Agribusiness Incubation Program and the promotion of youth engagement in agribusiness; agro entrepreneurs have a better chance of success in their ventures." Benefits from the ventures promoted have started trickling down to the bottom of the pyramid and have benefitted thousands of households in Ghana, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya and Mali.
The presence of over 570 stakeholders and partners convening from 26 to 28 November in Johannesburg will help to rework the numbers that will help make essential shifts in African agriculture. The forum is a network of the worlds' most prominent leaders in the agricultural sector who are introducing science led agricultural transformation as a solution to deliver Africa's future over the next decade.
