How can we leverage on our vast agricultural resources to build thriving economies, ensure food security and uplift the lives of our communities?

Background

There remains a mismatch between the nutritional needs of Africa’s ever growing population, the vast opportunities available in the agricultural sector and our capability to leverage on them. Poor resource management, high costs of production, poor farming techniques and low budgetary allocations have continued to slow the growth of the agricultural sector. In order for us to unleash the potential of agriculture to provide solutions to the fundamental challenges of food insecurity and poverty, we must be ready to develop innovative solutions and increase the levels of investments into the sector.

As opportunities in the sector become increasingly attractive, private and public sector players need to become innovative in providing sustainable solutions, understand the legal and fiscal frameworks needed to support significant investments into the sector, and leverage on the advantages of collaborative partnerships such as shared expertise, pooling of resources and risk mitigation. Well-structured and managed agricultural projects have the potential to generate benefits to the individual, to the communities and to the regions, which can only be achieved through a significant investment of resources.

Overview

The SIA program is results oriented, and is designed to equip participants with the practical skills required to support responsible and sustainable agricultural investments. It is designed for executives in the public and private sectors, who are ready to make significant investments into the sector or are currently managing huge agricultural projects.

Proposed topics include:

An introduction to sustainable agricultural investment
Value Chain Analysis – Dairy, Fruits & horticulture, cereals &pulses and meats value chains
Agricultural investment opportunities and the implications for sustainable development
Planning and management of agricultural projects
Developing robust legal and fiscal frameworks for agricultural projects
Managing conflicts: focus on land rights and tenure security
Financial modelling and financial management
Understanding and negotiation of equitable investment contracts
Monitoring and evaluation of agricultural investments
Managing resources and environmental and social impacts
Strategic planning and Development of SMART Action Plans

Program Delivery

Module I will involve a 5 day intensive exploratory tour of Israel, a major exporter of fresh produce and a world leader in agricultural technologies. It will involve study tours to a variety of well-established farms in Israel and participation in key lectures in established agricultural universities.

Module II will be delivered through a series of highly interactive classroom sessions, facilitated by experts within the sector and highly qualified faculty.

Farms to visit in Israel include:

Commercial Apiary
Commercial Dairy Farms
Mechanised horticultural farms
Improved seed factory
Greenhouse technologies
Israel – Kenya export linkages office
Mechanized poultry farms
Commercial beef farms
Post harvest management
Water irrigation systems

Who should attend?

This program is designed for investors from both the public and private sectors who are keen on acquiring the skills and knowledge to enable them to manage and implement huge agricultural investments.

It is ideal for individual and corporate investors, farmer organizations and cooperatives, county executives and public sector officials, financiers, research institutes, NGOs and multinational corporations.

Key Benefits

Attending this program will:

Expose you to the most advanced agricultural working methods and to the investment opportunities that exist in the sector, and equip you with the necessary skills and tools to exploit them;
Give you a better understanding of the dynamics of agricultural investments;
Equip you with practical skills to manage resources and drive you to develop and implement actionable plans over the next year;
Provide you with an opportunity to engage in rich dialogue with other key decision makers, local and international industry experts.