AgriBusiness Forum 2010, A Success: President Yoweri Museveni Closes 4-day International AgriBusiness Forum 2010

H.E Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda – host of the AgriBusiness Forum 2010 – joined the over 400 delegates to officially close the forum at the Munyonyo resort in Kampala.  While delivering the keynote address to a room filled with a broad cross-section of representatives from the agro-food sector, the President emphasised the Africa’s agricultural wealth and natural resources that attract investors, and congratulated EMRC for raising the world’s attention to the role Africa can play in this regard:  “If you are talking about Agribusiness, Africa is THE place to be”, the President said, adding that “What Africa needs is not AID but TRADE”. He encouraged foreign investors to come to Africa and play a role in adding value to African-produced products and urged a continued effort in driving agricultural progress and development in Africa.  President Museveni applauded President Clinton’s government for enacting the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and the European Union for initiating the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement)

The AgriBusiness Forum aims to contribute to the sustainable economic growth of Africa by further developing its agriculture and agro-food industry, with the expertise, experience and involvement of knowledgeable individuals and institutions.  For 4 days, over 400  industry leaders, cooperatives, SMEs, financiers, government officials, NGOs, researchers, int’l organisations, multinationals and donors from 42 countries around the world gathered in Kampala and discussed the urgent matter of food security and its potential to generate business opportunities.  The AgriBusiness Forum 2010, experts, entrepreneurs and government representatives pointed out ways to eradicate poverty and generate business opportunities via the agro-food sector.

The specific measures adopted by each organisation or government depend on the national and organisational context, however the following was agreed upon by the AgriBusiness Forum assembly:

• Africa plays an important role in the increase of food production and thus, in the long run, can contribute significantly to solving the projected 70% increase for food demand by 2050;
• The private sector plays a crucial role in up-scaling agricultural productivity;
• Capacity building will create a more efficient agribusiness;
• Including small-scale producers in the value-chain is vital for agribusiness innovation;
• Indigenous knowledge should be improved on – farmers require training, technology, information technology and mobile applications to improve their smallholder agribusiness operations;
• More commercial opportunities for agri-inputs will generate more opportunity;
• Finance institutions are open to financing agribusiness, however funds are competitive and available to those with the best business ideas.

To this end, the AgriBusiness Forum speakers invited all the government representatives and delegates attending the AgriBusiness Forum 2010 to work actively towards the following goals:

• To ensure basic education for all, so that all women and men can effectively use their training and technology to meet basic needs;
• To ensure that there is a large-scale increase in agricultural investment;
• To ensure that small-scale entrepreneurs’ voices are heard and they are included in the value chain;
• To encourage and work towards the increase of food production;

All in all, the pan-African AgriBusiness Forum 2010 encouraged every nation and organisation present to be the change they want to see around them.  Idit Miller, Managing Director & VP of EMRC, concluded the Forum by thanking partners and sponsors of the AgriBusiness Forum 2010: the FAO and Rabobank, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), USAID, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, Novus International, Heineken, FARA, Stanbic Bank, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, KPMG, ProInvest and IFDC.  She continued by thanking the East African Community, Actesa, Comesa, the Government of Chad, the European Union, the Agribusiness Trust, Winrock International and the media for their support.

Idit Miller concluded her address with a special thank you to the government of Uganda and pointed out that “the esteemed presence of his excellency, President Yoweri Museveni proved, yet again, that food security is not only an urgent matter, but that our topic of elevating agribusiness opportunities in Africa is timely and our forum provided a much-needed platform for everyone present .”

EMRC

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