ZIMBABWE – The 2022 Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) conference will bring together state and non-state actors to review and accelerate the development of Africa’s agrifood processing sector and its contributions to employment, poverty reduction and food systems transformation. ReSAKSS is the main platform for monitoring the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

The conference will provide a forum to unveil and debate the findings of the flagship Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR), which outlines key developments across Africa’s agrifood processing sector, recommendations for its performance, and implications for future growth of African agriculture.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 25 to Thursday, October 27. An opening press conference will take place at 14.00 CAT on Tuesday, October 25.

WHERE: The ReSAKKS conference, convened by AKADEMIYA2063 in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) and Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, will take place at Meikles Hotel, Harare, Zimbabwe.

The conference will take place in hybrid format; attendees are welcome to register online. To attend the press conference in person, please contact Donna Bowater at donna@marchmontcomms.com and Layih Butake at Lbutake@akademiya2063.org.

WHO: The following speakers will join the opening press conference:

  • Her Excellency Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Development, African Union Commission
  • Dr. Anxious Jongwe Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, Zimbabwe
  • Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Executive Chairperson, AKADEMIYA2063
  • Dr. John Ulimwengu, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute, (IFPRI); Co-Editor, 2022 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR)

WHY: Africa’s food systems are changing rapidly, with value chains becoming more complex and high-value food products accounting for larger shares of consumers’ diets. Africa’s agrifood processing sector is central to these changes. The growth and development of the sector will help determine whether African farmers will capture a significant share of the burgeoning demand of urban food markets or whether they will be displaced by foreign suppliers.

The processing sector is increasingly the conduit through which smallholder farmers reach consumers, and as such, plays an important role in increasing farmer income opportunities and creating employment opportunities along the value chain. To enhance the sector’s contribution to employment and poverty reduction, policymakers must help agrifood processing firms overcome multiple constraints through better access to finance, skills development, high-quality infrastructure, and technologies.

About the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS)

Established in 2006 under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) supports efforts to promote evidence and outcome-based policy planning and implementation. In particular, ReSAKSS provides data and related analytical and knowledge products to facilitate CAADP benchmarking, review, and mutual accountability processes.

AKADEMIYA2063 leads the work of ReSAKSS in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), and leading Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The mission of AKADEMIYA2063 is to provide data, policy analysis, and capacity-strengthening support to enable African Union (AU) Member States to achieve economic transformation and shared prosperity in support of the AU’s Agenda 2063. As the main platform for monitoring CAADP implementation, ReSAKSS tracks the progress of core CAADP indicators through an interactive website and a flagship Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR), the official CAADP monitoring and evaluation (M&E) report. In addition to tracking progress on CAADP core indicators, the ATOR presents analysis on a feature topic of strategic importance to the CAADP agenda each year. For more information, visit: https://conference.resakss.org/; www.akademiya2063.org

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