Author: AGRF Digital

Partout au Sénégal, les femmes représentent 70 % de la main-d’œuvre agricole et produisent 80 % de l’alimentation du pays. Pourtant, elles continuent de faire face à de nombreux obstacles pour accéder à la terre, à l’éducation et au financement. À l’échelle mondiale, le potentiel est tout aussi frappant : selon la FAO, si les femmes avaient le même accès aux ressources que les hommes, elles pourraient augmenter les rendements agricoles de 20 à 30 %, réduisant ainsi la faim dans le monde jusqu’à 17 %.

Dans notre dernier blog, Heifer International, une organisation mondiale à but non lucratif qui œuvre pour mettre fin à la faim et à la pauvreté en soutenant les petits exploitants agricoles grâce à des formations, des outils et un meilleur accès aux marchés, raconte l’histoire d’Anta, une jeune Sénégalaise qui transforme l’agriculture avec courage, innovation et une vision audacieuse de l’avenir.

Nous explorerons comment repenser nos systèmes alimentaires pour les rendre plus inclusifs envers les femmes et les jeunes lors du Sommet 2025 du Africa Food Systems Forum.

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Le soleil de midi tape sur le champ d’Anta Sarr à Ngounjane, dans la paisible région de Thiès au Sénégal, mais elle reste impassible, une aubergine fraîchement cueillie à la main – symbole de résilience, d’innovation et d’espoir. À seulement 23 ans, Anta représente une nouvelle génération d’entrepreneurs agricoles qui remettent en question tout ce que sa communauté pensait savoir sur l’agriculture et le potentiel des femmes.

Nous avançons parce que nous avons des compétences, de la passion et la conviction de notre potentiel, dit-elle, ses yeux balayant les rangées verdoyantes de légumes. C’est bien loin du chemin que choisissent la plupart des jeunes de sa région – nombreux sont ceux qui partent, considérant l’agriculture comme une profession sans avenir. Mais Anta et ses quatre compagnes agricultrices voient autre chose : une révolution en devenir.

Leur parcours a commencé avec 21 jeunes agriculteurs – garçons et filles, animés par le rêve de transformer leur vie. Progressivement, le groupe s’est réduit. Les garçons sont partis, découragés par les défis. Mais les femmes sont restées, formant une association qu’elles ont nommée TAKKU LIGUÈYE – travailler ensemble pour construire la communauté.

Issues de familles vulnérables, Anta et ses collègues – Fatou et Nogaye – ont refusé d’être définies par leurs circonstances. Après une formation initiale à Dakar, leur directeur de formation leur a prêté un champ de deux hectares – une planche de salut qui allait devenir leur toile de transformation.

L’agriculture sans modernisation est une agriculture sans profit, déclare Anta avec passion. Cette philosophie les a amenées à adopter des technologies que beaucoup dans leur communauté considèrent avec scepticisme. Un système d’irrigation goutte à goutte alimenté par énergie solaire arrose désormais leurs cultures – un petit miracle dans une région où le travail manuel a toujours été la seule option.

Ce bond technologique n’était pas seulement une question d’efficacité. Pour ces jeunes femmes, c’était aussi une question de dignité. C’est trop difficile de manipuler des arrosoirs manuels, explique Anta. Ces méthodes sont archaïques. Nous voulons montrer que l’agriculture peut être intelligente, rentable et émancipatrice.

Leur champ raconte une histoire d’innovation. Des aubergines de différentes tailles pendent aux plantes verdoyantes, témoignage de leur savoir-faire et de leur détermination. Elles ont cultivé non seulement des légumes, mais aussi une vision de ce qui est possible quand on donne aux jeunes femmes des ressources et du soutien.

Heifer International et la coopérative ARLS sont devenus des partenaires essentiels de leur parcours. À travers leur projet de Services Climatiques pour une Résilience et une Productivité Améliorées (CSRP), ils ont fourni à Anta et ses camarades non seulement des semences et de l’équipement, mais quelque chose de plus précieux – la croyance en leur potentiel. La supervision technique d’experts agricoles comme Aissata Ka et Lamine Sow leur a donné la confiance de rêver plus grand.

Au-delà de soi; émanciper la communauté

Le défi AYuTe Afrique, un concours annuel de Heifer International qui attribue des subventions en espèces et du mentorat aux jeunes innovateurs créant un impact significatif pour les petits agriculteurs, est devenu une autre source d’inspiration pour Anta et les autres. Il les a encouragées à se voir non plus seulement comme des agricultrices, mais comme des entrepreneures, des innovatrices et des agents de changement.

Leur objectif immédiat est pratique : économiser des bénéfices pour acheter leur propre terre et leur propre équipement. Mais leur vision est plus large et transformatrice. « Nous voulons aider nos parents, notre communauté, dit Anta. Nous voulons montrer que les jeunes femmes peuvent être autonomes, créer des opportunités là où d’autres ne voient que des limitations.

Les défis restent importants. L’accès au financement, aux équipements modernes et à la terre sont encore des obstacles majeurs, surtout pour les jeunes femmes. Mais Anta voit ces défis comme des obstacles à surmonter, et non comme des barrières.

Il y a de l’espoir, dit-elle, un sourire illuminant son visage alors qu’elle observe son champ. Chaque aubergine, chaque poivron, chaque innovation est une déclaration – sur les capacités des femmes, sur le potentiel de l’agriculture, sur la réinvention du développement à partir de ses racines.

À Ngounjane, et de plus en plus à travers le Sénégal, les jeunes femmes comme Anta plantent plus que des cultures. Elles plantent un avenir où la technologie, la passion et la détermination peuvent faire pousser n’importe quoi – même des opportunités.

Alors que le soleil commence à se coucher sur son champ, Anta Sarr se tient droite – non pas seulement comme une agricultrice, mais comme un phare d’espoir pour les jeunes, en particulier les femmes, au Sénégal.

Across Senegal, women make up 70% of the agricultural workforce and produce 80% of the nation’s food, yet they continue to face major barriers to land, education, and finance. Globally, the potential is just as stark: FAO estimates that if women had the same access to resources as men, they could boost farm yields by 20–30%, cutting global hunger by up to 17%.

In our latest blog, Heifer International, a global nonprofit working to end hunger and poverty by supporting smallholder farmers with training, tools, and market access, shares the story of Anta, a young Senegalese woman who is transforming agriculture with grit, innovation, and a bold vision for the future.

We’ll be exploring how to reshape our food systems to be more inclusive of women and youth at this year’s Africa Food Systems Forum Summit 2025.

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The midday sun beats down on Anta Sarr’s field in Ngounjane, in the sleepy Thiès region of Senegal. She stands unfazed, a freshly picked eggplant in her hand – a symbol of resilience, innovation, and hope. At just 23, Anta represents a new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs challenging everything her community thought they knew about farming and women’s potential.

“We move forward because we have skills, passion, and a belief in our potential,” she says, her eyes scanning the abundant rows of vegetables. It’s a far cry from the path most young people in her region choose – many opt to leave, seeing agriculture as a dead-end profession. But Anta and her four fellow female farmers see something different: a revolution waiting to happen.

Their journey began with 21 young farmers – boys and girls with dreams of transforming their lives. Slowly, the group dwindled. The boys left, discouraged by the challenges. But the women stayed, forming an association they named TAKKU LIGUÈYE – “working together to build the community.”

Coming from vulnerable families, Anta and her colleagues – Fatou and Nogaye – refused to be defined by their circumstances. After initial training in Dakar, they were loaned a two-hectare field by their training director – a lifeline that would become their canvas of transformation.

“Agriculture without modernisation is agriculture without profit,” Anta declares passionately. This philosophy led them to embrace technology that many in their community view with scepticism. A solar-powered drip irrigation system now waters their crops – a small miracle in a region where manual labour has long been the only option.

The technological leap wasn’t just about efficiency. For these young women, it was also about dignity. “It’s too hard to operate hand-held watering cans,” Anta explains. “Those methods are archaic. We want to show that agriculture can be smart, profitable, and empowering.”

Their field tells a story of innovation. Eggplants of various sizes hang from flourishing plants, a testament to their skill and determination. They’ve cultivated not just vegetables, but a vision of what’s possible when young women are given resources and support.

Heifer International and the ARLS cooperative became crucial partners in their journey. Through their Climate Services for improved Resilience and Productivity (CSRP) project, they provided Anta and her mates not just seeds and equipment, but something more valuable; belief in their potential. Technical supervision from agricultural experts like Aissata Ka and Lamine Sow gave them the confidence to dream bigger.

Beyond self; empowering community

The AYuTe Africa Challenge, an annual competition by Heifer International that awards cash grants and mentorship to young innovators creating meaningful impact for smallholder farmers, became another source of inspiration for Anta and others. It encouraged them to begin to see themselves as more than just farmers – but as entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers.

Their immediate goal is practical: save profits to buy their own land and equipment. But their broader vision is transformative. “We want to help our parents, our community,” Anta says. “We want to show that young women can be self-sufficient and can create opportunity where others see only limitation.”

The challenges remain significant. Access to finance, modern equipment, and land are still major hurdles, especially for young women. But Anta sees these as challenges to overcome, not barriers to stop her.

“There is room for hope,” she says, a smile breaking across her face as she looks over her field. Each eggplant, each pepper, each innovation is a statement – about women’s capabilities, about agriculture’s potential, about reimagining development from the ground up.

In Ngounjane, and increasingly across Senegal, young women like Anta are planting more than just crops. They’re planting a future where technology, passion, and determination can grow anything – even opportunity.

As the sun begins to set over her field, Anta Sarr stands tall – not just as a farmer, but as a beacon of hope for young people, particularly women, in Senegal.

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Senegal has everything it needs to thrive in agriculture — fertile soil, generations of know-how, and a rising wave of youthful innovation. So why is the country still importing so much of its food, especially rice? Each person in Senegal eats around 100 kilos of rice a year, but local farms produce less than half of that. And it’s not just rice. This reliance on imports runs across nearly all food products.

It’s not just a supply issue, it’s structural. The core problem is that we’re exporting value. Like many African nations, Senegal is stuck in a cycle: farmers grow excellent crops, but there’s limited local capacity to turn them into finished products. So, we export raw goods at low prices, only to buy them back later at a premium. That’s money, jobs, and opportunity leaving the country.

Take cashews. In 2021, Senegal grew about 8 million kilos — but processed only 5% of them locally. Imagine the extra income and jobs if we closed that loop. That gap between raw materials and finished products? It’s called the value gap, and it’s holding us back.

But change is already in motion. Across West Africa and the Sahel, young entrepreneurs are building businesses that are high-tech, environmentally smart, and people-first. They’re not waiting for permission — they’re getting on with it.

In Senegal, Arristine Mendes is transforming aquaculture with her company Shaddaï Aquaculture. She’s developed fish feed from alternative proteins, cutting out the need for fishmeal and reducing overfishing. It’s cheaper for farmers, better for the planet, and boosts local fish production. In a country where fish is essential, that’s a big deal. No surprise she won the 2024 GoGettaz Agripreneur Catalyst Award.

In Ghana, Dr. Iddi Mohammed Faried is tackling two challenges with one powerful idea. His company, Kodu Technology, turns banana waste into biodegradable sanitary pads, helping girls stay in school during their periods and reducing waste. Affordable, eco-friendly, and empowering? That’s the kind of innovation the region needs more of.

Over in Côte d’Ivoire, Salimata Toh is reimagining banana waste. Her business, AGRIBANANA, transforms discarded stems into biodegradable packaging and paper. It supports the environment and opens up a new income stream for smallholder farmers, especially women. Less plastic, more opportunity.

And in Nigeria, Ikenna Nzewi’s company Releaf Africa is revolutionising palm oil processing. His machine, the Kraken, can process 500kg of palm nuts per hour and cuts costs by more than 80%. That’s a game-changer for small farmers who’ve long relied on outdated, inefficient tools. With Releaf, they can waste less and earn more.

This isn’t just hype, it’s a movement

These stories are proof that youth-led innovation is driving real change. We’re seeing:

• More local jobs
• Less waste
• Climate-smart solutions
• Stronger food systems with less dependency on imports

By turning waste into value and keeping more of the process local, these young businesses are unlocking serious potential. And in a world shaken by supply chain crises, from COVID-19 to the war in Ukraine, this kind of local resilience matters more than ever.

What’s next: all eyes on Dakar

This September, the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF 2025) heads to Dakar — where leaders from across the continent will gather to discuss the future of food, sustainability, and innovation.

Crucially, the forum is spotlighting people like Dr. Faried, Salimata Toh, Ikenna Nzewi, and Arristine Mendes — because the future isn’t arriving from the outside. It’s already here, built from the ground up by bold young thinkers.

See you in Senegal.

Do you know a bold thinker, grassroots leader or pioneering institution who is transforming agriculture in Africa?


Nominations are open for the Africa Food Prize 2025 – with a US $100,000 award and the opportunity to be recognised as one of the continent’s most influential voices in food systems.

The winner will be announced this September in Dakar, Senegal during the Africa Food Systems Forum 2025 – Africa’s leading platform for bold ideas, policy action and leadership in agriculture.

The deadline for entries is approaching quickly, with an extended deadline of the 30th June. Nominate now via africafoodprize.org

What makes the Africa Food Prize unmissable?

• Win US $100,000 to support your work and scale your impact
• Be recognised on a continental platform dedicated to African-led solutions
• Amplify your voice and model across networks of policymakers, investors and practitioners
• Help inspire the next generation of food system leaders

Spotlight on past winners

From smallholder champions to research trailblazers and institutional pioneers, the Africa Food Prize celebrates those who are moving African agriculture forward – from subsistence to sustainability, and from survival to success. Meet past winners below! 

• In 2024, Tinotenda Mhiko, CEO of Zimbabwe’s Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA), received the award for his role in revolutionising irrigation infrastructure, unlocking amplified production and food system resilience.
• In 2023, the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) was honoured for developing 650+ improved bean varieties that feed over 37 million people across Africa – boosting nutrition and climate resilience at scale.

Earlier laureates include:

• Dr Eric Danquah, who founded the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) in Ghana, training a generation of plant breeders who have released over 60 improved seed varieties.
• Dr Emma Naluyima, a Ugandan vet-turned-farmer who built a thriving, circular farm on just one acre, generating $100,000 a year for the farm and mentoring thousands of other farmers.
• Baba Dioum from Senegal, a veteran policymaker who played a key role in advancing cross-border trade and elevating agriculture on regional and continental agendas, including his key role in advancing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

Who should apply?

The Africa Food Prize looks to celebrate individuals, institutions or initiatives that are:

• Reducing hunger or improving food and nutrition security in measurable ways
• Providing sustainable sources of income or employment
• Demonstrating scalable, replicable, and sustainable impact
• Leading with vision, perseverance, and collaboration—even in the face of challenges

Help us recognise the pioneers rewriting Africa’s food story and give their ideas the spotlight they deserve.

Nominations close 30 June 2025.
Nominate now via africafoodprize.org

By Enock Chikava, Director, Agricultural Delivery Systems, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

After the recent 2024 Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, one key theme stands out: the need to prioritize food and nutrition security within Africa’s broader climate agenda. This urgency cannot be overstated.

Africa is at the forefront of an escalating climate crisis that is disrupting food systems across the continent. Globally, the last decade has been the hottest on record. For Africa, the effects are already evident. Droughts, floods, mudslides, and storms have become more frequent and severe, and these extreme weather events are crippling the continent’s agricultural productivity, leaving millions vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition.

If current climate trends persist, the consequences for Africa’s agricultural output will be severe. Projections indicate that by 2030, crop yields could drop by nearly 3 percent, with a sharper decline of up to 18 percent by 2050. These declines would put 200 million people at risk of extreme hunger by 2050.

This crisis is made worse by rising temperatures, which affect not just the amount of food smallholder farmers can grow, but also its quality. Higher levels of atmospheric carbon diminish the nutritional value of staple crops, reducing their essential nutrients like zinc, iron, and protein. This double threat—lower production volume and worsening quality—heightens the urgency of focusing on climate-resilient crops that can withstand the pressures of climate change to provide nutritious diets.

The conversations in Kigali brought light to the role of climate-resilient and nutrient-dense crops in addressing these dual challenges. My three major takeaways from the forum highlight the actions required to secure the continent’s future food systems:

1. Local knowledge is vital for enhancing food security and climate resilience. Africa’s diverse communities possess a wealth of knowledge on food sources, agricultural practices, and climate adaptation strategies. This knowledge needs to be paired with climate-smart innovations that accelerate progress. Combining traditional practices with new innovations, like AI-powered weather prediction services, offers a pathway to improve hunger and nutrition while adapting to changing environmental conditions.

2. High-nutrient crop varieties tailored to Africa’s needs can transform food systems. Several crop varieties have already been developed to help communities get the nutrients they need. Two standout examples are the orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and iron-rich beans. OFSP is particularly promising due to its high vitamin A content and drought resistance, allowing it to thrive in some of the continent’s most challenging environments. Similarly, iron-rich beans offer multiple benefits, providing essential nutrients like protein and minerals while being environmentally sustainable. These crops demonstrate the power of innovation to address both nutritional deficits and climate change.

3. Agricultural policies must prioritize local production and intra-Africa trade.
   Localized production is crucial because it helps diversify food systems, making communities less dependent on imported staples that can be expensive and less nutritious. By investing in local food systems and trade within Africa, smallholder farmers can improve food security, reduce transportation costs, and increase their resilience to climate challenges.

The stakes are high, but so is Africa’s potential to build a more resilient, nutritious, and sustainable food system. What emerged from Kigali was a recognition that the continent has the resources, innovations, and knowledge to solve its nutrition and climate challenges. Yet, success will require concerted efforts from all sectors—governments, philanthropy, private industry, researchers, and communities alike.

The potential of regenerative agriculture to transform food systems was a key theme at this year’s Africa Food Systems Forum. Our partner SNV released a position paper going into the detail of how regenerative agriculture can address urgent challenges like soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate resilience.

This repost highlights insights from SNV’s position on regenerative agriculture, focusing on practical, scalable practices for African farmers. For a full breakdown of their recommendations, read the position paper here.

In an era of rapid change, our global agri-food systems face unprecedented challenges. A growing population, particularly in urban centres, alongside the impacts of climate change, shifting consumption patterns, limited natural resources, and increasing human-induced conflicts, necessitate a comprehensive reassessment of how we produce and distribute food.

The need for a paradigm shift

For decades, we focused on only increasing productivity and efficiency through technological advancements such as improved seeds and fertilisers as well as through achieving economies of scale. While this approach was successful in Europe, the USA, and parts of Asia, its effectiveness has been markedly less in Africa. We have seen negative consequences in intensive systems as overuse and wrong use of fertilisers and chemicals resulting in declining soil health, groundwater pollution, and loss of biodiversity. In Africa, low use of external inputs on already degraded soils contributed to further degradation and the expansion of agricultural land at the expense of natural habitats, having a negative impact on biodiversity.

So, what do we need to do differently? We need to work towards a sustainable and resilient agri-food system which can deliver food security and adequate nutrition for people in all their diversity in such a way that the economic, social, and environmental bases are safeguarded for future generations.

A lot of what needs to be done is known: most farmers, scientists, extension services, and private sector know the essentials of what we call Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). However, in the quest to increase production, to reduce the price of food, to maximise profits, many of these principles are no longer practised. In many contexts, we have lost a focus on maintaining soil health and regenerating soils, on improving biodiversity and ecosystems, on the optimum instead of maximum use of resources and inputs. But new challenges such as climate change also require more drastic innovations such as drought-resistant seeds and sustainable water management and small-scale irrigation. Not to forget addressing reducing food loss and waste.

The recent attention given by policymakers, private sector, development organisations, and donors towards Regenerative Agriculture will accelerate to rethink and change the future development of our Agri Food Systems. However, we don’t need dogmatic and simplistic approaches. What is needed are existing and new GAPs, focus on soil health and high-quality seeds, demonstrating practices using smart combinations of external and locally available and recyclable materials that work in specific contexts and that are scalable and are accessible for many of the small and medium-size farmers.

Mobilising collective efforts for change

The health of our planet depends on the health of its ecosystem, and a sustainable Agri-food system is crucial for achieving this goal. We know the direction, and we have the technology, so let’s give this priority. All actors in the agri-food system should get to work!

Benoit Gnonlonfin

Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS), Global Program Lead, CABI

Intra-African trade in agricultural commodities can transform Africa into a food-secure region, especially as climate change increasingly affects markets. However, without strict food safety guidelines, cross-border trade risks distributing unsafe food.

In 2005, Nigeria benefited from bumper harvests due to favorable weather and effective policies that improved access to farm inputs. In contrast, neighboring Niger faced extreme food shortages due to severe drought and locust invasions, leading to widespread hunger and malnutrition despite the food surplus in Nigeria.

In 2017, regions of Ethiopia had a successful season due to sufficient rainfall that year. However, in South Sudan, a neighbouring country, there was famine exacerbated by severe drought and conflict. Food from Ethiopia could not be supplied due to a lack of infrastructure and political instability.

Improving trade can unlock significant benefits, as highlighted in the 2023 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor report: “In addition to promoting economic growth through broader market access, trade also has clear potential to improve food security by increasing the availability of and access to food through a variety of channels.”

The report further explains that one of the most important avenues to greater food security is through increased incomes from trade, which boosts consumers’ purchasing power, allowing them to consume more and better-quality and safe food.

In short, increased trade will mean more income for farming communities, creation of jobs, enabling them to purchase whatever they need. It also means there will be a greater variety of food in the market from different quarters, giving consumers a wider range to choose from, thereby improving their nutritional standards.

Boosting trade

Agenda 2063, the African Union’s (AU) blueprint for economic development, prioritizes agricultural growth. This is outlined in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) and further elaborated in the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods.

With the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in March 2018, such commitments seek to harness market and trade opportunities locally, regionally, and internationally.

For instance, Agenda 2063 envisions a food secure continent with sustainable farming techniques that will be instrumental in reducing poverty, hunger and malnutrition, while CAADP provides a clear framework for acceleration of agricultural growth, thereby encouraging countries to dedicate at least 10% of their budgets to agriculture.

The AfCFTA, which is a flagship project of Agenda 2063, creates a free trade area for all African countries with a population of over 1.3 billion. By eliminating tariffs and reducing non-tariff barriers, it encourages intra-African trade to ensure that farmers have a wider market for their enhanced harvests.

Mitigating risk

However, expanding intra-African trade in agricultural commodities must be managed carefully to prevent the increased risk of unsafe food, which could reverse gains in food security and reintroduce previously controlled health risks.

Studies show that Africa is the greatest contributor to the burden of unsafe foods in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa accounts for nearly one-third of global deaths from food-borne diseases, with approximately 137,000 fatalities out of 420,000 annually. At the same time, unsafe food leads to productivity losses of about US$95 billion a year in low and middle-income countries.

It is imperative we take steps to improve food safety at the national, regional, and international levels to ensure proper application and harmonization of food standards. According to Amb. Josepha Sacko, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, improved implementation and harmonization of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) systems is critical to ensuring that any agricultural trade protects human, animal and plant health.

The SPS agreement under the World Trade Organization (WTO) focuses on how governments can apply sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and regulations to ensure human health, plant health, animal health, and food and feed safety. However, adhering to the SPS measures has been difficult for some importing countries, leading to limited market access for low- and middle-income economies.

The African Union (AU) introduced the SPS Policy Framework in 2014. This framework was developed to help AU member states align their SPS measures with international standards, thereby enhancing intra-African trade, access to global markets, and food safety. So far, the AU SPS Policy Framework lays out a roadmap to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of SPS systems on the continent to protect human health and facilitate intra-African trade.

CABI’s SPS strategy for 2024-2034 focuses on strengthening sustainable SPS capacity through three core outcomes addressing diverse needs across member countries.

Outcome 1: Increased synergies and collaboration of stakeholders to drive catalytic SPS improvement. This is a continuation and building on ongoing initiatives. Working at a global, regional, and national level, CABI will facilitate, convene, and connect relevant stakeholders who have the potential to play a key role in SPS capacity development in CABI’s member countries and beyond.

Outcome 2: Improved regional and national SPS institutional capacity for effective participation, greater access to, and use of best practices and knowledge products.

This is a continuation and building on ongoing initiatives. CABI will facilitate and deliver core, member-driven activities to build, strengthen, pilot and learn from collaborative and innovative approaches in developing SPS capacity.

Outcome 3: SPS research in tertiary education strengthened. This is a new area of work. Working with partners, CABI will create an interdisciplinary, experiential SPS research model and tertiary education that will address and focus on the rapidly emerging need for innovations at the nexus of food security, food safety, agricultural productivity and economics from local to global scales.

When executed with strict adherence to food safety standards, intra-African trade could become the cornerstone for transforming food systems across the continent. Improved agricultural productivity, expanded market access, and enhanced regional cooperation through frameworks like AfCFTA and CAADP will reduce post-harvest losses, give consumers access to a greater variety of safe foods, and significantly decrease poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.