High-Level Dialogue: Building a Sustainable Food Ecosystem - U.S.-Africa Business Summit

High-Level Dialogue: Building a Sustainable Food EcosystemJuly 20, 2022On Wednesday, July 20th, 2022, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) held a High-Level Dialogue on “Building a Sustainable Food Ecosystem”. The High-Level Dialogue was one of five sessions held as part of CCA’s annual U.S. African – Business Summit. The High-Level Dialogue focused on agricultural interventions to promote sustainable food ecosystems, was moderated by Dr. Mima Nedelcovych of AfricaGlobal Schaffer, and Board Member of CCA, and featured both private sector and public sector speakers.Panelists began by addressing various responses needed to ramp up agricultural production, as Africa has 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. One necessary response is the concentration of agro-processing activities within areas of high agricultural potential, as advocated by H.E. Silvino Moreno, Mozambican Minister of Industry and Commerce. The Minister spoke of the AfDB grant given to establish an agro-industrial zones in the Niassa province, enabling agricultural producers, processors, aggregators and distributors to operate in the same locale to reduce transaction costs, share business development services and increase productivity and competitiveness. Private sector collaboration is essential as “only the private sector can help get the industrialization we want”.Representing the private sector, Abir Lemseffer, Deputy CEO of Azura Group which produces grape tomatoes, shared the importance of building sustainable, strong food systems from the very beginning. Promoting the integration of sustainable infrastructure is imperative for consumers. By considering factors such as sourcing mechanisms, carbon production, and water usage, consumer preferences are at the forefront of production. Preferences and standards must also be kept in mind when exporting, as explained by Fatai Yusufu, Founder and CEO of agricultural producer Fayus, Inc. Mr. Yusufu placed heavy emphasis on quality compliance and incentivizing and supporting farmers in their compliance.The session focused on the collaboration and implementation of training programs for farmers, as well as direct communication to ensure farmers are aware of consumer preferences. With improved communication and education, farmers can move along the value chain. “When a project is good, it finances itself, but a business model needs well educated creation,” explained Nada El Majdoub, Executive Vice President of Performance Management at OCP. With well-educated creation and customization as done by OCP with their fertilizer products, soil and crops can get the right amount of nutrients, boosting production. But boosted production is not enough, the entire supply chain must be collaborative. Aisha Hadejia, Manager at Sahel Consulting, also shared the need for more storage and logistics to prevent post-harvest losses for fruits and vegetables which can be as high as 40%.Clay Hamilton, Associate Administrator for the Foreign Agricultural Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stressed the ongoing need to provide the tools for farmers to provide stability, “farmers are fantastic, they just need the tools” for support to secure market and income and boost production. Panelists also agreed on the need for open dialogue between businesses and the government to boost Public Private Partnerships. Continued commitment to affordable and available inputs, as well as public sector incentives to invest in businesses are key for growth in the agricultural sector.This event is part of CCA’s annual U.S.-Africa Business Summit. This year’s Summit featured an African Head of State, 16 ministers, as well as many prominent U.S. Government officials, and U.S. and African CEOs and senior business executives. 2,200 public and private sector leaders from across the United States and Africa participated in our Summit to discuss the range of policies and strategies to Building Forward Together the economic partnership between the United States and Africa.Click hereto view the session.