Accra, Ghana -Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA Ghana, has called on African leaders to take immediate and decisive steps to transform the continent’s food systems. Speaking at the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) Leadership Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, Kalibata emphasized the urgency of addressing persistent food insecurity and malnutrition.
“Africa faces a food crisis,” Kalibata stated. “Too many of our people go hungry every day. By modernizing our food systems, we can boost agricultural productivity, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on food imports.”
The CALA Leadership Forum, a program under AGRA, brought together over 5,000 delegates from across Africa and the globe to discuss and define strategies for building sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems. Kalibata highlighted the forum’s role in equipping delegates with actionable insights and expanding their knowledge to lead effective food system innovations.
“This forum provides delegates with practical strategies for navigating the complexities of food system innovation in a digital and climate era,” she said. “By connecting with top innovators and learning from action learning principles, they can design effective projects to tackle real-world food system issues.”
Kalibata also emphasized the importance of youth involvement in driving food system transformation. “Young people need to push themselves harder to do more and be problem solvers,” she said. “That’s the focus of CALA – to nurture the next generation of problem solvers.”
Jonathan Said, Vice President of the Centre for Technical Expertise at AGRA, echoed Kalibata’s call for bold action. “There is a leadership gap in the agricultural and food systems transformation across Africa,” he said. “Empowering key actors with practical insights and strategies is essential to achieving Africa’s food security agenda.”
AGRA, an African-led and Africa-based institution, is committed to transforming agriculture from a struggle for survival into a thriving business. By placing smallholder farmers at the core of the continent’s economy, AGRA aims to address food insecurity and promote sustainable development.
