Adesina to deliver keynote address at agric summit

Sterling Bank Plc has said Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), will deliver the keynote address at the Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) 2020 holding between September 23rd and 24th.

ASA, an annual event organised by the bank since 2018, is one of the continent’s leading, privately-funded platforms dedicated to increasing the value of the agribusiness value chain. It creates a convergence of private and public sector interests, development finance institutions, agribusiness investors, and players every year. The theme of this year’s Summit is, ‘Fast Forward Agriculture: Exploiting the Next Revolution.’

In respect of the government’s directives on public gathering, this year’s summit is a hybrid event, with participants expected to participate online while a few selected guests will be in Lagos and Abuja studios.

In a statement issued by the bank in Lagos yesterday, Yemi Odubiyi, Sterling Bank’s Executive Director of Corporate and Investment Banking, said several notable dignitaries are expected to deliver goodwill messages at the summit. They include Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; Prof. Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River State; his Kebbi counterpart, Senator Atiku Bagudu; and His Royal Majesty, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, the Oniru of Iru Kingdom.

Dr. Kwasi Attah-Krah, Director, Advocacy and Country Alignment Function (ACAF), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Director General’s Office, is expected to deliver another keynote address on the theme of the summit on the second day.

Odubiyi said Sieleka Gatabaki of Mercy Corps will be the moderator and lead discussant of the first technical session with the sub-theme: ‘Role of Data and Technology in Agriculture.’

Other discussants are Dr Lavar Kumar from IITA; Nneke Eze, Partner Daiberg; Ayodeji Balogun, Managing Director of AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited, and Dr. Michael Famoroti from Stears Data & Analytics.

He said the second technical session with the sub-theme: ‘Role of Financial Intermediation in Agriculture’ would be moderated by Femi Ogunjimi, Partner at CardinalStone Capital Advisers. The panel of discussants include Dr. Martins Fregene, Director, Agriculture and Agro-Industry, AFDB; Bukola Awosanya, Group Head, Agric Finance and Solid Minerals with Sterling Bank, and Garba Mohammed, Group Head for Sterling Alternative Finance and CBN’s Director of Development Finance, Yila Yusuf.