August 17, 2023

AGRF side event announcement

Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest per capita consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables in the world. Promoting local production, consumption and trade of nutrient-rich foods offers a clear pathway in response to climatic and economic challenges.

Organized by the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) and the Pan-African Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) program of the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, the opening side event at the 2023 Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF23) ‘Putting greens and beans at the center of nutritious and resilient food systems’ will highlight the vital role of vegetables and beans for improving nutritional wellbeing and climate resilience. It will share many decades of experience of the WorldVeg and PABRA in developing more resistant and nutritious crop varieties and production methods as part of inclusive value chains that especially benefit women and youth.

Date: Monday 4 September 2023

Time: 08.30-10.00 AM (GMT+3)

Venue: Mt. Meru Hall, Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)

Panelists will engage in an hour-long open debate on the importance of vegetables and beans for women and youth across the value chain. Experiences will be shared on business development, home gardens, and urban gardening – among others, leading to proposals on the most immediate needs for a broad strategy for nutritious and resilient food systems. It will conclude by identifying a top five priority actions for achieving food system transformation in Africa.

Panelists

• Gloria Phekani, Managing Director, Milele Agroprocessing Limited, Lilongwe, Malawi
• Khadija Jabri, Founder and CEO of GBRI food enterprises, Tanzania
• Joyce Mulila Mitti, Consultant, Zambia, supporting the WorldVeg TAVI project in Eswatini
• Eliud Birachi, Project Leader and Market Specialist, PABRA and The Alliance, Kigali, Rwanda
• Geoffrey Mkamilo, Director General, Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)
• Sognigbé N’Danikou, Scientist, traditional vegetable conservation and utilization, WorldVeg Eastern andSouthern Africa
• Paul Newnham, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 Advocacy Hub

Moderator

• Marcel Beria, former news anchor for Benin national television, and WorldVeg West and Central Africa

Opening/closing

• Marco Wopereis, Director General, World Vegetable Centre
• Juan Lucas Restrepo, Director General, Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and Global Director, Partnerships and Advocacy, CGIAR

Contact

For further information, kindly contact

• Gabriel Rugalema, WorldVeg Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa (gabriel.rugalema@worldveg.org) or
• Jean Claude Rubyogo, Bean Programme Leader and PABRA Director (j.c.rubyogo@cgiar.org)

Website: https://avrdc.org/

Published: August 17, 2023