Africa Climate Summit: Rigathi Gachagua Advocates For Increased Investment In Smart Agriculture

• Rigathi Gachagua represented President William Ruto at the 8th Season of the Awards of African Technical Challenge in Nairobi
• Gachagua said through the Africa Climate Summit, the world will have a glimpse of a bold new African vision for global transformation
• The DP, who spoke at a Nairobi hotel, said that the Africa Climate Summit will unveil a new Africa with a new voice

Nairobi - As Kenya warms up to hosting the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) next week, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua observed there is a need for the continent to urgently come up with innovations that address the negative impacts of climate change.

According to Gachagua, these innovations must be integrated into various sectors of development.

"For instance, sustainable food systems must be founded on technology-based climate-smart agriculture, which promotes and protects the environment," said Gachagua.

What will the Africa Climate Summit offer Africa

Ahead of the Summit to be hosted by President William Ruto, Gachagua said that through the event, the world will have a glimpse of a bold new African vision for global transformation.

"Our continents will gather to project a fresh African position that will form a platform for a just transition into a global net zero, environmentally sustainable shared prosperity. Decarbonised to meet the needs of all humanity and a clean industrial revolution," Gachagua explained.

The second in command said that the Africa Climate Summit will unveil a new Africa with a new voice.

"An Africa with abundance and opportunity, a continent endowed with all the needed resources to power green prosperity, and a single market of over a billion people under the Africa Free Trade Area. A young Africa that is growing younger every decade and an Africa that is ready to step up and take its rightful place as the driver of the next phase of global economic transformation."

The DP spoke at a Nairobi hotel on the evening of Thursday, August 31, when he represented President Ruto at the 8th Season of the Awards of African Technical Challenge in Nairobi.

How is Ruto's gov't empowering the youth

During the event, the DP had an opportunity to interact with the youth who were recognised for exemplary innovations.

"The Ruto administration will continue investing and working with stakeholders in the education system to improve the quality of the skills offered at TVETs to support the delivery of the Pillars of the Kenya Kwanza Plan of transforming the country," said Gachagua while congratulating the award winners.

TUKO.co.ke understands that the closing ceremony and awarding ceremony of Africa Tech Challenge (ATC) Season VIII 2023 was organised by AVIC International Holding Corporation (AVIC INTL) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Kenya and China Education Association for International Exchange.

Why was the Africa Tech Challenge launched

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that the programme was launched in Kenya amid the quest to enhance the technical and entrepreneurial skills of the continent’s youth.

On Monday, August 28, over 70 youth from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe who participated in the month-long exercise to boost their competence in applying construction-related technologies graduated in different disciplines.

Themed “Role of engineering in driving industrialisation in Africa,” this year’s edition of the ATC exposed contestants to cutting-edge construction technologies like computer-aided design and lathe machines.

Winners of the technology contest hosted by the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) received cash prizes, certificates of recognition, and fully funded scholarships to study in prestigious Chinese universities.