Pan-African food sustainability summit attracts heavyweights in food and agriculture industry

KENYA – The Africa Food Sustainability Summit, set to be hosted in Nairobi, Kenya on March 28, 2023 continues to attract interest from across the food and agriculture industry value chain in Africa, as the event preparations heat up.

Set to be held at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, the high-level, pan-African summit will bring together more than 400 delegates in both physical and virtual formats to discover and share the future of sustainability in the agriculture, food processing and retail industry in Africa.

The event is the first of its kind in the region that is focused on the emerging area of sustainability, and will act as the fulcrum from which food industry supply chain actors will learn, network and do business with other key stakeholders from Africa and beyond.

The Summit, according to the organisers, is targeted at high-level C-Suite executives and investors in the food and agriculture industry in Africa; government ministries and agencies; non-profit sector actors; academicians and researchers and other stakeholders in the food supply chain, such as suppliers of financial services and new technologies, consultancy and training etc.

It has so far attracted speakers from a number of food industry players from across Africa including Olam, PepsiCo, Bio Food Products, Nestle, Diageo, Dormans Coffee, Mzansi Meat, Danone, 260 Brands, Vistory Farms, Sucafina, Solidaridad Network, Black Mamba, Achiever Foods, among many others.

“The subject of sustainability is one of the key issues facing each investor or top executive, not only in Africa but globally as well, and the food and agriculture industry is especially at the core of the problem and at the same time, is in the spotlight to find solutions to the sustainability challenges facing Africa and the World,” states Francis Juma, the Founder & CEO of FW Africa, the organiser of the Summit.

Juma explains that companies recognize that to achieve significant progress on sustainability in Africa and globally requires the contribution of everyone and every player in the food and agriculture value chain, and therefore the participating companies will use the event to share the opportunities, challenges and trends they have come across as they seek to inculcate a sustainable culture and practices across their value chains in Africa.

“Food production accounts for an estimated 37% of greenhouse gas emissions which lead to climate change and at the same time unfortunately, climate change has a huge negative effect on food production by reducing crop yields, the nutritional quality of major cereals, and lowering livestock productivity. Climate change and its direct impact means that the food security challenge will only become more difficult, as the world will need to produce about 70 percent more food by 2050 to feed an estimated 9 billion people, according to the World Bank.”

HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE

The Summit, according to Juma, will provide the perfect platform for leaders from the private, public, nonprofit and academia and research sectors in Africa and globally to share on their sustainability goals, initiatives and status of their sustainability projects in Africa.

Some of the key issues to be discussed at the following:

• Sustainable local food production and sourcing

• Renewable energy transition

• Cleaner, circular economy and net zero strategies

• Leadership, Strategy and governance

• New Food Technologies and Digitalisation

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Ethical Financing and Investing

“Sustainability has become a fairly wide subject – beyond the corporate social responsibility initiatives that many are aware of - and it is easy to get lost in understanding the various elements that make up or even where to begin as a company to implement sustainability initiatives along your value chain,” explains Juma, adding that the Summit will avail subject matter experts to help guide attendees on their strategies and plans.

More information about the Summit can be found at www. foodbusinessafrica.com/future