The Aspen Institute

The challenges facing African agriculture are more urgent than ever. Growing populations and wealth are increasing global demand for food, causing price spikes and increasing the volatility of commodity markets. Resources are diminishing, soils are being depleted, and climate change is touching off fierce competition for water and land. But the shifting fundamentals of global agriculture and food security may also present great opportunities for some of the world’s poorest people and regions. Africa is the last great agricultural frontier, home to 50 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land. With new thinking and innovative strategies, Africa can develop a market-oriented, integrated, sustainable, and competitive agriculture and food economy capable of generating agricultural surpluses and selling them to support broader economic growth—a genuine food economy. Private sector engagement will be critical to such an appro ach, helping increase agricultural production and facilitating trade.

Please join us for a closed-door, high-level discussion to explore innovative strategies for agricultural development with His Excellency John Mahama, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, and key business and thought leaders engaged with the future of African agriculture. The discussion will focus on new and innovative strategies to foster economic development through agricultural production in Ghana. It will also touch on innovative financing models, value-addition successes and other models that are moving Ghanaian farmers from subsistence to commercial farming and bolstering African content in global supply chains. His Excellency John Mahama wants to hear directly from a small group of experts and corporate leaders on how to build on the progress made by companies in this sector and the challenges and opportunities that remain.