ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) officials have called for wider adoption of science and agricultural innovations to boost agricultural productivity and food supply across Africa.
The appeal was made Tuesday as the Africa Science and Innovation Forum opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme "Harnessing Science and Innovation for Agrifood Systems Transformation."
Africa needs to widely adopt artificial intelligence and other innovations to increase crop yields by turning complex farm data into real-time and actionable decisions, said Abebe Haile-Gabriel, the Food and Agriculture Organization assistant director-general and regional representative for Africa, in his keynote address.
A widening innovation gap in Africa increases production costs and negatively affects product quality, food safety, processing, and the ability to meet market requirements. It also affects the ability to manage climate shocks, said Haile-Gabriel.
He also called on African governments to match their commitments to agrifood systems transformation with concrete action, predictable funding and measurable results, warning that repeated declarations risk becoming empty promises without the resources, clear responsibilities and accountability needed to deliver them.
Moses Vilakati, AU commissioner for agriculture, rural development, blue economy and sustainable environment, said Africa must create conditions that allow proven innovations to be adopted widely and financed sustainably to improve agricultural productivity.
"The challenge before us is no longer commitment, but implementation. Our focus must now be on translating ambitions into actions, targets into results and plans into measurable improvements to improve the lives of the people in Africa through adopting science, technology and innovation to improve agrifood supply," Vilakati said.
The three-day forum is expected to examine how science, technology and innovation can support more productive, resilient, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems and develop a regional roadmap to translate commitments into concrete actions. ■
