Back to the roots. Agriculture and food between old and new knowledge
Through the experiences of international and national guests, the round table will explore the theme of agricultural production and food sustainability today in Africa, the continent with the highest percentage of arable land on the entire planet, but which, even today, continues to import the majority of its food products from the West.
In Africa, however, youth entrepreneurship, combined with digital innovation and new educational tools, is promoting Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS)for an agriculture of the future that respects local culture and identity.
The objective of the round table is to stimulate a debate on the role of youth entrepreneurship and digital innovation in Africa in enhancing NUS and creating interest in an agriculture of the future that becomes a tool for enhancing local knowledge, combating poverty and food insecurity, and promoting micro-entrepreneurship.
Among the African participants are James Kung’u, Kenyan researcher and university professor, and John Kariuki, vice president of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. Moving towards West Africa, we also hear from Awa Caba, a young Senegalese entrepreneur who has created a digital start-up called Sooretul that enhances and sells online traditional products processed by Senegalese women and raises awareness among urban dwellers to consume local products.
A more global look at the issue will be addressed by Hervé Pillaud, a French writer and lecturer who has been working for decades in defense of farmers’ rights, and by Stefano Liberti, an Italian director, writer and journalist (the director is also present at the festival with his latest film Soyalism in the Extr’A competition). The round table will be moderated by Elisabetta Demartis, who is involved in the coordination of various projects and organizations in the field of youth entrepreneurship in agriculture and in raising awareness about the production and consumption of local products in Africa.
Following the panel discussion is a cocktail reception offered by the Edu Foundation and a screening of the film Thank You For the Rain by Julia Dahr (UK/Norway/Kenya, 2017 – 68′) about Kisilu Musya, a Kenyan farmer, who begins filming his family and village to expose the devastating impact of climate change on his land.
More information
Simona Barranca – s.barranca[at]coeweb.org – 026696258
Edu Foundation – www.fondazioneedu.org
Speakers
Hervé Pillaud, writer, founder of Digital Africa and member of the Conseil National du Numérique (France)
James B. Kung’u, Interim Executive Secretary of ANAFE – African Network for Agroforestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources Education, professor of agronomic sciences at Kenyatta University in Nairobi (Kenya)
John Kariuki, Vice-President of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity and member of the Slow Food International Council for Central and Eastern Africa (Kenya)
Awa Caba, Entrepreneur and CEO of Sooretul (Senegal)
Stefano Liberti, Journalist and documentary filmmaker (Italy)
Moderator
Elisabetta Demartis
Co-founder of Enjoy Agriculture and Yeesal Agri Hub and Dakar (Senegal)
Greetings
Alessandra Speciale
Co-artistic director of African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival
Matteo Stefanelli
Vice President Edu Foundation