YPARD - Young Professionals' Platform for Agricultural Research for Development

In 2010 African countries spent more than 12.5 billion US$ to import of 32 million tons of wheat.

Demand for wheat in Africa is growing faster than for any other food crop. This will be a major challenge particularly in cities, where urban population growth is forecasted to increase by 300% by 2050.

Several countries could achieve wheat yields exceeding 6 t/ha (compared to global average of
3t/ha). But many challenges prevent countries from realizing this potential.

The Wheat for Food Security in Africa Symposium will highlight five main themes in its examination of future of wheat in Africa:

• Africa’s food security and the changing demandfor wheat over next decades
• Biological yield potential in various eco-regions of Africa
• Major biotic and abiotic constraints of wheat production in Africa, particularly related to climate change
• Potential for profitable wheat production in Africa
• Major constraints (policy, institutional issues, infrastructure - road and market access etc.) to wheat production in Africa