Urban Agri World Summit to be Hosted in Durban, South Africa

DURBAN, South Africa - May 8, 2024 - PRLog -- The Urban Agri World Summit (UAW) returns to South Africa on September 18 to 20 at The Capital Zimbali Resort in Durban. Picking-up from last year's successful event and recognising the critical impact of urbanisation and climate change on food security, this 5th Edition of the international agriculture conference will bring together growers, producers, investors, academics, policy makers, technology and system integrators, and Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) business owners to discuss innovative approaches to farming.

Convened with the support and guidance of the KZN Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (DARD) and Enterprise iLembe (Economic Development Agency), along with the Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau (KZNCB), this timely event is in response to growing international community recognition of the integral role of urban agriculture in improving the economy, environment, and health of cities.

In Africa, about 282 million people (20% of the population) are facing food insecurity and are undernourished, more than double the share in any other region of the world. Food insecurity levels vary significantly across and within Africa's sub-regions (according to IFPRI's 2023 Global Food Policy Report).

At the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action, leaders from 134 countries had mobilized more than $2.5 billion to begin addressing agriculture-related climate issues including many initiatives towards agriculture related research. Countries are putting food systems transformation and livelihoods of small-scale farmers at the top of their agenda.

The theme for UAW 2024 is "Building Resilience and Food Security".

Given agriculture's integral role in the economy and the livelihoods of its people and with some 80% of agricultural land being held by smallholder farmers, this year's Summit will focus on key topics including:

• Creating Smart and Eco-Friendly Ways to Grow Food in the City; Teaching Farmers Modern Farming Skills
• New Technologies and Green Infrastructure for Growing Food in Cities
• Productive Methodologies for Small-Scale Farming Including Small-Scale Technologies and Retail Markets for Small Agri
• Challenges for Township and Food Systems
• Peri-Urban Production and the Urban-Rural Interface, and many others...

Industry Associations participating at UAW 2024 include the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) – the global non-profit organization championing vertical farming as a necessary solution to the global food production – along with the African Association for Vertical Farming (AAVF) and the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), amongst others.

Maggie Tan, CEO of the conference-organizing company, Magenta Global (Singapore), said: "UAW 2024 is specifically hosted in Africa to provide the impetus for African governments and the private sector to drive agricultural transformation in accelerating the transition to a climate-smart food system, and for smart farming projects to help boost food security."

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