Sustainable Food systems and Agriculture Conf. to open in Addis Ababa Tuesday

27 / 05 / 2019

Sustainable Development

By Marwa Nassar -

The Sustainable Food systems and Agriculture (SFA)-SDG Conference – organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – will kick off in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

The conference will address multiple sustainable development goals, with special focus on SDG 17 which calls for partnerships for achieving the goals.

The three-day get-together will also discuss means of supporting transformational change in Africa as it will serve as a platform for South-South and Triangular Cooperation by enabling the participants to learn from each other’s experiences (challenges and successful practices) on transforming food and agriculture.

On Africa Day, FAO’s Director General Jose Garziano da Silva – who backs sustainable world – urged all countries to keep the #ZeroHunger vision at the top of African minds and hearts.

Due to conflicts exacerbated by climate hazards, 257 million people are still hungry in the continent, he cautioned.

Earlier this month, FAO urged African countries to use solar-powered irrigation systems as water resources are dwindling. FAO said the solar-powered irrigation systems will be a clean energy source and will help realizing food security in line with the sustainable development goals.

The conditions for the adoption of these systems vary in countries, which can range from biophysical and climatic suitability, technical feasibility, institutional arrangements, regulations and policy support, access to maintenance services, and financing and economic viability of systems.

Moreover, one of the biggest challenges in solar irrigation lies on the technical skills needed to carry out such projects. These specific technical skills are lacking at national level among either government officials or technical staff, including irrigation officers, extension service staff, and with farmers and their organizations.

Responding to these challenges, the FAO Regional Office for Africa, in collaboration with the Land and Water Division (CBL) in headquarters, organized the first training workshop on solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) in Accra, Ghana, from May 21 to 24, within the framework of the Land and Water Technical Networks.

The event allowed strategic stakeholders to further explore the possibilities of the widespread use of the innovative technology in Africa. FAO’s Land and Water Officers in Africa will delve on the technical aspects of technology and map out further engagements in rolling out the initiative across the region.

Additionally, this workshop provided a window of opportunity to discuss the challenges on land and water in Africa as well as exchange ideas, good practices, experiences, and challenges around land and water projects that are relevant to SPIS.