Food transformation: Ex-Ethiopian PM arrives in Nigeria

Former Ethiopia Prime Minister and Board Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Hailemariam Dessalegn arrived in Nigeria Friday on a four-day visit to engage leaders in conversations around food systems transformation.

He will meet ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo; Minister for Finance Zainab Ahmed; Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Muhammed Nanono and Kaduna Governor Nasir el-Rufai.

The AGRA Board Chair is also expected to use the opportunity to formally invite Nigeria to the AGRF 2021 summit, which takes place in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 7 – 10.

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Before leaving Nigeria, Mr Dessalegn will meet with key officials of AGRA’s partner organisations for further talks on how to support the government’s strategic goals, including the reduction of hunger and increased incomes for the country’s smallholder farming households.

Dessalegn’s trip to Nigeria precedes the UNited Nations Food Systems Summit (UN FSS) to be held in New York, USA in September.

Like the AGRF Summit, the UN FSS is critical for advancinthe g dialogue and partnerships for the achievement of key food systems objectives, including the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of eradicating hunger and poverty by 2030.

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the centre of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives.