DES MOINES, Iowa — The African Development Bank is doubling down on agriculture, one of its five key priorities, with a strategy guided by business-minded agricultural development.
Greater cooperation and local investment in research — and getting new technologies in the hands of farmers — is key to the continent’s agriculture and food security needs, according to the bank.
In a series of speeches, press conferences, and interviews, AfDB President Akin Adesina and other bank staff added detail to their vision at the Borlaug Dialogue and World Food Prize, which this year honored Adesina with the prestigious annual award.
The bank launched two new initiatives, part of its “Feed Africa” strategy, one aimed at accelerating technologies across the continent and another focused on transforming the African savannahs into productive agricultural land. While both of those initiatives are focused on tackling productivity challenges, the bank is also focused on better connecting farmers to markets and enabling them to build stronger businesses.