The week-long African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) ended on Friday with African Heads of State, private sector, donors and philanthropists pledging billions of dollars to help transform agriculture on the continent.The forum which began on Monday September 5 ended on September 9 with pledges of up to $30 billion (Ksh3 trillion) while presiding over a high level panel that Rwanda President Paul Kagame, former Nigeria and Tanzania presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Jakaya Kikwete and representatives of the public sector, promised to do all in their means to boost the agriculture sector in Africa. President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday led other stakeholders to pledge the money in investments to increase production, income and employment for smallholder farmers and local African agriculture businesses over the next ten years. The collective pledges at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) that ends today at the UN Complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, are believed to represent the largest package of financial commitments to the African agricultural sector to date, backed by the broadest coalitions ever assembled in support of food production on the continent, Uhuru who was joined by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and other speakers at the AGRF high level panel, laid out a bold vision for how agriculture transformation can be achieved in Kenya and across Africa. The President committed himself to deliver on both the political and policy agenda, announcing that his government will invest Sh20 billion (US $200 million) for 150,000 young farmers and young agriculture entrepreneurs can gain access to markets, finance, and insurance, Uhuru as chairman of the African Peer Review Mechanism called for a continental scorecard that will measure and track the commitments to agriculture transformation and ensure they translate into action and promised that agriculture will be part of the agenda of the institution he chairs. Other agriculture investors and development partners who announced new financial and policy commitments include the African Development Bank (AfDB), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group, OCP Africa, World Food Programme, Yara International ASA, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Gayle Smith, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), called for investors and donors to be bold and do their part to achieve "A Food-Secure 2030". The US government already has invested more than $6.6 billion in global food security and nutrition efforts through its Feed the Future initiative. This commitment is now locked in for the long-term following approval in July of the bipartisan Global Food Security Act legislation. Smith noted that the initiative "signals the US government's enduring commitment to global food security and nutrition and is the largest development authorisation the US Congress has made in a decade," Smith said. AfDB's President Dr Akiwumi Adesina pledged US $24 billion over the next ten years, representing a 400 percent increase over previous commitments, to help drive agricultural transformation in Africa. "A key pillar of AfDB work will be support for the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme,…

Air pollution has emerged as the fourth leading risk factor for premature deaths worldwide.The deaths from air pollution cost the global economy about US$225 billion in lost labor income in 2013, a new study finds, pointing toward the economic burden of air pollution, according to a World Bank report.The report titled The Cost of Air Pollution: Strengthening the economic case for action, released yesterday, is a joint study of the World Bank and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and seeks to estimate the costs of premature deaths related to air pollution, to strengthen the case for action and facilitate decision making in the context of scarce resources.An estimated 5.5 million lives were lost in 2013 to diseases associated with outdoor and household air pollution, causing human suffering and reducing economic development.While pollution-related deaths strike mainly young children and the elderly, premature deaths also result in lost labor income for working-age men and women.The report finds that annual labor income losses cost the equivalent of almost one per cent - 0.83 percent - of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in South Asia.In East Asia and the Pacific, where the population is ageing, labor income losses represent 0.25 per cent of GDP, while in Sub-Saharan Africa, where air pollution impairs the earning potential of younger populations, annual labor income losses represent the equivalent of 0.61 percent of GDP.When looking at fatalities across all age groups through the lens of "welfare losses", an approach commonly used to evaluate the costs and benefits of environmental regulations in a given country context, the aggregate cost of premature deaths was more than US$5 trillion worldwide in 2013.In East and South Asia, welfare losses related to air pollution were the equivalent of about 7.5 percent of GDP."Air pollution is a challenge that threatens basic human welfare, damages natural and physical capital, and constrains economic growth. We hope this study will translate the cost of premature deaths into an economic language that resonates with policy makers so that more resources will be devoted to improving air quality," said Laura Tuck, Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank.She added, "By supporting healthier cities and investments in cleaner sources of energy, we can reduce dangerous emissions, slow climate change, and most importantly save lives."

Young people, who form the biggest part of population in Sub Saharan Africa, have little or no interest in agriculture, a sector that drives the region’s economy.And now, experts at the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2016 have said that it will take more than financial persuasion to hook them into the sector.“Even with donors promising subsidies to Africa’s youth in agriculture, the generation is faced with the twin problems of skills transfer and motivation,” said Ambrose Agona, the director general, National Research Organisation (NARO) of Uganda.Other experts said that the absence of youth engagement in Africa’s agriculture is due to poor policies that do not cater for the interest of the youth.“Governments must link scientists to what is happening in the industry and markets,” said Micheni Ntiba Kenya’s s principal secretary for Fisheries. “There is need to follow up research to ensure that it is incubated as a business because the youth will always want to go to where money is.”Experts further observed that some scientists were working in silos.Africa Harvest Biotechnology Foundation International chief executive officer, Florence Wambugu said pointed out that African scientists must interact with farmers to understand what kind of innovations Africa needs.According to her, Africa may be doing well with a growth path of six per cent but failure to win the youth into agriculture will not help Africa fight poverty and climate change.“Researchers must break the silos and work through value chains so as to attract the youth into the sector,” said Wambugu.Meanwhile, a new report released during the AGRF meeting accuses financial institutions of failing the youth in terms of capital access.According to the AGRA 2016 African Agriculture Status report, only 6 per cent of rural households in sub Saharan Africa are borrowing from formal financial institutions.

Over 230 million or one in five people is undernourished in Africa due to lack in sufficient or nutritious food.This number could increase to 350 million by 2050 if appropriate adaptation measures are not taken to cope with the intensity of future climate change.According to the World Bank report released at the ongoing Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) conference at UN, Gigiri, a projected rise in extreme weather events and average temperatures of about 2 degree celsius by mid century could substantially reduce the land suitable for growing the main staple crops, and reduce crop yields by up to 20 per cent.African agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate risks, but is also a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.The report notes that climate change and food insecurity are the twin crises that may define Africa’s future.Food production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) needs to increase by 60 percent over the next 15 years to feed a growing population.Feeding Africa nutritiously and sustainably will require a more sustainable and climate-smart food system. Without major investments in agriculture, the average African would have access to 21 per cent fewer calories and climate change would increase the number of malnourished children by 10 million.The report notes that if unaddressed, climate change will erode Africa’s hard-won development achievements and jeopardise the prospects for further growth and poverty reduction.Fortunately, African agriculture is well-positioned for transformational change. Throughout Africa, there are over 200 million hectares of uncultivated land that can be brought to productive use.Africa uses only two percent of its renewable water sources. Africa’s food and beverage markets are expected to top $1 trillion in value by 2030. More than a dozen agribusiness investment funds have set their sights on Africa. African agriculture is also energised by entrepreneurial youth and an engaged private sector that is taking note of its potential. Young Africans are making agriculture a viable business, creating opportunities for farmers, as well as themselves.The report found out that while agriculture contributes to the climate problem, producing significant greenhouse gas emissions, it also has the potential to be part of the solution here in Africa.Improved practices can help African countries increase productivity, while also enhancing the resilience of farming systems, and achieving lower emissions–the triple win of climate-smart agriculture.The Africa Climate Business Plan (ACBP) was launched COP 21 in Paris to address Africa’s intricately linked climate and development agendas.The plan calls for US$ 16 billion in funding to help African people and countries adapt to climate change and build up the continent’s resilience to climate shocks.The plan includes a focus on climate-smart agriculture and supports the vision for accelerated agricultural transformation of the Malabo Declaration.The World Bank has been supporting African governments in making climate-smart agriculture a priority.As a major financier of sustainable agriculture projects across Africa, the World Bank is committed to supporting climate-smart agriculture (CSA) for ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity in the Africa region.The Bank supports CSA in Africa by advocating for regional CSA initiatives, fostering adoption of CSA policies…