September 24, 2024
Maya Muller, Epaphras Milambwe, Elijah Mwashayenyi, Joshua Mwanguhuya, Godfrey David Alechenu, Ruth Ardzard and Stuart Morris at the Summit.
Africa’s leading forum on agri-food systems took place in Rwanda this year, bringing together over 3,000 delegates, including policymakers, NGOs, foundations, and private sector representatives from over 100 countries. The Africa Food Systems Forum serves as a platform to exchange knowledge, promote policy changes, and build partnerships to address the continent’s urgent food security and nutrition challenges.
East-West Seed and Knowledge Transfer Foundation set up a booth showcasing 36 large Arjuna pumpkins and 80 packets of pumpkin crisps made from East-West Seed varieties. Our founder, Simon Groot, saw this as a great opportunity to highlight the potential of our Arjuna variety at the summit. The display sparked interest from several distributors and seed suppliers across East and West Africa, all keen to explore how our seeds can contribute to local farming.
We were equally honored with special visits to our booth, including from former Tanzania Prime Minister, Mizengo Kayanza Peter Pinda, renowned Nigerian politician Peter Gregory Obi, and Martin Fregene, African Development Bank Director of Agriculture and Agro-industries.
Stuart Morris, Ruth Ardzard, Epaphras Milambwe with former Tanzania Prime Minister, Honourable Mizengo Pinda.
As Africa faces increasing pressure on its food systems- with one-fifth of the continent facing chronic hunger—practical solutions are urgently needed. Africa’s population of 1.37 billion includes 33 million smallholder farmers, many of whom are young. Seventy percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under 30, making it essential to provide the right tools and training to the next generation of farmers.
During a panel discussion at the forum, Stuart Morris, Director of East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer, highlighted the importance of supplying quality vegetable seeds and offering technical support, especially to women and youth. By using simple, practical farming techniques, many farmers have been able to double their yields, proving that small changes can lead to big results.
East-West Seed is committed to being part of the solution to Africa’s food security challenge. We are continuously working to provide farmers with the resources they need, and we’re seeking partnerships to expand our impact across the continent.
We invite international organizations, private donors, local NGOs, businesses, and government institutions to partner with our Foundation in making a positive impact on low-income communities through vegetable farming. We also encourage farmers who are eager to learn new skills and boost their income to reach out and explore how we can support them.
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