Registration: In-person Registration　Online Registration

As part of the follow-up to TICAD9, AFRICONVERSE brings a renewed focus to agriculture as a business-driven, youth-powered sector—linking Africa–Japan cooperation with Japan’s own priorities of agricultural transformation, rural revitalization, and workforce sustainability. By convening youth, private-sector leaders, and policymakers, the event aims to unlock new pathways for collaboration, expand Japanese business engagement in African agricultural markets, and translate TICAD9 commitments into concrete partnerships.

This first AFRICONVERSE of the year builds on key outcomes from TICAD9, held in Yokohama in August 2025, where agriculture, value chain upgrading, and private-sector–led growth were reaffirmed as central pillars of Africa–Japan cooperation, with youth recognized as critical agents of transformation.

In Africa, agriculture remains the backbone of food systems and local economies, yet continues to face structural challenges, including stagnant productivity, fragile value chains, climate vulnerability, and limited market access. At the same time, youth unemployment and economic marginalization underscore the urgency of positioning agriculture as a viable and attractive sector for the next generation.

Japan faces parallel dynamics. A declining and aging agricultural workforce, coupled with shrinking rural communities, has contributed to perceptions of agriculture as low-profit and lacking innovation. These shared challenges highlight the need in both regions to reposition agriculture through innovation, entrepreneurship, and stronger market orientation.

Against this backdrop, AFRICONVERSE will explore how insights from Africa’s evolving, market-driven agricultural ecosystems can inform Japan’s own restructuring efforts, while fostering a new narrative, one that sees agriculture not as an aid-dependent sector, but as a dynamic industry shaped by youth innovation and Africa–Japan co-creation.

Event Overview

• Date & Time: 30 March 2026 (Mon) 17:30–19:00 (JST) / 11:30–13:00 (EAT)

• Co-organizers: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

• Format: Hybrid
  In-person Venue: Toranomon Hills Glass Rock B1F Members Lounge

　　       Address: Glass Rock, 1-22-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001

　　       Map: https://www.glass-rock.com/access.html

      Online Platform: Zoom
     *Zoom links will be sent to online participants by the day before the event.

• Participation Fee: Free

• Languages: Japanese / English / French (Simultaneous interpretation available)

• Registration: In-person Registration　Online Registration

Programme

17:30 ～ 17:33　Opening Remarks

17:33 ～ 17:38　Congratulatory Remarks

17:38 ～ 17:55　From Policy Proposal to Field Innovation: Youth Voices from The Gambia and Japan

17:55 ～ 18:55　Panel Discussion: “Agriculture as a Growth Sector”

18:55 ～ 19:00　Closing Remarks

Speakers

1st Session

• Miki Yamamoto, Gambia Exchange Visit Participant / Japanese TICAD Youth Action Plan Participant

• Ludimilda Dasylva, CEO, Aleel Mak / Gambian Youth Agri-Innovation Challenge Winner  (online participation)

2nd Session

• Jiro Aikawa, Senior Advisor for Agriculture and Rural Development, JICA

• Susumu Tsubaki, Director, OS Trading & Investments Ptg. Ltd. (OSTI)/ Founder & Representative Director, AAIC Holdings Pte.Ltd.

• Adesanya Oluwatoyin Fatimoh, Chief Research Officer, National Cereals Research Institute Badeggi Nigeria

• Kumba Daffeh Kah, President, Tresor Women Warriors (online participation)

Moderator: 

• Chika Kondoh, TICAD Partnership Specialist, UNDP

What is AFRI CONVERSE:

AFRI CONVERSE is a dialogue series launched by UNDP in 2018 as a TICAD-related open seminar. Since 2020, it has been quarterly co-organized by UNDP and JICA to disseminate information on Africa’s development challenges and the responses of Japan, co-organizers, and other partners to audiences across Japan and Africa. In 2025, sessions were organized in conjunction with TICAD9, with events held at Hiroshima University, Osaka–Kansai Expo, TICAD9, and the United Nations University. AFRI CONVERSE will continue in 2026, providing an open platform for dialogue on Africa’s development, with broad participation expected from Africa and Japan.

Contact: 

• Ryohei Tanaka, Planning and TICAD Process Division, Africa Department, JICA Tanaka.Ryohei@jica.go.jp

• Chika Kondoh, TICAD Partnership Specialist, Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP chika.kondoh@undp.org