Africa’s food security lies on effective, innovative use of technology — Jonathan

The Nigerian former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has charged African countries to deploy effective and innovative agricultural technologies in order to build a resilient agriculture and achieve food security.

Jonathan, who is also the Goodwill Ambassador of the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), stated this during the opening ceremony of the African Conference on Agricultural Technology (ACAT) in Nairobi, Kenya, organized by the AATF in collaboration with the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

The Nigerian ex-President said in spite of its endowments, Africa is vulnerable to food inadequacy that further heightens high food imports which in recent years has been threatened due to global shocks associated with COVID-19 and the Ukraine-Russian war that disrupted global food supply chain.

He said Africa has been most devastated by these developments leaving it with rising and suffocating food prices that are no longer affordable.

“We cannot continue like this, as we must, as a necessity match the inherent and abundant resources on the continent with agricultural prosperity with none one left in hunger.

“The path to agricultural resilience and food security lies in the effective and innovative use of technology”, Jonathan said.

While noting that innovation is the bedrock of all evolutionary transformative change, Jonathan said Africa must rapidly evolve by embracing innovation to foster resilience in its agricultural endeavours.

The Kenyan Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Hon Mithika Linturi, said agriculture sector plays a pivotal role in the economies of African countries but has not grown relatively compared to other developing regions such as South-East Asia, China, and Latin America. 

He linked the situation to several challenges such climate change, pests and diseases, weak market linkages, low mechanization, and post-harvest losses, among others.

He said the conference aimed at sharing technological advancements and achievements in the creation and implementation of innovative technologies, specifically targeting smallholder farmers across the African continent. 

“The overarching goal is to propel African agriculture forward by ensuring that cutting-edge solutions benefit, foster agricultural resilience, and uplift the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Kenya and the continent”, he added.

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