African High-Level Officials, Private Sector Leaders to Chart Actionable Plan to Accelerate the Africa’s Agricultural Transformation

WASHINGTON – November 7, 2017 – Private sector leaders working in Africa’s agriculture sector are invited to request an invitation to attend the African Development Bank’s first high-level convening,  Leadership4Agriculture (L4Ag) Forum on November 28 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

The invitation-only L4Ag Forum, supported the Rockefeller Foundation and in collaboration with the Initiative for Global Development (IGD) and Grow Africa will be held at the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on the sidelines of the AU-EU Summit on November 29-30, 2017. This action-oriented forum will assemble influential leaders — African high-level officials, private sector leaders and community champions — for dialogue, advocacy and policy action to drive Africa’s agriculture transformation on the theme, “Leadership for Agriculture: Moving African Policy to Action”. Africa’s agriculture sector and agribusiness are projected to create a $1 trillion agrifood industry in the next decade. Despite this tremendous potential, total investment in the sector falls short of levels required to deliver fundamental change fuel agricultural transformation. The African Development Bank estimates that between $315-400 billion over the next ten years is required to transform strategic agricultural value chains. “Recognizing agriculture as a business is a core aspect of the strategy to advance growth in Africa,” said IGD President Dr. Mima S. Nedelcovych. “The Leadership4Agriculture Forum is an opportunity for private sector leaders and high-level African officials to strengthen their partnership by identifying their aligning interests so that Africa’s agricultural sector can reach its full potential.” Guided by recent findings from the World Bank’s 2017 Enabling the Business of Agriculture Report and the 2017 Africa Transformation Report by African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), the L4Ag Forum will focus on harnessing agriculture and agribusiness as an engine of economic transformation in Africa. The L4Ag Forum will feature a keynote address and two panel sessions with African Finance and Agriculture Ministers and business leaders from across the African continent. The first panel, “Enabling the Business of Agriculture: Increasing Access to Agricultural Inputs to Enhance Productivity and Regulatory Reforms”, will focus on improving commercial access to seeds, fertilizer, and mechanization. The second panel, “Agriculture Powering Africa’s Economic Transformation: Fueling Agro-industry and Agribusiness”, will draw attention to commercializing agriculture; adding value and spurring agro-industry; and innovative financing. Grow Africa Executive Director William Asiko will offer a presentation on applying the panelists’ key points and create actionable steps in achieving policy reforms. During the Action Roundtable sessions, African high-level government officials and business leaders will have an opportunity to re-imagine government and business engagement, brainstorm achievable goals around a specific agribusiness sector growth policy, and explore investment opportunities in agribusiness ventures.