UN, AU officials urge Africa to boost farm innovation

African countries must accelerate the adoption of science and technology in agriculture to raise productivity, strengthen food supplies and make agrifood systems more resilient, United Nations and African Union officials said on Tuesday.

The call came as the Africa Science and Innovation Forum opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, bringing together stakeholders to discuss how innovation can help transform the continent’s agrifood systems.

Abebe Haile-Gabriel, assistant director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its regional representative for Africa, said technologies such as artificial intelligence could help farmers improve yields by converting complex agricultural data into timely, practical decisions.

He warned that a widening innovation gap was driving up production costs and undermining product quality, food safety, processing and farmers’ ability to meet market requirements. It was also weakening the sector’s capacity to withstand climate shocks, he said.

Haile-Gabriel urged African governments to back their commitments to transforming agrifood systems with sustained financing, clear responsibilities and measurable targets, warning that declarations would have little impact without concrete action and accountability.

Moses Vilakati, the African Union commissioner for agriculture, rural development, blue economy and sustainable environment, said the priority was to ensure that proven innovations could be adopted at scale and supported by sustainable financing.

“The challenge before us is no longer commitment, but implementation,” Vilakati said, calling for ambitions to be translated into action and plans into measurable improvements in people’s lives through the use of science, technology and innovation to strengthen agrifood supply.

The three-day forum is expected to explore how science, technology and innovation can build more productive, resilient, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems, and develop a regional roadmap for turning existing commitments into action.