Rwanda to Host African Conference on Agricultural Technologies (ACAT) 2025: Pioneering NextGen Solutions for Africa’s Farmers
The Government of Rwanda, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), on Friday, August 30th, 2024, officially launched the second edition of the African Conference on Agricultural Technology (ACAT) 2025 set to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from June 9–13, 2025, under the theme ‘NextGen Ag-Tech Solutions for Africa’s Farmers.’ Rwanda will be the second country, after Kenya, to host ACAT.
The Conference is an agriculture technology transfer platform that promotes innovative and practical solutions to catalyze more efficient, inclusive, and resilient agriculture in Africa. It will bring together government representatives, industry thought leaders, policymakers, technical experts, private institutions, farmers, women, and youth across the globe to discuss and define practical actions and solutions to the challenges of technology access and use faced in the agriculture sector in Africa.
During his speech, Dr. Alexandre RUTIKANGA, Chief Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), announced Rwanda’s co-hosting of ACAT 2025, aiming to discuss actionable solutions for the agricultural sector’s challenges, fostering change and growth in Africa.
He said, “The timing of the conference could not have come at a better time when the continent is struggling to feed its people and climate change is posing serious challenges to our collective prosperity, a challenge whose solution lies in innovation and technology.”
He highlighted Rwanda’s agricultural goals aligned with the Malabo Declaration (2014), focusing on improved food security and strengthening agricultural systems resilience under the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework.
He added that Rwanda is enhancing its agriculture technology sector with the launch of the Hanga Agritech Innovation Challenge Fund, a $2 million facility aimed at addressing food challenges and fostering innovation.
He said, “We believe that technology has a critical role in steering a vibrant, commercial, and modern agricultural sector that sustainably supports Rwanda’s development, its national aspirations for food security, and longer-term goals, including global CAADP and the SDG commitments.”
Despite the notable policy and many efforts to progress both on the continent and in Rwanda, Dr. Rutikanga highlighted the continent’s significant gaps in science, technology, and innovation (STI) development, emphasizing the need to prioritize technology in development policy.
He predicts ACAT will accelerate discussions on innovative agricultural technologies, producing a report to support the African Union Commission Summit on biotechnology and scientific innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the impact of these technologies on the continent.
Dr. Canisius KANANGIRE, Executive Director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), revealed that ACAT will highlight the centrality of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) in promoting agricultural transformation and addressing challenges faced by African farmers.
He said, “While technology development has steadily grown, with new advancements introduced through research and partnerships, there has been little diffusion of actual products to their intended beneficiaries, especially farmers, entrepreneurs, and consumers. This is largely due to persistent bottlenecks that lead to low return on the large investment in agricultural technology research and development, preventing these products from reaching the market and achieving their intended impact.”
He stated that ACAT will continue to offer a platform for stakeholders aiming to enhance the continent’s socio-economic development and food and nutrition security through innovative agricultural technologies.
He said, “AATF has been at the forefront of facilitating access, development, and commercialization of agricultural technologies and this conference will help to put a spotlight on the numerous game-changing innovations that have been developed and highlight opportunities to address the multiple stressors facing the sector due to population growth, climate change, and other factors.”
He added that ACAT will offer a unique platform to discuss barriers to technology transfer and propose strategies for transforming existing technologies into super Next Generation ones.
For the last 20 years, AATF has led and coordinated public-private partnerships to improve access to agricultural technologies, addressing production challenges, boosting productivity, and enhancing the continent’s economies and community well-being.
Dr. Kanangire reported that the inaugural ACAT in Nairobi last year aimed to increase support for wider technology adoption by focusing on STI-focused discussions.
ACAT 2025 aims to advance agricultural technology through inclusive discussions, scientific research, and innovative ideas, fostering transformation in Africa through game-changing technologies and policies.
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