Keynote address to the 3rd forum for agricultural research in Africa (FARA) general assembly: innovation to transform agriculture for improved livelihoods and development in Africa

Abstract

Keynote Address by Josué Dioné Director, Sustainable Development Division United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Entebe, Uganda at the 3rd Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) General Assembly. Dr. Dioné, on his remarks highlighted that, a significant proportion of non-farm urban employment is linked to agriculture. This is more so for many enterprises of the informal sector, such as agricultural commodity marketing and processing, as well as food preparation and retailing generally performed by women. Moreover, it is estimated that African urban poor spend 60 to 70 percent of their budget on food. Within the context of an increasingly global economy, innovations for agricultural transformation should aim at maximizing productivity and efficiency at the level of each of the stages of physical production/transformation of the commodity chain, and at minimizing the costs of transactions between these stages. Developing vertically coordinated regional chains (of production, processing and marketing) for such commodities would further require building public private partnerships to create an environment that is conducive to ensuring both profitability and security of regional private investment.