Africa’s drive for food security is threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which could set back fragile gains in agricultural efficiency, market integration and climate-resilient innovation. And Africa’s struggle to feed itself will also have an impact on global supplies. Hear from Esther Ngumbi, a Kenyan food security expert and Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Cedric Habiyaremye, a Rwandan crop scientist and Research Associate at Washington State University about how COVID-19 is playing out in Africa’s agricultural sector. The conversation is moderated by Dan Glickman, former US Secretary of Agriculture.
Speakers
Cedric Habiyaremye
Rwandan Crop Scientist and Research Associate at Washington State University
Dr. Habiyaremye is a Research Associate at Washington State University, Founder & CEO of QuinoaHub Ltd, and Co-Founder of FarmWella SPC. He serves as a Rwanda Research Lead at Food Systems for the Future, and a New Voices Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He is the Vice-Chair of Building Bridges with Rwanda. Previously, Cedric served as the youngest member of the Global Agriculture Task Force of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and has contributed as a co-author of the Global Food Security Report 2019.He won the 2018 World Hunger Leadership Award for his major contributions in agricultural development in the fight against hunger.
Dr. Esther Ngumbi
Kenyan food security expert and Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Esther Ngumbi is an author, researcher, educator, mentor, speaker and a champion for change around the issues of hunger, gender, education, youth activism, agriculture, sustainability, and public service. She works as an Assistant Professor, Entomology and African-American Department, at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She is the founder of organizations that empower farmers and youth in Kenya, and she’s served as a mentor for entities like the Clinton Global University Initiative and President Obama’s Young Leadership Program.