On August 22, in conjunction with the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), a special seminar featuring AGRA President Alice Ruhweza, titled “Building Climate-Resilient Agrifood Systems in Africa – the Role of Science and Public-Private Partnership," was held at the TKP Garden City PREMIUM Minato Mirai in Yokohama City. 

The seminar was co-organized by AGRA, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), and was planned in conjunction with TICAD9. It brought together many stakeholders from government, research institutions, and the private sector, who engaged in active discussions on the agricultural challenges facing Africa and the potential for collaboration toward solutions. 

In her keynote speech, Ms. Ruhweza highlighted AGRA's efforts to improve agricultural productivity in Africa through improved seed development and its track record in building the capacity of African plant breeders at national research institutes. At the same time, she pointed out that agri-food systems also place a heavy burden on biodiversity and the natural environment. She emphasized that sustainably improving productivity requires a coordinated effort across the entire food systems—including effective extension systems to deliver seeds and transfer know-how to farmers, market mechanisms to determine farmers' incentives, and policy support through institutional development and regulatory reform. She underscored the importance of ‘ecosystems’, where diverse actors—farmers, traders, and government regulators—collaborate to achieve system-wide impact. During the Q&A session, she stressed that the dissemination of environmentally responsible technologies and the promotion of youth participation will depend greatly on the design of behavioral incentives based on markets and pricing.

In the next session, partner organizations shared their initiatives aimed at strengthening African food systems. JICA Special Advisor ASANUMA Shuichi introduced examples from SATREPS, while JIRCAS Project Leaders TSUJIMOTO Yasuhiro and NAKAMURA Satoshi outlined their respective projects. Mr. Sergio Frias, Sales Manager at Ajinomoto AgroSolutions, gave a presentation on the potential of biostimulants.

During the panel discussion that followed—based on the keynote speech and case studies—participants discussed how to design effective incentives through collaboration among research, policy, and the private sector. Ms. Ruhweza proposed the “Anchor Farmers” model, which positions progressive farmers as key hubs for disseminating climate-smart technologies such as those developed in Dr. Tsujimoto's project. She strongly resonated with Dr. Nakamura's reference to the “Sleeping Giant," which describes the potential of the savanna region. She also agreed with Ajinomoto AgroSolutions’ identification of certification, finance, and education as three key pillars for promoting business through public-private partnerships. Ms. Ruhweza demonstrated strong leadership throughout the seminar, drawing on her extensive experience from research to implementation, in support of the sustainable development of African agriculture.

Special Seminar with AGRA President Alice Ruhweza: "Building Climate-Resilient Agrifood Systems in Africa — The Role of Science and Public-Private Partnerships"