Africa Agriculture Status Report 2023 to be unveiled at AGRF Summit
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, September 4, 2023: One of the highlights of the 13th AGRF (Africa Green Revolution Forum) Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, will be the launch of the 2023 Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR23).
The report is being released at a time when the continent's food systems are dealing with a number of critical issues brought by increased food demand amidst production difficulties due to climate change. The report will delve into strategies to support African countries in transforming their food systems, based on a keen assessment of past and current food system failures.
The themes covered in this year’s report include: assessing the state of Africa's food systems amidst global crises, climate-related shocks, the formulation of Sustainable Food Systems Transformation Plans, the role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in driving Africa's food systems’ recovery, the significance of innovation and technology in food system transformation, and the exploration of Africa's “demographic dividend” in agri-food sector transformation.
The AGRF Summit, which takes place from September 5th-8th, is an annual gathering that brings together heads of states and governments, agriculture ministers, members of the civil society, private sector leaders, scientists and farmers in discussions meant to define the future of Africa’s food systems.
Under the theme, Empowering Food Systems for the Future, this year’s AGRF Summit will explore the pathways and actions needed to steer the continent towards food systems that deliver sufficient and nutritious food, protect the environment and create sustainable jobs. The welfare of nearly 1.5 billion Africans and the future of their food systems underscores the urgency for immediate, well-informed decision-making.
It is estimated that Africa spent about $50 billion as its net import bill for all food products in 2021, with $18 billion net import bill for sub-Saharan Africa. The 2022 Africa Agriculture Status Report highlighted the possibility of staple food imports growing by 50-60 percent, or even doubling, over the next decade.
Despite these challenges, key stakeholders have been rallying together to harness Africa's natural assets and untapped potential, aiming to significantly boost staple food production and achieve a resilient and secure food supply.
“To achieve a true transformation of food systems in Africa, there is a growing recognition that we need to think about food systems differently, taking into account the true values and full costs involved in growing, distributing, and consuming food,” the AASR22 noted.
About the AASR
The Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR) is an annual publication that is published by the AGRA since 2013. The AASR has become an important reference point and handbook for Africa’s leaders in their plans to transform the continent’s agricultural prospects for emerging topics on agriculture in Sub Saharan Africa, such as Feeding Africa’s Cities (2020), Building Resilient and Sustainable Food Africa Systems (2021) and Accelerating African Food Systems Transformation (2022). The Report puts forward recommendations based on immense scholarly effort and valuable expert contributions for immediate actions and steps that African governments, Pan-African organizations, development partners, the private sector, and civil society must take to accelerate the transformation of food systems. Among the trends observed in past reports include increased public private partnership, adoption of technology, use of improved agricultural inputs, a greater focus on capacity development and an expanded focus on extension services. Against this backdrop, the 2023 AASR report will not only provide a comprehensive analysis of Africa's progress but also inspire discussions and collaborations that shape the future of African agriculture.
About AGRA
AGRA is a farmer-centered, African-led, partnerships-driven institution that is working to transform smallholder farming from a solitary struggle to survive to a business that thrives. In collaboration with its partners—including African governments, researchers, development partners, the private sector and civil society— AGRA’s work primarily focuses on smallholder farmers – men and women who typically cultivate staple crops on two hectares or less. AGRA has learned a lot from efforts during its first decade and is now recognized across the continent as a strong voice for African rural development, a prosperous agricultural economy, and for supporting thousands of small African businesses and millions of African families to improve agriculture as a way to ensure food security and improve their livelihoods.
For more information about AGRA, visit https://agra.org/
About the AGRF
The AGRF, recently rebranded to Africa’s Food Systems Forum, is the world’s premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. Under AGRF’s current strategy, the Forum is particularly focused on driving progress of the Malabo Declaration by 2025 as the priority set of commitments African Heads of State and Government have made to strengthen agricultural development at the center of the continent’s overall development and progress. The AGRF is organised by the AGRF Partners Group, a coalition of institutions that care about Africa’s agriculture transformation.
For more information about AGRF, visit https://agrf.org
