Manila, Philippines

HortiFlora Expo 2026 will take place from 24 to 26 March 2026 at the Addis International Convention Center in Addis Ababa, bringing global attention to Ethiopia’s growing influence in the horticulture and floriculture industries.

The event aims to highlight the country’s role as a vibrant centre for horticulture in Africa, while welcoming growers, exporters, buyers and agribusiness professionals from across the world.

The expo is organised by HPP Exhibitions in partnership with the Ethiopian Horticulture Producers Exporters Association (EHPEA). This year’s edition reflects a broader vision for the sector, presenting not only flowers but also fruits, vegetables, seeds and a range of modern agricultural technologies. By widening its focus, the event seeks to mirror the expanding capabilities of Ethiopia’s agricultural landscape and the increasing diversity of its export products.

HortiFlora has long attracted strong international participation, and the 2026 edition is expected to continue that tradition. Industry representatives from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and across Africa will gather in Addis Ababa to explore trade opportunities and strengthen partnerships. The expo will provide an active meeting point for businesses through organised buyer and seller discussions, networking events and market exploration activities. A strong emphasis will be placed on product quality, traceability and dependable supply chains, factors that are becoming essential for global buyers.

Another important development is the event’s expanded scope and renewed annual rhythm. While floriculture remains a core strength of Ethiopia’s export sector, the inclusion of fruits and vegetables reflects the country’s increasing production and market reach in fresh produce. This shift signals a new phase for the expo as it supports economic growth and employment within the agricultural sector.

Ethiopia’s favourable climate and continuing investment in infrastructure have played a key role in the rapid progress of its horticulture industry. As the nation broadens its export portfolio, HortiFlora Expo 2026 stands as an important platform for international cooperation, knowledge exchange and the future development of sustainable horticulture.

South Africa has stepped up its response to Foot and mouth disease with the arrival of one million high potency vaccines at OR Tambo International Airport.

The shipment was received under the supervision of John Steenhuisen, Agriculture Minister marking a significant boost to the national vaccination drive already under way in affected regions.

The vaccines were supplied by Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina and form part of a broader supply programme. Further consignments are expected in the coming weeks from BVI in Botswana and Dollvet in Turkey. By the end of March, more than five million doses from these three international suppliers are set to arrive in the country.

At home, the Agricultural Research Council has committed to producing 20 000 vaccines per week, with plans to increase output to 200 000 per week in 2027. The expanded supply will allow authorities to move beyond targeted outbreak response and work towards wider suppression of the virus in high risk areas.

Steenhuisen said, “Vaccination has already begun in affected areas, but supply has limited the speed and coverage. With this arrival, we can now accelerate protection across priority provinces and stabilise the livestock sector.”

Outbreaks have been reported in every province, prompting quarantine measures, movement restrictions and ongoing surveillance. A risk based vaccination strategy will focus first on outbreak centres in KwaZulu Natal and parts of Gauteng, Free State and North West, before extending to other high risk and border regions.

The initial one million doses will be shared across all provinces, with KwaZulu Natal and Free State receiving the largest allocations. However, the minister warned that vaccines alone will not end the crisis.

“Quarantine rules, movement permits and biosecurity measures exist to protect every farmer in the country. Those who deliberately move animals illegally, conceal infections, or ignore restrictions threaten the recovery of the entire sector. Where there is wilful non compliance, we will work with law enforcement authorities and the full might of the law will be applied,” Steenhuisen added.

He will visit Mooi River in KwaZulu Natal on 27 February to vaccinate dairy cattle alongside veterinarians and farmers. “The dairy industry has been among the hardest hit with significant production losses, disrupted markets and immense strain on farming families. That visit marks the practical beginning of recovery at farm level. Each vaccinated herd means stability returning to a business, wages returning to workers and milk returning to shelves.”

“We are moving step by step from crisis management to control,” Minister Steenhuisen concluded. “Vaccines are arriving, the system is scaling up, and compliance will be enforced. Working together, we will stabilise the sector and rebuild confidence in South Africa’s animal health system.”

Across the drylands of Africa, millions of smallholder farmers grow food in some of the most punishing conditions on earth.

Erratic rainfall, punishing heat and increasingly unpredictable growing seasons make every harvest a gamble. Now, two of the world's leading agricultural research institutions are joining forces to change that.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia have formalised a strategic partnership aimed at bringing the latest predictive breeding technologies directly into crop improvement programmes serving dryland farming communities. A Memorandum of Understanding signed between ICRISAT and UQ's ARC Training Centre in Predictive Breeding for Agricultural Futures sets the foundation for what could be a transformative shift in how new crop varieties are developed for the world's most food-insecure regions.

At its core, the collaboration is about speed and precision. Traditional crop breeding is a long game, often taking well over a decade to move from a promising genetic combination to a variety that farmers can actually grow. Predictive breeding collapses that timeline by using genomic data to identify which plants are most likely to thrive before they are ever put in the ground. For communities already feeling the weight of climate change, that difference can be measured in meals.

 Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICRISAT, said,"Dryland agriculture is on the frontline of climate change. Farmers in these regions cannot wait decades for improved crop varieties. Predictive breeding allows us to anticipate which genetic combinations will perform best before they are even field-tested. Through collaboration with one of the world's leading centres for predictive breeding at the University of Queensland, we are accelerating the delivery of climate-resilient crops that farmers urgently need to sustain productivity, nutrition, and livelihoods." 

ICRISAT already has strong foundations to build on. The institute has contributed to the release of over 1,200 improved crop varieties across more than 40 countries, and has been rolling out rapid breeding cycle protocols for crops including chickpea, pigeonpea and finger millet. The new partnership is expected to further sharpen those efforts, with genomic prediction woven into existing pipelines to deliver varieties capable of achieving yield gains of 20 to 25 per cent under drought and heat stress.

"This partnership is a fantastic opportunity to put cutting-edge predictive breeding tools into the hands of ICRISAT's breeders. Beyond the technology itself, building local capacity to implement and adapt these approaches is critical and will help ensure long-term impact for farmers across India and Africa," said Professor Lee Hickey, Director of the ARC Training Centre.

The collaboration will be coordinated by Dr Janila Pasupuleti, who will lead the development of a transition strategy to embed rapid-cycle genomic prediction across ICRISAT's breeding programmes. For farming communities across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, it represents something simple but profound: better seeds, sooner.

Africa has taken a major step towards closing its long standing agricultural mechanization gap as leaders, experts and development partners gathered in Dar es Salaam for the Africa Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization.

The event opened with the launch of Tanzania’s National Agricultural Mechanization Strategy 2026 to 2036, signalling a renewed continent wide push to modernise farming systems.

The strategy was unveiled by the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mwigulu L. Nchemba, alongside FAO Deputy Director General Beth Bechdol. The conference is organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and hosted by the Tanzanian government, bringing together governments, private sector players, researchers, youth groups and farmers to share ideas and scale up solutions that work for Africa.

Opening the conference, Prime Minister Nchemba stressed that mechanization is no longer optional for the continent. “Through action, we can change Africa’s agriculture to be a mechanized sector that is sustainable, for this generation and future generations.” He noted that the new ten year plan aligns with the FAO African Union Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa and places women and young people at the centre of transformation.

FAO Deputy Director General Beth Bechdol said past approaches had failed because they focused on importing machinery without building the systems needed to support it. “Mechanization today cannot look like mechanization of the past. Shipping in large machines without financing, training, repair services, or local adaptation has not delivered lasting results. Africa does not need more equipment sitting idle. It needs systems that work,” she said. She added, “At FAO we see sustainable mechanization as a catalyst for transformation not as machines replacing people, but tools empowering people, reducing back breaking labour and creating space for women to farm more productively.”

African Union Commissioner Moses Vilakati highlighted the human dimension of the agenda, saying, “Our mechanization agenda is also a dignity agenda.”

Africa still relies heavily on manual and animal labour despite holding around half of the world’s uncultivated arable land. Crop yields remain well below global averages, even though agriculture supports the majority of livelihoods. Sustainable mechanization is seen as key to boosting productivity, creating skilled jobs and supporting climate smart farming.

FAO Regional Representative Abebe Haile Gabriel said, “Choosing a new direction that embraces mechanization, digitalization, scientific innovation and inclusive policies can fundamentally transform Africa’s agrifood landscape.”

The conference will also spotlight youth employment, digital tools such as machinery hire platforms and drones, and innovative financing, as FAO reaffirms its commitment to support African countries in building a modern and resilient agricultural future.