Nairobi: Over 3,000 stakeholders from the agriculture sector are set to converge in Kenya next month for a high-level Science Week conference aimed at addressing key issues such as food security, climate resilience, and agricultural innovation. The event will serve as a platform to celebrate advancements in science and innovation within the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers, a global partnership focused on agricultural research for food security.
According to Kenya News Agency, the conference, co-hosted by CGIAR and Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), will provide an opportunity to tackle the growing threats posed by climate change and global hunger to food systems. Dr. Eliud Kireger, Director General of KALRO, emphasized the importance of collaboration in agricultural research to prevent redundant efforts and facilitate access to developed technologies for farmers, thus improving food and nutrition security.
Dr. Kireger highlighted Kenya’s strategic role in CGIAR through its representation on the CGIAR System Council, which allows the country to influence agricultural research and innovation policies. Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, stressed the importance of showcasing successful agricultural pilots during the conference, with the aim of scaling them to benefit a larger number of farmers.
Dr. Elouafi also addressed the dual role of agriculture as both a significant emitter of greenhouse gases and a sector capable of sequestering carbon, emphasizing the need to enhance awareness of its importance in food production and environmental stewardship. She called for increased partnerships and collaboration to address the complex challenges facing the agricultural sector, noting CGIAR’s extensive presence in 80 countries and its annual budget of one billion dollars.
The conference will also feature the launch of CGIAR’s new Science and Innovation Portfolio, which aims to tackle global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and poor-quality diets. This new research portfolio, set to run from 2025 to 2030, will focus on developing and scaling innovations to address these challenges, building on CGIAR’s 50-year legacy of impactful research.
Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) recognizes the agri-food system as a key driver of economic transformation and inclusive growth. By transforming agri-food systems, the country aims to achieve significant development outcomes, including poverty reduction, job creation, social inclusion, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and environmental health.