Heifer International, a global nonprofit organisation committed to ending hunger and poverty through technology and innovation, has said that it will engage key stakeholders at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 (AFS Forum 2024) to discuss how innovative financing can drive technology integration in agriculture, ultimately helping smallholder farmers improve productivity.
The AFS Forum, Africa’s premier platform for dialogue on food security,
is set to take place from September 2-6 in Kigali, Rwanda bringing together thousands of industry leaders, policymakers, innovators, development agencies, private sector giants, farmers, and agripreneurs
to tackle challenges and opportunities in Africa’s food systems.
Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s President, alongside other world leaders, will be in attendance, demonstrating a high-level commitment to addressing these issues. This year’s theme is “Innovate, Accelerate and Scale: Delivering Food Systems Transformation in a Digital and Climate Era.”
At the summit, Heifer International, alongside young innovators, and
smallholder farming organisations within its ecosystem, will share insights at various sessions and side events. The organisation aims to inspire collaborative action and drive change by showcasing how
innovative financing can accelerate technology integration in agriculture.
Heifer’s Mechanisation for Africa project exemplifies the impact of catalytic funding on innovation in agriculture. A recent report highlighted how Heifer’s financing of a tech-driven tractor leasing initiative by agritech company Hello Tractor catalysed the initiative’s expansion, unlocking commercial capital and enabling smallholder farmers in the pilot phase to achieve over a 200 percent increase in income. The
project also created over 250 jobs for young Africans as tractor owners, booking agents, tractor operators, and technicians.
Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President, of Africa Programs, of Heifer International, said, “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.”
“With the integration of finance and technology, we are able to move smallholder farmers from sustenance to a business, and support them to take their businesses to scale and profitability while creating
much-needed new jobs across the value chain for young people.”
Heifer International will be attending the 2024 AFS Forum with young innovators from six African countries, whom the organisation 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.
Read also: Agritech experts map strategies to scale valuation of startups
Additionally, it will provide a
platform for public and private sector leaders to discuss achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and meeting the Malabo Declaration’s commitments by 2025.
