Third African Green Revolution Conference kicks off

Kofi Annan, President Bingu Wa Mutharika of Malawi and other key leaders arrived in Oslo today for advance meetings prior to the third African Green Revolution Conference, which begins tomorrow.

The third African Green Revolution Conference got off to a flying start today, as VIP guests arrived to participate in workshops that set the scene for two hectic days of panel discussions and in-depth group sessions. Around 250 heads of state, business and political leaders and other delegates from across the world are gathering in Oslo to find lasting solutions to Africa’s ongoing food insecurity crises.

The current world food crisis has resulted in strong political will to identify and implement sustainable solutions to reduce hunger across the continent.  The third African Green Revolution Conference - under the banner "An Alliance for Action" - aims to develop a strategic action plan for change and to secure commitments to ensure a lasting solution to Africa’s food vulnerability.

In an initial meeting former UN Secretary-General, now Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revoltion, Kofi Annan, called the challenges Africa faces “too great for one sector, for one population, to address alone.” Mr Annan urged optimism however, underlining that “When the international community works in partnership with all affected stakeholders will we be able to achieve these critical goals and see real outcomes for the people of Africa.” 

Just out of a meeting with conference co-organisers AGRA, Yara’s Chief Executive Thorleif Enger said that the two partners share many of the same views on how to support an African green revolution. “We share a firm commitment and have a clear basis for moving forward, now we just have to work out the practicalities.”

Mr Enger said Yara’s attitude was to “to become an active member of a team working to find a solution to the food security crisis,” before moving on to join AGRA, Monsanto, Dupont and Swiss Re for a workshop on agricultural value chains.

Kofi Annan will give the keynote interview and President Bingu Wa Mutharika of Malawi will give the keynote address at this week's African Green Revolution Conference in Oslo, Norway.  Both talks will be webcast live beginning at 8:30 am CET on Thursday, 28 August, 2008. 

To watch the web cast live, click the link below:

Web cast live