Former President Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan has been as a Keynote Speaker for the 1st African Conference of Agricultural Technology (ACAT) which will be holding in Nairobi from Monday, October 30 to November 2, 2023.
Themed, Agricultural Resilience through Innovation, the conference aims to explore areas that will make meaningful contributions to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and continental agendas, such as the Africa Union Agenda 2063 and in particular the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) that have been conceptualized to end hunger and reduce poverty by spurring economic growth through agriculture-led development and encourage increased national budget allocation to the agriculture sector.
In a message announcing the conference, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Hon. Franklin Mithika Linturi said the Conference will also provide a platform to discuss the state of science, technology, and innovation (STI) in Africa, including policy, practice, and opportunity, as well as the sharing of up to date information and lessons on cutting-edge agricultural technology, notably biotechnology.
“It will also put a spotlight on projects and opportunities that can be initiated to advance Africa’s economic growth and prosperity. These will also be the subject of talks in deal rooms between AATF, African government representatives, research partners, donors, and technology owners,” Linturi stated.
Dr. Canisius Kanangire, Executive Director, AATF says ACAT is AATF’s flagship platform through which the organisation is looking to provide an opportunity for stakeholders, who are keen on progressing the continent’s socio-economic development, food and nutrition security through the development and commercialization of innovative agriculture technologies, to convene, deliberate and come up with solutions to the challenges they face.
Speaking on the relevance of the conference, Kanangire said, “AATF facilitates the creation of a responsive, receptive, science-based, legal, regulatory, and commercial environment that delivers safe and effective technologies to market while protecting human health and the environment and this new conference provides an opportunity to discuss how to scale and enhance the impact of agricultural technologies with an aim of transforming the sector.”
Dr Jonathan, a trained biologist is AATF’s African Agricultural Technology Goodwill Ambassador.
As a proponent of agricultural technologies, he has firmly stood by his word that Africa needs technologies to improve agricultural productivity.
