IITA Director General strengthens global agricultural ties at the 2024 World AgriFood Innovation Conference

28 October 2024

Dr Simeon Ehui, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa during his keynote address at the WAFI Conference.
Dr Simeon Ehui, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa during his keynote address at the WAFI Conference.

To solidify partnership efforts and increase agricultural research activities and innovation scaling in Africa, Dr Simeon Ehui, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, joined participants from 76 countries at the World AgriFood Innovation Conference (WAFI 2024) in China to reinforce the commitment to addressing food security challenges and climate resilience globally.

Dr Ehui, during his keynote address at the WAFI Conference, highlighted IITA’s leadership in agricultural research, technology dissemination, and capacity-building efforts in Africa and some of the collaborative work with China in improving food security and climate resilience in Africa.

He stressed the importance of low-carbon agricultural practices for Africa while proposing a pan-African climate adaptation initiative that aligns with private sector collaboration, stronger infrastructure, and financing through a Green Bank for low-carbon projects.

IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa Dr Simeon Ehui during a panel session at the WAFI Conference.
IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa Dr Simeon Ehui during a panel session at the WAFI Conference.

Speaking on Sino-African Agricultural Cooperation, Dr Ehui addressed the need for deeper cooperation between China and Africa, transitioning from collaboration to co-creating tailored solutions for food security and climate change challenges. He highlighted how combining China’s mechanization expertise with Africa’s indigenous agro-ecological knowledge can bring innovative solutions to both regions and help millions of lives.

Underscoring China’s commitment to send five postdoctoral researchers annually to each CGIAR center, Dr Ehui said IITA’s success in expanding Aflasafe to combat aflatoxin and empowering African youth through agribusiness is modeled after China’s entrepreneurial approaches.

Delivering a compelling keynote during the “Low-Carbon Transformation” session, Dr Ehui stressed the importance of low-carbon agricultural practices for Africa. He proposed a pan-African climate adaptation initiative that aligns with private sector collaboration, stronger infrastructure, and financing through a Green Bank for low-carbon projects.

DG Ehui participated in high-level panel discussions and networking sessions at the conference, which attracted a wide array of distinguished speakers, including high-level Chinese government officials, representatives from several development organizations, and leaders in the agri-business sector. The CGIAR and IITA participation at the WAFI conference has initiated potential future collaborations and strategic engagements, underscoring the importance of Africa-China cooperation in agricultural innovation.

IITA-CGIAR’s presence at WAFI 2024 reinforces its commitment to addressing global food security challenges and climate resilience.

Contributed by ‘Timilehin Osunde