21 November 2023 2-4pm
2
I. Scaling up value chain development in partnership with private sector for food security and food systems transformation (1h15)
- Moderator: Leigh Hildyard
- Panellists: Nicole Carn, Clement Lwanda, Stephen Omula (remote), Li Xiong
Despite Africa’s huge agricultural potential, including vast fertile arable lands, growing diverse population, increasing demand for food, and a vibrant young dividend, over 200 million people in Sub-Sahara Africa continue to live in poverty, suffering from food and nutrition security.
Smallholder farmers, who account for over 60 percent of the food produced and consumed in the continent, remain the most vulnerable to challenges and shocks within the agricultural sector including, climate change, market, knowledge, information, and technology access.
WFP plays an active role in the market value chain development, specifically targeting smallholder farmers, with the aim of creating more a sustainable model to improve the food security of African countries by actively involving private sector to create market linkages for famers. Understanding and analysing value chains helps WFP identify
those chains which can generate growth, job creation and poverty reduction. It also aims to identify constraints to, and opportunities for, increasing value chain performance, so interventions can be designed and implemented to address constraints and improve outcomes for smallholder and agricultural communities. Shifting production and
consumption toward more sustainable and nutritious foods requires an understanding of the complex range of factors at work in food value chains, including those affecting agricultural production, price transmission through the chain, and demand for healthier or more nutritious foods.
There are various success stories in this endeavour, involving women and youth in particular, and scaling up those initiatives is critical to bringing transformational changes in the food systems. This session will unpack those success stories and engage with various stakeholders, in particular the private sector, on where opportunities lie and what is required for such scale up to occur for better food security for the African continent. II. Building Strategic Triangular Partnerships with Government, Private Sector and Multilateral Institutions
(30 minute)
- Presenter: Oratile Khama
To provide an overview on building triangular partnerships with government, the private sector, and multilateral institutions, as an innovative and strategic approach to addressing complex challenges in food security.
