00:00In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, an exhibition organized by Agri-Africa Exhibition Limited
00:11and China's Hongxing International Exhibition Company is turning heads and changing how people
00:17think about farming and food production. As people gathered for the start of the Agri-Africa
00:23Exhibition, the buzzword here was Agri-Tech. Those attending discussed how to make cutting-edge
00:29solutions more accessible and affordable to people across the African continent. Experts
00:36here are keen to see the use of agricultural technology move from large-scale commercial
00:41farms to smallholder farmers who form the backbone of Africa's agriculture through innovation.
00:47Innovation is the engine of agricultural transformation. Whether it is AI-based weather forecasting,
00:57IoT-enabled precision farming, or mechanized tools suited to smallholders, innovation enables
01:06farmers to produce more with less.
01:09All of us are united here by one vision, to strengthen Africa's capacity to produce,
01:16trade, and thrive through modern agriculture.
01:21Ensuring that tech and innovation actually improve agricultural production starts from
01:26getting the right type of seeds to plant and giving the people who grow them the right set
01:31of skills. Experts are pushing for the use of climate-resilient crops that can withstand
01:37usher droughts and severe floods. They are also trying to attract more youth and women
01:42into farming through bringing fresh ideas into the agricultural sector using technology.
01:48We have drones, rather, that can do crop health analysis. And then using that data can be fed
01:54into the drones that now apply farming pits.
01:57It's a pleasure that I am able to participate in exhibition in Kenya. Today the product we brought
02:03a traditional embroidery from Siangxi County in Hunan Province and especially our belt here.
02:10Agriculture contributes more than 40% of Africa's GDP annually. The sector is crucial for the continent's
02:17economy and employs at least 60% of Africa's workforce.
02:22Yet, despite this central role, agriculture continues to face persistent challenges from climate change
02:33and low productivity to limited access to finance and markets.
02:40Agricultural experts say value addition and expansion of export markets remain key in improving
02:45earnings from farming. They want to see increased trade and technology transfer between African nations
02:52and global partners, notably China.
02:55The conversations happening here in Nairobi are expected to ripple out to farms, markets and dinner tables
03:02across the continent. The future of food is taking root and a lot of it is happening right here.
Comments