NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 30— Global agricultural leaders, policymakers, scientists, agripreneurs, and farmers have converged in Nairobi for DialogueNEXT in Africa, a high-level summit aimed at accelerating agricultural innovation and strengthening food systems as the continent faces mounting climate pressures and rapid population growth.Hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation, the conference brings together stakeholders from across Africa and around the world to explore how technology, policy reforms and investment can transform agriculture and position the continent to feed a population projected to account for more than one in every four people globally by 2050.Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Mutahi Kagwe, and Madagascar’s Minister of Livestock, Dr. Riana Nantenaina Randrianomenjanahary, are among senior government officials leading discussions at the event.Held under the theme “Born to Feed the Future,” the conference highlights Africa’s growing role as a driver of agricultural innovation, with a focus on home-grown solutions developed by farmers, scientists, entrepreneurs and regional institutions.Delegates are examining key issues including regulatory reforms, farmer-centred innovations, boosting smallholder productivity, nutrition, resilient food systems and strengthening agricultural value chains.A high-level ministerial panel is expected to deliberate on regulatory barriers limiting agricultural investment and innovation, while dedicated sessions will showcase African agripreneurs pioneering new technologies and business models across the continent.The Nairobi gathering marks the third stop in the World Food Prize Foundation’s DialogueNEXT series after Mexico in 2024 and India in 2025, tracing the legacy of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Green Revolution pioneer Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, who described Africa as “the last frontier” in the global fight against hunger.World Food Prize Foundation President Mashal Husain said hosting the event in Africa carries special significance, coming four decades after Dr. Borlaug’s first major visit to the continent in 1984.“It is an honor to hold this conference in Africa, four decades after Dr. Borlaug made his first major visit to the continent,” Husain said.“Borlaug came with a simple but powerful conviction: that science in the hands of farmers could defeat hunger. That mission is unfinished and more urgent than ever as Africa’s food systems must feed a young, growing and increasingly urban population.”Organizers say the summit comes at a pivotal moment as climate change increasingly threatens food production across Africa.According to projections shared during the conference, crop yields across sub-Saharan Africa could decline by around 10 percent with 2°C of global warming, while higher temperature increases could push production losses to as much as 20 percent.The discussions also coincide with forecasts of a strong El Niño event expected to persist into the southern hemisphere summer, raising concerns over weather-related disruptions to agricultural production and food security.Former African Development Bank President and 2017 World Food Prize Laureate Akinwumi Adesina said Africa’s agricultural potential remains immense despite persistent underinvestment.“Hosting this conversation in Africa is not just symbolic, but necessary,” Adesina said.“This continent is home to some of the world’s most dynamic agricultural systems and most resilient farmers, yet it remains chronically underinvested in. The challenges—climate shocks, fragile supply chains and growing populations—are real, but so are the solutions, which are increasingly being developed by African scientists, farmers and entrepreneurs.”He added that the outcomes of the Nairobi discussions would help shape the global agenda on food security ahead of the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue scheduled for October 20–22, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa.Organizers say the summit is intended to catalyse stronger partnerships, greater investment and policy reforms that will enable Africa to build resilient food systems capable of feeding its fast-growing population while adapting to climate change.