Heifer International, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating hunger and poverty through technology and innovation, has announced its active participation in the upcoming Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 (AFS Forum 2024). The event, slated for September 2-6 in Kigali, Rwanda, is Africa’s premier platform for dialogue on food security. It will gather thousands of industry leaders, policymakers, innovators, development agencies, private sector giants, farmers, and agripreneurs to address the multifaceted challenges and opportunities within Africa’s food systems.
Under the theme “Innovate, Accelerate and Scale: Delivering Food Systems Transformation in a Digital and Climate Era,” the AFS Forum will emphasize the critical need for innovative financing to drive technology integration in agriculture. Heifer International plans to engage key stakeholders at the forum to discuss how such financing can significantly enhance agricultural productivity, particularly for smallholder farmers.
The high-level commitment to the forum is underscored by the attendance of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and other world leaders. Their participation highlights the global urgency and collaborative effort required to transform food systems in Africa.
At the summit, Heifer International, along with young innovators and smallholder farming organizations within its ecosystem, will share valuable insights during various sessions and side events. The organization aims to inspire collaborative action by showcasing successful models of innovative financing that have accelerated technology integration in agriculture. One such model is Heifer’s Mechanisation for Africa project, which illustrates the transformative impact of catalytic funding on agricultural innovation.
A recent report on the Mechanisation for Africa project highlighted the success of a tech-driven tractor leasing initiative by the agritech company Hello Tractor. Heifer’s financing played a crucial role in expanding this initiative, unlocking commercial capital, and enabling smallholder farmers in the pilot phase to achieve over a 200 percent increase in income. Additionally, the project created more than 250 jobs for young Africans as tractor owners, booking agents, tractor operators, and technicians.
Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President of Africa Programs at Heifer International, emphasized the organization’s commitment to supporting young African innovators. “We are inspired by the incredible contributions that young visionary African innovators can make towards transforming our food systems, and we are actively backing their innovations. Through our various programs, especially AYuTe NextGen, we provide the catalytic financing and market knowledge that these innovators need to iterate and scale their agritech solutions for challenges faced by smallholder farmers,” she said.
Ifedi further noted that integrating finance and technology can transition smallholder farmers from subsistence farming to profitable agribusinesses, thereby creating much-needed jobs across the agricultural value chain for young people.
Heifer International will be attending the 2024 AFS Forum with young innovators from six African countries, whom the organization has been supporting to enhance their innovations for smallholder farmers. The forum will also focus on innovations, technological advances, policies, business models, and investments necessary for accelerating sustainable food systems transformation in Africa.
Moreover, the AFS Forum will provide a platform for public and private sector leaders to discuss strategies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and meeting the Malabo Declaration’s commitments by 2025. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders in Kigali underscores the critical importance of collaborative efforts in driving sustainable agricultural development and food security across the continent.
As the AFS Forum 2024 approaches, the anticipation builds around the potential breakthroughs and collaborative initiatives that could reshape Africa’s food systems, making them more resilient, productive, and sustainable in the digital and climate era.
