The ongoing sixth African Green Revolution Forum at the UN Complex in Nairobi has attracted over 1,500 delegates from governments, Non Governmental Organizations, farmers, Civil Society Organizations, the private sector, and development partners to advance policies, create partnerships and attract investments that will accelerate agricultural transformation.  Young men and women from East Africa and AGOA who run Start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and participated in the just concluded Young Innovators in Agribusiness Competition (YIAC) will exhibit their products at the forum.

While Agriculture can alleviate hunger and lift the African continent out of poverty, the sector is struggling to perform, with reforms happening at snail pace. According to the World Bank, agriculture contributes 32% to Africa’s GDP and provides employment to 65% of the labour force on the continent. In many countries in Africa, up to 85% of the workforce is employed in the agricultural sector. An estimated 38% of Africa’s working youth are presently employed in the agricultural sector. Since a large proportion of farmers in Africa are smallholders or subsistence-based, it is essential to invest in and develop accessibility to quality inputs, effective markets for produce, good soils and soil management techniques, innovative finance tools, making agriculture attractive to the youth and other resources needed for sustained agricultural production.

Africa hopes that the 6^th African Green Revolution Forum will articulate key concerns affecting the sectors’ poor performance and yield a practical transformative roadmap that will lead to food security while creating wealth among the majority of smallholder farmers.