DAKAR, Senegal – At the high-profile Africa Food Systems Forum 2025 (AGRF), held in Dakar from August 31 to September 5, a clear message echoed through the conference halls: the future of Africa’s food security rests on the shoulders of its youth.
Presidents Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal and Paul Kagame of Rwanda addressed over 6,000 delegates, rallying them to empower the next generation of farmers, entrepreneurs, and innovators. The leaders emphasized that harnessing the potential of young people is critical to ending the continent’s heavy reliance on $70 billion in annual food imports and reducing massive post-harvest losses estimated between 30-40%.
The urgent call to action is centered on achieving self-reliance and food sovereignty by 2030, a goal that requires confronting persistent challenges like climate change, underinvestment, and a lack of financing for smallholders and agri-businesses.
A key moment of the forum was a dedicated Youth Town Hall, where President Kagame delivered a direct and powerful charge to young Africans. His comments, later shared widely by the Rwandan presidency on social media platform X, struck a balance between support and responsibility.
“We have to focus on young people who constitute the largest portion of our population, through education, through financing, through different partnerships so that all these young minds with their innovation and ideas in terms of entrepreneurship can thrive,” Kagame stated, outlining the necessary support systems.
He quickly followed with a challenge, instilling a sense of duty: “But there must be an obligation they feel also as young people. There is no sitting back and waiting until there is a problem and you expect that somebody is going to come and help.”
In a closing piece of advice that resonated deeply with the audience, President Kagame urged resilience and purpose: “Young people, my simple message to you is: let’s not run away from problems. Because even where you run to, you will find problems, may be even more problems… But alongside that, find a purpose, know there are going to be problems, try and fail but don’t fail to try.”
The forum concluded with a strong consensus on the need for transformative partnerships and targeted investments to equip African youth with the tools to build a resilient, self-sufficient, and prosperous food system for the continent.
