When: February 14, 2024
Where: Kampala, Uganda & Online (Hybrid)
Time: 9:30 – 13:05 (EAT)
The Malabo Montpellier Forum provides a platform to facilitate dialogue and exchange among high-level decision-makers on African agriculture, nutrition and food security to promote policy innovation using evidence produced by the Malabo Montpellier Panel, a group of 18 leading African and international experts in agriculture, ecology, nutrition, and food security.
Co-Chaired by H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and H.E. Assia Ben Salah Alaoui Ambassador at Large to His Majesty the King of Morocco, the Forum seeks to create a space for politicians and policymakers to exchange directly on issues of strategic importance in a context free from domestic pressures.
Every meeting of the Forum is guided by a technical report prepared by members of the Malabo Montpellier Panel; these research reports provide high-level decision-makers with access to the latest evidence to guide effective implementation of policies and programs that benefit smallholder farmers in Africa, especially women and young people.
The theme of the Malabo Montpellier Panel’s forthcoming report, which will be launched at the Malabo Montpellier Forum meeting on February 14, 2024 in Uganda (and online), focuses on successful approaches, that is, institutional and policy innovations and programmatic interventions, among African countries to empower Africa’s youth in the transformation of agrifood systems.
Africa’s population mainly comprises youth, who also face high unemployment. Although the agrifood system provides numerous opportunities to generate income across the value chain, many youths cannot tap the opportunities partly because they lack the necessary knowledge and skills, perceive agriculture as labor-intensive and unattractive, and also due to volatile political and economic circumstances. Access to land and finance are large constraints for young women and men in rural areas.
The panel aims to provide practical actions to enable environments that support young people in creating or taking on employment opportunities in the agrifood system, highlighting areas of progress and potential entry points for youths.
The Forum will be conducted in three parts: a technical part drawing on the findings and recommendations from the Panel’s report and Youth Issue Paper, Reflections on the outcomes and lessons from the report and issue paper, and a high-level policy roundtable, composed of senior representatives from African governments, development partner agencies, youth organizations, and the private sector.
For more, please read The Concept note
- About the Malabo Montpellier Panel
The Malabo Montpellier Panel convenes 18 leading experts in agriculture, engineering, ecology, nutrition, and food security. It aims to facilitate policy choices by African governments to accelerate progress toward food security and improved nutrition. The Panel identifies areas of progress and positive change across the continent and assesses what successful African countries have done differently. It identifies the institutional and policy innovations and program interventions that other countries can best replicate and scale. The related Malabo Montpellier Forum provides a platform to promote policy innovation; it uses the evidence produced by the Panel to facilitate dialogue among high-level decision-makers on African agriculture, nutrition, and food security. For more information, please visit: www.mamopanel.org
II. Contacts
For questions about the Forum and the Panel
Dr. Aisha Musaazi S. Nakitto
Scientist and Interim Program Lead for the Malabo Montpellier Panel
Department of Policy Innovation, AKADEMIYA2063
Email: [email protected]
For media enquiries
Dr. Layih Butake
Director of Communication and Outreach, AKADEMIYA2063
Email: [email protected]
For logistical questions
Ms. Nancy Massala
Administrative and Events Specialist, AKADEMIYA2063
Email: [email protected]