The African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) hosted the 7th Calestous Juma Executive Dialogue on Innovation and Emerging Technologies (CJED) between the 28th – 30th of September 2022, in Nairobi, Kenya. The CJED was established in 2018 to support policy and decision-makers, executives, youth groups, local innovators and other relevant stakeholders in harnessing science, technology, and innovation (STI) and emerging technologies to advance the socio-economic development and growth in Arica. The 7th CJED will focused on how strategic innovations and emerging technologies can strengthen food security and nutrition in Africa.

According to a recent Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, approximately 418 million people (21% of the African population) were undernourished in 2020. Furthermore, of the 61.4 million stunted children under five years of age on the continent, about 12.1 million are wasted, and 10.6 million are overweight. This calls for African countries to establish actionable interventions, measures, and policies to address and improve the state of food nutrition and security in Africa.

To this end, the 7th CJED focused on the threats and solutions to food security in Africa by addressing food importation against self-sufficiency within the continent. This can be accomplished by focusing on ending conflicts and wars, climate change, and political instability and adequately preparing for current and future pandemics. African countries should also strengthen the linkages between land tenure systems and agricultural productivity in Africa. This includes exploring innovative methods of harvesting, processing and preserving crops and vegetables to ensure food security in Africa.

Promoting youth inclusiveness in agri-business, entrepreneurship and commercialisation should also be prioritised to ensure the application of innovative and emerging technologies in transforming African agriculture systems. Thus, African youth can ensure emerging technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and the 5th Generation (5G) internet are effectively harnessed for food security. Furthermore, the role of women in agriculture and rural development should also be strengthened by ensuring women are included in labour, finance, land tenancy, adoption of farming innovations, markets and agricultural training and education. The executive dialogue  also explored the role of indigenous knowledge and culture in nutrition, public health security, and preventive care in nutrition and health towards reducing lifestyle diseases.

Based on the rich discussions, the executive dialogue  provided needed capacity strengthening of policy and decision-makers, executives, youth groups, local innovators and other relevant stakeholders. There were dedicated discussions and case study sessions to exchange knowledge and national experiences to enhance food nutrition across the African continent. This platform  provided a broader understanding of effective strategies in utilising innovation and emerging technologies in Africa. In addition, on the margins of the 7th CJED, artificial intelligence experts convened to deliberate and continue developing the African Union Artificial Intelligence Continental Strategy in Africa. This focuses on how African countries can harness AI for socio-economic development.

In conclusion, APET believes that the executive dialogue is pertinent in addressing the opportunities and challenges that African countries face with harnessing STIs and emerging technologies to improve food nutrition.