UN: Morocco Highlights Women’s Role in Transforming Food Systems in Africa
United Nations (New York) - On Tuesday, at UN Headquarters in New York, Morocco organized a high-level event titled "Women at the Heart of Food Security Transformation in Africa," held on the sidelines of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (March 9–19).
Chaired over by Omar Hilale, Morocco’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, this side event brought together ambassadors from Member States, several senior UN officials, representatives of international organizations, and institutional partners. Its objective was to examine ways to strengthen women’s economic empowerment and their contribution to the continent’s agricultural development.
Notable participants in the event included Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of the 2026 session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women and UN Under-Secretary-General.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Hilale acknowledged the challenges currently facing Africa. However, he highlighted the transformative potential of the African agricultural sector, emphasizing that this transformation can be fully realized through the promotion of local processing, sustainable and affordable access to fertilizers, the development of resilient value chains, and the strengthening of regional markets.
Furthermore, he underscored the importance of supporting the continent’s vital forces, particularly African women, who play a central role in the production, processing, and resilience of African food systems.
The Ambassador also underlined that, in line with the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI for the development of Africa, Morocco has made food security a strategic priority within the framework of its South-South and triangular cooperation policies.
This cooperation is rooted in concrete, innovative, and collaborative initiatives and projects- bringing together public institutions, the private sector, and international organizations- aimed at unlocking the African continent’s agricultural potential, he asserted.
The OCP Group also participated in this high-level meeting through its subsidiary, OCP Africa, represented by its CEO, Hajar Alafifi. The subsidiary’s programs are currently being implemented in over 40 African countries, benefiting more than four million smallholder farmers across the continent.
Speaking at the event, Alafifi noted that the OCP Group- drawing on over a century of expertise and a presence across five continents – ranks among the global leaders in phosphates and phosphate-based plant nutrition solutions.
Its purpose- “Bringing Phosphorus to Life”- reflects both the commitment to ensuring access to this element, which is indispensable for global food security, and the determination to fully leverage the potential of Moroccan phosphate, she pointed out.
This commitment- spanning both the national and global levels- illustrates the OCP Group’s resolve to harness phosphorus in the service of farmers and communities, thereby contributing to feeding a growing global population by providing crops with the essential nutrients they require, she concluded.
As an African group, OCP supports farmers across the continent in improving their yields while promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Its vision aims to contribute to transforming the African agricultural landscape, bolstering global food security, and fostering sustainable development.
Through the work of its subsidiary, OCP Africa, the OCP Group develops innovative and tailored soil and plant nutrition solutions, while collaborating closely with farmers, African governments, and international financial institutions, mainly the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), as well as with the private sector, in order to build local production capacities for accessible and affordable plant nutrition solutions.
Discussions during this high-level event also highlighted the strategic role of agriculture in the future of the African continent, against a backdrop marked by the challenges of climate change, soil degradation, and food security.
In this context, speakers emphasized that women play a central role in African food systems, producing up to 70% of the food consumed on the continent, yet they continue to face structural barriers- particularly regarding access to land, finance, inputs, and markets. Participants underscored the need to promote supportive public policies and to boost investment.
The speakers further emphasized the need to promote supportive public policies, boost investment in sustainable agriculture, and foster partnerships among international institutions, governments, and the private sector in order to accelerate the continent’s agricultural transformation.
The initiatives presented during this meeting likewise highlighted the importance of training, scientific innovation, and South-South cooperation to support African women farmers, enhance agricultural productivity, and strengthen the resilience of food systems.
Finally, participants called for intensified collective efforts to remove the barriers hindering the economic empowerment of women in agriculture, asserting that their full participation serves as a crucial lever for accelerating sustainable development and food security in Africa.
The meeting also featured the participation and remarks by Angélica Jácome, Director of the Liaison Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); and Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, Special Representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to the UN and Director of the ILO Office in New York.
Dima Al-Khatib, Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC); Jean-Paul Adam, Director of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA); and Maria Dimitriadou, Special Representative of the World Bank to the United Nations also participated in the event.
Editorial team/le7tv
