It has become a tradition during the last session of Africa’s Green Economy Summit, for John Roome, former World Bank sustainability guru, to reflect on the key takeaways and inspiring insights of the event. And on Thursday afternoon, he did not shy away from sharing some good news, concerns and advice.
“The good news is you have a lot of good ideas. The bad news is you have a lot of good ideas and had a lot to say,” said Roome.
There is agreement that the blue and green economies present opportunities and that finance is key. And this was also a concern, as he believes that there was perhaps too much agreement in many of the discussions. “Can we not be using this time to drill down more on the tough issues?”
“Great optimism, but let’s not kid ourselves,” he continued, “there are also global and international headwinds. I’ve just come from Washington: we’ve got climate denial in the US and pushback on diversity and equity inclusion in some other countries, which is critical to deliver on this agenda. It is not just a Trump issue, but this has implications for what we do.”
Additionally, he warned about macroeconomic realities and pressures on governments around the world who face great political challenges and competition for resources. However, he urged attendees to stay the course: “We need to keep our commitment going forward, almost have a pathological optimism going forward and double down on quality.”
“The transition to a green economy is not merely an environmental necessity, but an economic imperative,” said Pinky Kekana, South Africa’s Deputy Minister for Public, Service and Administration at Thursday morning’s WomenIN Coffee Connect, kicking off AGES Day 2. The session focused on the pivotal role women play in driving green reforms across sectors, particularly in policy and regulatory frameworks.
The deputy minister added: “We must create an enabling environment in which women can thrive as innovators, investors and decision-makers in the green economy. For transformation to be truly effective, it must be inclusive. Thanks to WomenIN we are able to continue to engage, from Cape to Cairo.”
Earlier during the Thursday morning keynote session, Sanlam Investments CEO Carl Roothman reminded attendees that the current economic climate, which sees so many governments and businesses focus on climate change and green finance, presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Africa.
“I don’t think you will see in another 150 years the opportunity for access to the global capital and enthusiasm from the rest of the world, to invest in Africa” said Roothman. This enthusiasm, though, does create a responsibility for everyone in South Africa, he admonished. Read more.
The future prosperity of Cape Town and other cities across Africa has to be predicated on a commitment to continue to invest in the green economy and technology in order to drive job opportunities, resilience and sustainability.
This mantra underpins the City of Cape Town’s long-term vision for the city’s success and was highlighted by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis during his keynote address on Thursday.
He said that AGES, which had its third edition this year, had become an important feature of Cape Town’s event schedule. Read more.
“Irrespective of your profession or hobbies, we all need to eat.” With this statement the irrepressible MC for AGES Day 2, Gamuchirai Mutezo of Madam Waste and the African Circular Business Alliance (ACBA) introduced the new sustainable agriculture session at AGES, a session that proved most informative and entertaining at times. Africa has a rich agricultural history and relies on farming for sustenance and economic growth and has faced numerous challenges related to climate change, from devastating droughts to destructive floods to desertification. Unpredictable rainfall has led to food insecurity and water challenges. These events highlight the vulnerability of the continent’s agriculture systems and mankind’s dependency on agriculture for sustenance. However, some of the forward-thinking farmers in this session demonstrated climate-mitigating strategies that provide opportunities to do better business and transition to sustainable practices.
Angus McIntosh, better known as Farmer Angus, a regenerative carbon farmer near Cape Town is one of the first South African farmers to sell carbon credits from his farm.
What is regenerative farming? “Nature does not waste, waste is a human construct,” said Farmer Angus, while demonstrating how using chicken feathers as mulch increases the carbon in his soil. Rotationally grazing animals on the land also demonstrably increases the organic matter in their soil. Half of the net income of the carbon credits sold goes to the staff.
In response to an audience question about the viability of small-scale farming, Farmer Angus replied that the “potential of regenerative farming is enormous,” noting that the number of large-scale farmers in South Africa had dropped considerably. “Regenerative farming is stacking the odds in your favour,” he stated, adding that small- to medium-scale farmers have finance needs with regards to aspects like route to market.
During Thursday afternoon’s panel discussion on financing models for smallholder farmers, Roswitha Knol, Director of Operations at Rabobank in The Netherlands noted that smallholder farmers on the African continent have the ability to increase their yield four to five times by adopting more sustainable practices. “We want to encourage financial institutions to rethink their financial models” she said.
“The tilapia is really a very clever animal. It is such an efficient converter: it can convert 1.3 kg of vegetable feed into 1 kilo of fish,” declared Gerry McCollum, CEO of Chicoa Fish Farm in Lake Cahora Bassa in Mozambique. “We ran this farm for five years without electricity.” The company has similar operations in Zambia and Zimbabwe. “We can grow this fish at a net zero carbon emission and we can do it for scale.”
The feed conversion of tilapia compares very well to other sources of protein. Done correctly, farmed tilapia requires 25% less feed than the next best commercial scale livestock production process. In pure feed-to-protein conversion, tilapia is more efficient than chicken, and vastly more efficient than other proteins such as pork or beef. The carbon footprint comparison looks even better. In addition, said McCollum, “Tilapia is indigenous to Africa and does extremely well here.”
Africa's Green Economy Summit connects industry professionals and organisations to information and each other in a carefully curated live environment. Its purpose is to support in mobilising investments for green projects to scale up and industrialisation, which will have a significant impact on environmental sustainability and economic growth.
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