MANAGING DIRECTOR ATTENDS THE FUTURE OF FOOD CONFERENCE 2018

19th -20th November, 2018. Mr. Lucas Meso, MBS was among the panelist at the inaugural food security and nutrition conference that took place at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi. The event was co-hosted by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and the Ministry of Agriculture. The aim of the conference was to have an insightful and forward looking discussion about the Big Four’s agenda on Food and Nutrition Security focusing on farm inputs and skills, production and market access as well as to identify investment prospects and what needs to be done to build a dynamic economy. The outcomes of the conference would then provide recommendations to be adopted by both Government and the Private Sector. Themed Stimulating agricultural productivity in order to boost food & nutrition security, the conference enabled stakeholders drawn from across seven Africa countries to exchange and share their experiences, present research results, explore collaborations, and to spark new ideas, with the aim of developing new projects and exploiting new technology for food security. A total of seven panel discussions were held which tackled various topics including; Deep dive session into Government Strategy; Getting the right inputs and skills for the farm; Value addition & postharvest loss management; Bio-technology and Farm of the Future; Financing and economic returns of small and large scale farmers; Women, youth enterprises in corporate supply chains as drivers of agriculture-led industrialization in Africa; Markets integration During panel discussions on Financing and Economic Returns of Small and Large scale farmers Mr. Meso observed the need for farmers to adopt simple technologies for processing at farm level to stem post-harvest losses. While noting the exclusion of women and youth in agrifinancing Meso elaborated actions taken by the Corporation to solve the financial exclusion issue. Mr. Meso also advised farmers to be driven by passion and to practice agriculture as a business. The forum brought together business leaders in the private sector, economists, government officials, academics and other opinion makers in a lively mix of keynotes, panel discussions, interviews, and research result presentations. Over 30 speakers from over 12 countries and 160 participants attended the conference.