Initiatives to mobilise private sector investment into agriculture will feature on the agenda of an upcoming summit focusing the role of business in addressing food security in South Africa.

Organised by Africa investor (Ai), a leading international investment research and communications group, the Africa investor Agribusiness CEO Investment Summit will be held on August 18 and 19.

Major funds confirmed for the summit include Land Bank, Future Growth Asset Management, Standard Chartered, Silk Invest, African Agriculture Fund, IMARA Asset Management, Emergent Asset Management, Silver Street Capital, Chayton Capital, Aquila Capital Green Assets, Injaro Investments, Barak Fund Management and Aquila Capital Green Assets.

Hubert Danso, managing director and vice chairperson of Africa investor, said: “We are delighted to again host public and private sector leaders to advance strategic partnerships to boost growth and improve Africa’s agribusiness investment climate."

The summit will feature sessions on agricultural regional corridors, commodities, agroprocessing opportunities, innovation in farming, and an investors’ clinic, among others.

The Ai Agribusiness CEO Investment Summit will coincide with the Ai Agribusiness Investment Awards, which recognise the crucial importance agribusiness investment plays in economic development on the continent.

The Ai Agribusiness Investment Awards will formally recognise achievements across the main agribusiness and finance sectors in Africa, and will reward the organisations, companies and personalities driving transactions and improving the continent’s agribusiness investment climate.

Bill Gates has recently challenged developed countries, agribusiness funds and donors to unite and accelerate job creation and poverty reduction through agribusiness investment, while expanding agricultural production and improving food security, a stateemnt said.

He urged for increased government investment in African agricultural programs, particularly those designed to boost the viability of small farms in the world’s poorest nations, according to the statement. – TradeArabia News Service