Author: AGRF Digital

Jan 29, 2024 | Announcement

The Africa Food Systems Forum Strategic Plan 2023-2027

The Africa Food Systems Forum Strategic Plan 2023-2027 defines how the Africa Food System Forum Secretariat will engage with and work on the Food System Transformation agenda over the next five years in Africa. The overarching goal is to scale up the continent’s efforts to build healthier, more inclusive, sustainable, resilient and equitable food systems that have the power to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa by 2030.

Read the Strategic Plan

Dec 1, 2023 | Featured, Press Release

Opinion paper: The ‘Loss and Damage Fund’ must work for the most vulnerable.

Co-authored by Dr. Agnes Kalibata (President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) & Amath Pathe SENE (Managing Director of the Africa Food Systems Forum)

As the world converges in Dubai for COP28 today, the urgent need to massively scale up action to address the “loss and damage” from climate change becomes increasingly clear in developing countries. Climate change is now an undeniable reality, causing irreversible losses and damages to the most vulnerable communities, ecosystems, and regions around the world, particularly in Africa. The principle of “Loss and Damage” highlights the need to go beyond adaptation and mitigation and acknowledges the irreversible adverse impacts and the economic losses that is already under way as a result of years of inaction/ denial and lack of attention to climate change issues. Unfortunately, the most vulnerable countries in the world have the least ability to stop or even protect themselves from the impact of climate change. For these countries, a functional Loss and damage Fund will go a long way to help recover from damage and build some form of resilience.  Make no mistake, neither this fund nor anything for that matter can bring back life that is lost or recover years of livelihood that is lost in one night of a flood in Rwanda, Kenya, Pakistan or Bangladesh to name but a few.  So this is not about reparations.

It is now a very well-known fact that Africa has contributed very little to the climate crisis at less than three percent of global emissions.  Nonetheless, it is the continent that suffers the most from the losses and damages induced by climate change and has the least resilience and lowest adaptive capacities.

Home to over 1.4 billion people, Africa is the most vulnerable region in the world to climate change-induced natural disasters including extreme temperatures, recurring droughts, floods including riverine floods, dust storms, and heatwaves, as well as extreme weather events and rising sea levels. These impacts disproportionately affect vulnerable region such as the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the countries along the Equator but also African communities, primarily smallholder farmers who represent 60 percent of the workforce in food systems value chains producing 70-80 percent of the continent’s food.

Climate change related damages are significantly pronounced in agriculture because of the sector’s dependence on rainfall in Africa. This affects not only livelihoods and food security, but also energy production, water resources, the environment, health, and the gross domestic product (GDP), particularly when the losses force governments to redirect public resources to food imports, social protection and food aid to address humanitarian crises and losses and damages caused by climate shocks. In the affected countries, where agriculture is a key sector (accounting for more than 43 percent of GDP in 2018), these impacts can reduce national GDP by up to four percent per year. Of course, this has now been exacerbated by COVID19 and the global security situation which has reduced average national GDP by up to 10%.

These adverse conditions and more frequent extreme climate events make it increasingly difficult for farmers to produce, store, and market food. Food shortages cause prices to rise and contribute to price volatility. This, in turn, fuels poverty and social and political marginalization, leaving a growing cohort of young people at risk and giving rise to violent extremism. Today, climate change has potentially far-reaching implications for national, regional, and global stability and security in economic, social, and environmental terms.

In the debate on the reform of the global financial system, it is also important to highlight the rising debt levels of African countries and the increasing frequency and severity of climate shocks that are slowing growth and eroding decades of developmental gains. The compounding nature of these challenges has deteriorated these countries’ public finances, weakening their resilience to climate shocks, and limiting their capacity to address losses and damages from climate impacts further. According to the IMF-World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries (LIC-DSF), seven African countries are already in debt distress, 18 are at high risk, and 13, at moderate risk. In 2019, Cyclones Idai and Kenneth drove Mozambique’s public debt to almost 110 percent of its GDP, these difficulties are compounded by the impacts of more recent crises, namely the Russia-Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine wars and increasing dollar interest rates that are seriously undermining efforts of developing nations the most important SDGs of keeping poverty under check and the ability of nations to feed their people (SDGs 1 and 2).

At COP27, in Egypt last year, the decision to create the Loss and Damage Fund represented a historical breakthrough, as it recognized the injustice in the distribution of the burden and responsibility of copying with the impact of climate changes. The stated goal of the Loss and Damage Fund is to provide financial assistance to developing countries to deal with the negative consequences of climate change and help them rebuild the necessary physical and social infrastructure.

Since last year, negotiations have been underway to address many considerations and make this fund operational. Recognizing the urgent need for a coordinated response, it is the hope and expectation of many that leaders at COP28 come up with the resources for the fund’s establishment and define a clear timeframe for its operationalization. We appreciate the amount of work underway to operationalize this fund with the consensus now to host it at the World Bank for a trial period of four years.

From an African lens and as we listen to the voices of smallholder farmers and most vulnerable communities, here are key elements worth taking into account at COP28 for the loss and damage fund:

  1. Speed and urgent action: Setting up this fund is not only a moral imperative but a critical step in addressing the severe, and in many cases irreversible, consequences of climate change. In the past, the various funds created to support the climate agenda took years to become operational, while the impacts of climate change continued to become more ferocious and more frequent and visible. For Instance, The Adaptation Fund was created by COP7 in 2001, but became operational in 2007. So far, it has only disbursed around US$1 billion. As for the Green Climate Fund, after its establishment, some UN agencies took more than two to three years just to get accredited and many African Countries and Institutions still struggle to access the Fund.  We applaud the setup of the Loss and Damage Fund at the World Bank hope that it will be adequately capitalized, agile accessible and timely enough to be of value to those that need it.

 

  1. Sufficient funding: It is far more expensive to deal with losses and damages than to invest in climate change adaptation or mitigation – not only in monetary terms, but also when we consider the physical and emotional toll of climate impacts on most vulnerable communities, as they watch their fragile asset base being washed away or wiped out. Although governments gathered in Paris in 2015 pledged US$100 billion per year for climate finance, the resources of all climate funds together – including the environmental funds (Green Climate Fund, Global Environmental Fund, and Adaptation Fund) are still well below US$20 billion per year. Therefore, much greater efforts are urgently needed to make good on previous commitments and come up with the resources necessary to support affected regions in rebuilding their infrastructure, restoring ecosystems, adapting to a changing climate, and addressing losses and damages. And if capacities to generate proposals for funding are weak, let the countries’ capacities be supported. While the negotiations are suggesting developing countries to also contribute into the lost and damage fund like the developed countries, let’s note that several African countries are already in debt distress partially induced by climate impacts which they are historically responsible. Hence, from an African lens, at least most African LDC countries, countries under debt distress Small Island Developing States should not be contributing to this fund.

 

  1. Strong, robust – but also flexible – mechanisms for compensation: The African continent is committed to the establishment of a mechanism to compensate communities and nations for losses that are unavoidable, despite adaptation and preparedness efforts. This will require the fund to operate based on clear, simple criteria, transparency, fairness, and accountability. Countries should, similar to other World Bank instruments have direct access and not go through intermediaries to access the fund.

 

  1. Integrated climate risk management (risk preparedness, risk reduction, and risk transfer): To minimize losses and damages and use of the fund, it is important that the Fund allocates a significant portion of its resources to the most vulnerable countries for integrated climate risk management, which combines risk preparedness, risk reduction, and risk transfer mechanisms. This model is the best way to limit the magnitude of potential loss and damages. In relation to preparedness, the Fund should address the need to strengthen climate information and early warning systems (CIEWS) that provide robust climate data to governments, smallholder farmers, and other relevant stakeholders to enable them to make more informed decisions and adopt effective preventative and adaptive measures to reduce the risks and impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. The Fund should also work with other funds that specifically support risk preparedness as a precondition for accessing compensation. The said climate risk preparedness actions should be combined with climate risk reduction measures aimed at enabling vulnerable farmers to adopt best climate adaptation and mitigation practices using data from strengthened CIEWS help inform farmers’ choices. To make this integration model efficient, climate risk preparedness and reduction should be linked to climate risk transfer (micro and macro agricultural insurance). The Africa Risk Capacity, aSpecialized Agency of the African Union established to help African governments improve their capacities to better plan, prepare, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters can play a key role.

 

  1. Support during climate disasters and events: Governments should prioritize support for vulnerable populations, including indigenous communities, women, and marginalized groups, who often bear the brunt of climate-related impacts. It is important to develop contingency plans for all vulnerable areas and communities identified.

 

  1. Replenishment of the fund: The plans to finance the Loss and Damage Fund should include targets for regular replenishments from countries with high emissions. The fund could also receive resources from partners such as international donors, development agencies, and philanthropic organizations. It should also work closely with other entities that share the Loss and Damage Fund’s vision.

 

  1. Private sector involvement: The fund should encourage private sector involvement through public private partnerships, climate bonds, climate insurance, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.

 

  1. Governance and administration: In the current global climate change negotiations, parties are suggesting that the World Bank act as the Fund’s interim host. While we know that this is a temporary solution, our proposal is that the Fund be in Africa, at the African Development Bank with clear guidelines on expediency.

 

Furthermore, an independent oversight body that includes UNCCC, representation of donors and receiving countries would ensure transparency agility, accountability and  the desired impact and prevent any conflicts of interest. This body could also perform technical evaluations and validations of the losses and damages and assess the premiums to be paid per country based on clearly defined criteria. Additionally, it is important to ensure proper representation and participation of affected communities, civil society, youth, women, and experts in climate science and adaptation in such a body.

 

The Loss and Damage Fund should have a robust M&E system to track the effectiveness and impacts of the projects it supports. This should include regular reviews and updates of the Fund’s objectives so as to align them with the evolving

Nov 29, 2023 | Blog, Featured

Building Africa’s Agricultural Resilience in the Face of Climate Change

Amath Pathe Sene

Africa’s food systems hold global significance, impacting both worldwide food security and climate resilience. However, ensuring food resilience in Africa presents undeniable challenges. The connection between climate resilience and food systems becomes evident as climate change poses threats to agri-food systems , resulting in crop failures, increased food prices, loss in job opportunities and heightened food  and nutrition insecurity. Within this complex scenario, a critical issue emerges—the climate finance gap, specifically addressing challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Africa.

Despite Africa contributing less than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, its agricultural sector grapples with disproportionate challenges, worsened by droughts, floods, heatwaves, pests and diseases . The Africa Food Systems Forum 2023 highlighted the severity, with smallholder farmers dealing with unprecedented temperatures. Alarmingly, only 35 cents of every climate finance dollar reaches these farmers, leaving them on the frontline of climate change impact. Urgent intervention is essential, not only to address the immediate needs of over 33 million smallholder farmers but also to establish a sustainable model ensuring resilience amidst climate uncertainties. Bridging the climate finance gap for these farmers is not just a financial imperative but a moral one, necessitating a concerted effort to empower those pivotal to our collective food security and environmental stability.

Shaping Africa’s Climate Agenda at COP28

The cornerstone of sustainable climate action lies in adapting and building resilience, encompassing the active involvement of communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure but also addressing losses and damages caused by recurrent climate events. This requires strengthening the adaptive capacity of African farmers, fortifying food supply chains, implementing inclusive policies, and developing crucial infrastructure. Recognizing the inefficiency in resource deployment, where Africa receives $USD30 billion in annual climate finance flow which is a mere 11 per cent of the required annual amount, underscores the urgent need for effective action. Given their vulnerability, farmers require inclusion and empowerment for resilience building to advance mitigation , adaptation , loss and damage.

Fundamentally, it becomes imperative to acknowledge Africa’s unique circumstances on the global stage within the broader context of climate negotiations. Africa’s heightened vulnerability, distinct sensitivities, and lower capacity to cope necessitate urgent and inclusive action. This acknowledgment lays the groundwork for a more equitable and effective approach in addressing climate change. To achieve the ambitious objectives outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, the global community must actively recognize and address the distinctive challenges that Africa’s food systems encounter.

Shaping a Sustainable Future: Advocacy,  Collaboration and Finance

The Africa Food Systems Forum 2023 underscored the complex connection between agriculture, nutrition, infrastructure climate change, and resilience, providing guidance on how best to steer the continent towards a transformative strategy for food systems.

Addressing the climate crisis requires a restructuring of financial architecture to encourage climate investments. Giving special attention to the agriculture sector, which bears the greatest impact, it is crucial to renew commitments to green financing initiatives. Despite Africa receiving $30 billion annually, only a small fraction of its requirements, global leaders must uphold the commitment to furnish $100 billion in yearly climate finance to developing countries.

 As the international community readies for COP28,  it is time for collective action to mold a more robust and sustainable future, drawing global attention to these crucial issues.

Shared advocacy and collaboration emerge as fundamental principles, with a particular emphasis on ensuring active inclusion for African countries. Recognizing the challenges faced by these nations in addressing climate change, a collective effort that transcends geographical and economic boundaries is imperative. This approach involves amplifying the voices of African countries, acknowledging their unique circumstances, and integrating their perspectives into the global climate dialogue. Collaboration extends beyond traditional state actors to include non-state entities, civil society, and the private sector, recognizing their pivotal roles in driving sustainable solutions. Establishing platforms for knowledge exchange, facilitating technology transfer, and providing adequate financial support are vital components of inclusive collaboration. The COP28 can serve as a catalyst for meaningful progress, ensuring that the concerns and contributions of African countries take center stage in the global climate action agenda.

Writer is Managing Director for the Africa Food Systems Forum

Original article published on the Nigerian Tribune. The article has also been published here and here

 

Oct 2, 2023 | News

We cannot achieve SDGs without Sustainable Food Systems – Reflections from the 2023 United Nations General Assembly in New York

By Boaz Blackie Keizire 

The General debate of the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly UNGA closed on September 26, 2023, in New York marking a crucial milestone in the journey towards achieving the 2030 Agenda. Hopping from meeting to meeting, I carefully listened to global policy and business leaders gathering in New York where they shared experiences and progress on attaining global sustainable Development goals.  As the implementation of these SDGs hit the halfway mark, steps being made towards food and agriculture-related targets have stagnated or reversed, compounding challenges in eradicating poverty and hunger, improving health nutrition, and combating climate change.

As we enter the second half of the SDGs’ countdown to 2030, we face formidable challenges that demand a redoubling of our efforts. The most recent data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) underscores that many of the SDG targets related to food and agriculture remain distant goals. The enduring repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with other crises like climate change and armed conflicts, exert far-reaching influences across all facets of the 2030 Agenda, encompassing poverty, food security, nutrition, health, and the environment.

The 2023 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report by the FAO has revealed that in 2022, global hunger figures ranged between 691 million and 783 million people. These statistics illustrate a disheartening trend: since 2015, the increase in the number of undernourished individuals worldwide has effectively reversed nearly all the progress achieved over the preceding decade. Furthermore, food insecurity has witnessed a significant rise, surging from 25.3 percent of the global population in 2019 to 29.6 percent in 2022.

During the UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment, convened by the UN Secretary-General and hosted by Italy last July in Rome, there was unanimous acknowledgement of the challenges facing our failing food systems. There was also recognition of the powerful role of sustainable, equitable, healthy, and resilient food systems in getting the world back on track to achieve the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. They committed to mobilizing all efforts towards the transformation of food systems to ensure a better future for everyone.

Sustainable food systems cut across the achievement of all the SDGs. However, current agricultural practices and systems are depleting our natural resources. Agriculture is the largest consumer of the world’s freshwater resources, one of the main contributors to greenhouse gasses, and more than one-quarter of the energy used globally is consumed on food production and supply.

During the Africa Food Systems (AFS) Forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in early September, there was unanimous agreement that key solutions that exist must be scaled up to accelerate food systems transformation in Africa. We need to redouble our efforts to boost agricultural yields through sustainable agricultural practices to enhance food security while minimizing negative environmental impacts.

This is because our global food systems are the source of nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, food systems are, and will be, among the hardest hit by climate change, thus, food systems transformation requires integration with our efforts to address climate change. This implies that, working towards the adaptation of food systems to climate change.

In addition, we need to increase investments in building the resilience of agricultural systems and reduce the vulnerability of food producers who depend on natural resources. Also, we need to align the implementation of national food systems transformation pathways with the continuous updates of nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans for climate action. We also need to develop and implement food systems strategies, plans and business cases as well as enforce coordination amongst multiple institutions that govern food systems. This will ensure the coherence and collaboration needed and reduce duplication and burdens on countries and communities.

To advance food systems towards SDG compliance, effective policies are required that coordinate actions by different public and private stakeholders, to navigate the interactions between material, behavioral, and other drivers of change such as urbanization, economic growth, climate change, information, and connectivity.

It’s important to note that, the transformation of food systems entails deep shifts across production, storage, consumption, and disposal of food. These have the potential to generate multiplier effects, acting as catalysts for broader transformation across multiple systems and SDGs. By reimagining and redesigning our food systems, we can address pressing challenges and unlock opportunities for progress in other areas.

Equally, by building sustainable food systems, we can be able to eradicate poverty through the increase of nutritious food, enhance agricultural productivity, and create income-generating activities for our smallholder farmers, including women and youth.

In conclusion, as we approach 2030, there is urgency to build momentum, as well as embrace solidarity and speed up progress on the SDGs, Paris Agreement, and Africa Union Malabo Declaration on Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program. I wish to offer a few solutions, First, we need to bring Food Systems into the Climate Process. The government of United Arab Emirates UAE is leading efforts for COP28 and we congratulate them for picking up from the work started in Glasgow at COP26, continued in Sharm-el-Sheikh last year, to bring food systems transformation into the climate process. Second, we need to press ahead on the opportunities created by food systems transformation. Third, we need to solve the finance problem and change the global financing architecture to respond to the unique food systems transformation. We need to mobilize and direct financing in a coordinated manner.  Deploy financial incentives to induce change and increase investments in innovation and green technology to enhance resilience and productivity for small and medium producers. We can seize this moment to unite efforts to eliminate poverty and hunger, as we advance towards an inclusive and sustainable future. We need to keep in mind that food systems transformation is not just a goal, but a catalyst for achieving our climate goals and all the SDGs.

Boaz Blackie Keizire is the Head of Policy,Advocacy and Food Systems at AGRA and also a 2017 Fellow for the Aspen New Voices Fellowship. Boaz also Heads the Africa Food Prize Secretariat

Sep 8, 2023 | Press Release

Africa Food Systems Forum 2023 Concludes with Calls to Scale up Existing Solutions to Accelerate Systems Transformation

  • 5400+ delegates, 5 Heads of State, 30 Ministers from 90 countries participate in the Africa Food systems Forum 2023
  • Key solutions exist and must be scaled up to accelerate food systems transformation on the continent.
  • Collaboration remains the beacon of progress for a food secure Africa.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – September 8, 2023: The Africa Food Systems Forum 2023 has officially ended today with calls to scale up existing solutions to accelerate food systems transformation.

The 13th Annual Forum provided a platform to reflect on the coordinated large-scale action by the continent’s leading thinkers, policymakers, and innovators to explore the latest breakthroughs and best practices in agriculture and food systems transformation. Speakers at the Forum called for bold thought leadership to accelerate action toward translating food systems pathways and commitments into actionable strategies, particularly to address climate.  During the four-day Forum, various institutions made commitments to accelerate investments in youth and women and to build a better tomorrow.

Hon Hussein Mohamed Bashe, the Minister for Agriculture in Tanzania stated that his government was committed to putting youth and women at the center of the Food Systems transformation. He acknowledged the role of private sector and called for equitable investments.

“Smallholder farmers in Africa do not need your help, they need their right equitable share of investment in the global funding”. he said.

Mr. Amath Pathe, the Managing Director of the Africa Food Systems Forum thanked H.E Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of

 

Tanzania for the remarkable hospitality by her government. “This is the highest number of delegates the Africa Food Systems Forum has hosted so far, he said. He highlighted the pivotal role of country-level actions in rejuvenating food systems.

Discussions held at the Forum illustrated that collaboration remains the beacon of progress. They reinforced that partnerships among governments, businesses, civil society, farmers’ organizations, and research institutions will shape a future where sustainable and prosperous food systems shape Africa’s progress.

Read the full summit communiqué here.

-Ends-

For details and any inquiries, please contact:

agrf@oxygene.co.ke

Follow us on:

  • Facebook: The AGRF
  • Twitter: @TheAGRF
  • Instagram: @the_agrf_
  • Linkedin:theAGRF

About the Africa Food Systems Forum

Africa Food Systems Forum is the world’s premier forum on African agriculture and food systems, bringing together stakeholders to take practical action and share lessons that will move African food systems forward.

For detailed information on the agenda and speakers, please visit https://agrf.org/summit/2023

 

Sep 5, 2023 | Press Release

2023 Africa Agriculture Status Report Released

The report calls for a concerted response from governments, the private sector, communities, and individuals alike in empowering Africa’s Food Systems for the Future

  • 650 million Africans—50% of the continent’s population—lack economic or physical access to sufficient food.
  • If AfCFTA’s goals are fully realized, 50 million people could escape extreme poverty by 2035.

DAR-ES-SALAM, Tanzania – September 5, 2023: The 2022 Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR23) was launched today with the message that the repercussions of inaction are not just confined to hunger and malnutrition but extend to economic, social, and environmental domains, with the potential to undermine the progress made over the years. The new study underscores the need to address the challenges affecting African food systems considering the imminent threat posed by climate change, and the potential consequences of inaction.

Titled “Empowering Africa’s Food Systems”, AASR23 offers an in-depth exploration of the vulnerabilities, challenges, and transformative potential of the continent’s food systems. This timely report delves into a holistic understanding of the intricacies of African food systems from socio-economic vulnerabilities to the pivotal role of knowledge and technology, while highlighting the urgent need for innovative financing.

“This report strives to show that Innovative Finance is not just a buzzword – it is an essential tool for Africa’s journey towards sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food systems. As the continent faces the dual challenges of rapid population growth and climate change, finding new financing mechanisms will be paramount in shaping a prosperous and secure food future for all its citizens,” said AGRA President, Dr. Agnes Kalibata.

Out of the 50 indicators outlined in the Food Systems Countdown Initiative (FSCI) framework, sub-Saharan African countries are performing worse than the global average in a total of 32 indicators mostly related to diets, nutrition, and health. On the other hand, sub-Saharan African countries are performing better than the global average in the remaining 18 indicators, including those on food systems’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and biosphere integrity. The above is accentuated by the fact that up to 650 million Africans—50% of the continent’s population—lack economic or physical access to sufficient food to meet their minimum needs every day (BCG, 2021).

While African governments are committed to tripling intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services by 2025 as part of the 2014 Malabo Declaration, the aspiration is far-fetched as this kind of trade continues to dwindle from its peak in 2013 to less than 15 percent in 2022. However, if fully implemented, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could raise household income by 9% by 2035 while lifting 50 million people out of extreme poverty. Africa could see foreign direct investment increase by between 111% and 159% under the AfCFTA.

The Report offers a deep dive into the underlying challenges that have historically held back the potential of the continent’s vast natural resources. Overall, despite progress in food production, processing, and distribution, significant challenges and failures persist leading to an alarmingly poor state of food and nutrition security across the continent.  The Report unveils a multifaceted web of challenges that stretch from production to consumption. While daunting, these challenges provide a clear call for a concerted response from governments, the private sector, communities, and individuals alike.

“The findings in this year’s AASR are not just a reflection of the current challenges but also a roadmap for future actions, guiding the continent towards food systems where every African will have access to sustainable healthy diets,” said Dr. John M. Ulimwengu, the Report’s lead author.

 

Sep 4, 2023 | Press Release

Africa Food Systems Forum 2023: Dar es Salaam Gathers 4000+ Delegates to Address Africa’s Food Systems Transformation Goals.

  • Tanzania’s agriculture minister, Hon. Hussein Bashe said this year’s summit will place emphasis on women and youth empowerment
  • The summit will set the ground for a coordinated African voice ahead of the 28th Climate Change Convention (CoP28)

 

Dar es Salaam, September 4, 2023 – The 13th annual Africa Food Systems Forum is set to convene in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from September 5-8, 2023, under the leadership of H. E President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

 

Under the theme ‘Recover, Regenerate, Act: Africa’s Solutions to Food Systems Transformation’ the event will bring together over 4,000 delegates, leaders, and innovators from across the globe in discussions around policy breakthroughs and innovation in agriculture and food systems transformation.

 

The country’s Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Hussein Bashe, emphasized that the Forum represents a significant milestone in the journey towards inclusive and sustainable food systems transformation throughout the continent.

 

“This year’s summit places a strong emphasis on empowering women and youth, recognizing their pivotal roles in reshaping Africa’s food landscape,” he said, during a press conference at State House, where he also officially welcomed delegates to the country.

 

In his speech, the Minister touched on how Tanzania is  working to address food security and job creation through the “Building a Better Tomorrow: Youth Initiative for Agribusiness (BBT-YIA),” initiative, which aims to provide agribusiness training to 200,000 youth, and support to 15,000 youth-led agribusiness ventures in Tanzanian villages over the next five years.

 

Aligning with these initiatives, Africa Food Systems Forum 2023 will specifically address the optimization of youth employment within Africa’s food systems, while showcasing the innovative agribusiness ventures driven by young entrepreneurs.

 

Amath Pathe Sene, the Managing Director of the Africa Food Systems Forum, underscored the pressing need for leadership and inclusion in tackling the continent’s food system challenges.

 

“It is imperative that we make our voices heard, develop solutions that are rooted in our local context, and give paramount importance to the empowerment of women and youth in the process of transforming our food systems,” he said.

 

In addition to driving conversation and action around Africa’s food system transformation, Africa’s Food Systems Forum 2023 will also build momentum for impactful dialogue ahead of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in Dubai, through a strong call for a coordinated African voice in climate action.

 

Key highlights of the Dar summit include: thematic plenary sessions with expert speakers, a ministerial roundtable involving 81 ministers, and a high-level session, where Heads of States will make commitments to advance Africa’s Food Systems transformation.

 

 

For detailed information on the agenda and speakers, please visit https://agrf.org/summit/2023/

 

 

About Africa Food Systems Forum

Africa Food Systems Forum is the world’s premier forum on African agriculture and food systems, bringing together stakeholders to take practical action and share lessons that will move African food systems forward.

 

Jul 26, 2023 | Blog

AGRICULTURE : les systèmes alimentaires en Afrique, bilan et perspectives

Pendant longtemps, des pays africains ont mis en place des systèmes alimentaires, dont l’objectif est la transformation de l’agriculture en Afrique. D’où la naissance de la Zone de Libre-Échange Continentale Africaine ( ZLECAF ) qui est une opportunité de supprimer les barrières commerciales et de renforcer le commerce intrarégional, offrant aux agriculteurs des chaînes de valeur agro-alimentaires une forte incitation à augmenter les systèmes alimentaires.

Le défi à relever reste le financement des systèmes alimentaires sur un continent africain où une personne sur cinq est victime de la faim et dont la population devrait atteindre les deux milliards d’habitants d’ici 2050.

Des pays du monde sont en train de participer au tout premier bilan mondial de l’Accord de Paris visant à examiner les progrès accomplis dans la réalisation des objectifs climatiques essentiels. À la présentation des résultats à la COP28 aux Émirats Arabes Unis, il est attendu que l’une des conclusions soit que le monde, y compris la plupart des pays d’Afrique, ait encore un long chemin à parcourir pour atteindre les objectifs de l’Accord ( la réduction des émissions, l’atténuation et l’adaptation aux changements climatiques ).

En attendant, c’est le « global stock-taking » sur les systèmes alimentaires qui se tient du 24 au 26 juillet 2023. Un premier moment de bilan des systèmes alimentaires de l’ONU en 2023 à Rome, en Italie, à la faveur du sommet des Nations Unies sur les systèmes alimentaires 2021.

Cette rencontre a pour objectif de créer un espace propice pour que les pays passent en revue les engagements d’action pris lors du sommet.

Si l’Afrique prends les devants, elle peut mettre à profit les processus de révision des déclarations et des engagements pour accélérer la transformation des systèmes alimentaires.

Les secteurs de l’agriculture et de l’alimentation sont parmi ceux qui contribuent le plus aux émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Cependant, les investissements adéquats dans la transition vers des systèmes alimentaires durables, résilients et inclusifs feraient de l’agriculture une partie clé de la solution.

L’un des points essentiels du sommet de cette année sera la participation des femmes qui fournissent 40% de la main-d’œuvre dans la production agricole et des jeunes qui composent 60% de la population en Afrique subsaharienne dans la transformation des systèmes alimentaires, en mettant l’accent sur leur engagement dans l’évaluation des progrès accomplis et l’établissement de nouveaux partenaires pour accélérer la réalisation de ces objectifs.

Lors de ce sommet très riche, l’Agribusiness Dealroom, selon le directeur général du forum sur les systèmes alimentaires en Afrique, renforcera sa capacité de mettre en relation les entrepreneurs et les gouvernements avec des investisseurs, des fonds et des prestataires de services techniques, et de faciliter l’accès au financement et au soutien technique pour faire progresser l’innovation et les plans de transformation nationaux. Il promet également une étape cruciale dans le parcours de l’Afrique vers la sécurité alimentaire.

May 12, 2023 | Press Release

Registration opens for the highly anticipated Africa Food Systems Forum’s 2023 Summit (AGRF 2023)

Dodoma, Tanzania, May 12th, 2023 – (Hon. Hussein Bashe with Mr. Amath Pathe Sene, MD Africa’s Food Systems Forum during the registration launch of the AGRF 2023 Summit in Dodoma. The Summit will take place in Dar es Salaam from Sep 5-8 with a pre-summit event on Sep 4, 2023.)

Summary:

  • Forum launch was led by Hon Hussein Bashe, Minister for Agriculture – United Republic of Tanzania
  • Calls for a shift in the global narrative on food systems from a scientific dialogue to an economic dialogue.
  • Emphasises that youth and women are central to achieving food sovereignty in Africa.

12 May 2023 Dodoma Tanzania – Hon Hussein Mohamed Bashe, Minister for Agriculture -United Republic of Tanzania has today officially launched registrations for Africa’s Food Systems Forum 2023 Summit (AGRF 2023) in Dodoma, Tanzania. The summit will take place in Dar es Salaam Tanzania from September 4-8, 2023. This year’s summit will spotlight Africa’s leadership and innovation toward food security under the theme Recover, Regenerate Act: Africa’s Solutions to Food Systems Transformation.

In his remarks, Hon. Bashe highlighted that Africa’s food demand will increase by 50% in the coming years, posing challenges to food security but also offering opportunities for food systems transformation. He emphasized that the AGRF 2023 Summit will provide a platform for African leaders and innovators to showcase local solutions to food systems and security. He encouraged delegates from Tanzania and beyond to join the summit and called for a shift in the global conversation on food security and nutrition. “We must shift the dialogue on food security and nutrition from a scientific dialogue to a business conversation. We must connect the to business empowerment and poverty eradication,” he said.

The AGRF 2023 Summit aspires to position Africa as the place for innovation and investments that advances a stronger more diverse and resilient food system. The summit will highlight the need for decisive strategies to rebuild food systems after crises, regenerate natural capital resources through innovation and adaptation practices as well as purpose to take action to accelerate food systems transformation through improved policies, practices, and investments.

In his remarks, Mr. Amath Pathe Sene, the Managing Director of the Forum said, “more Local production, strategic investments, innovation, and effective policies are the driving forces behind the transformative journey towards sustainable food systems. By empowering local communities, particularly youth and women fostering innovation, and implementing supportive policies, we can pave the way for resilient and inclusive food systems.”

The AGRF 2023 Summit will feature a dynamic program comprising plenary sessions, interactive discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities. Attendees will have the opportunity to share best practices and explore innovative solutions that can revolutionize Africa’s agriculture and food systems.

In addition to the discussions, the AGRF 2023 Summit will feature scheduled field visits providing participants with a practical understanding of local food systems. It will also showcase successful models of sustainable agriculture in action.

For more information and to register for Africa’s Food Systems Forum 2023 Summit, please visit https://www.agrf-inperson.com/

Media Contacts:

Hudson Kamonga – Ministry of Agriculture – Hudson.Kamoga@kilimo.go.tz

Catherine Ndungu (Snr. Communications and Advocacy Officer- AGRF) – cndungu@agra.org

About Africa’s Food Systems Forum:

Africa’s Food Systems Forum- AGRF, is the world’s premier forum for African agriculture, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. The Forum is a multi-sector platform comprising of 26 partners leading in African agriculture all focused on putting farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economies. The AGRF exists to progress Africa’s Food Systems and promote agricultural excellence across the diverse landscapes of our continent.

www.agrf.org

About the Ministry of Agriculture – United Republic of Tanzania

The Ministry of Agriculture exists to deliver quality agricultural and cooperative services, provide a conducive environment to stakeholders, build the capacity of local Government Authorities, and facilitate the private sector to contribute effectively to sustainable agricultural production, productivity, and cooperative development.

www.kilimo.go.tz/

Mar 18, 2023 | News

Tanzania President announces the Africa Food System Forum 2023 Summit and calls for inclusion of youth and women as critical drivers of Africa’s food systems agenda

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 17th March 2023 – Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, has today officially launched Africa’s Food System Forum 2023, Africa’s premier platform for advancing the agriculture and food systems agenda on the continent, at State House, Tanzania.

The theme of this year’s Forum – Recover, Regenerate, Act: Africa’s Solutions to Food Systems Transformation – is anchored around building back better Food Systems and Food Sovereignty. It identifies three steps needed to achieve this transformation: Recovery: a call for decisive strategies and actions to help the continent recover and rebuild its food systems following multiple crises and shocks; Regenerate: which calls for the need to regenerate the natural resources, such as soil and water, which are essential for sustainable food production, and Act: which refers to the need to take urgent action to address food systems challenges, such as climate change, food waste, and food insecurity at only seven years before the 2030 SDG deadline.

The forum will spotlight the role of women and youth through a re-energized commitment in the food systems conversation, with a focus on regenerating interest in agriculture as a means of wealth creation for the continent.

Speaking at the launch in Dar es Salaam today, President Suluhu spotlighted the role of youth and women as critical to Africa’s food systems agenda

Speaking at the launch, H.E. President Samia Suluhu said:

“The hosting of the Africa’s Food System Forum 2023 is of importance to our nation where more than 25 percent of our GDP relies on the agricultural sector. For many years, Tanzania’s agriculture was based on subsistence farming. Today, the Government of Tanzania has intentionally made it a goal to prioritize this sector to create livelihoods for our people. We are doing this through various programmes borne out of our hosting and learnings of the 2012 AGRF Summit and our focus on ensuring that the youth are a priority in investment and agricultural reform in our country. It is my hope that the hosting of this forum in our country is one step forward and a good start to achieve the results we expect in our agricultural sector.

In addition, Tanzania as the host of this forum announces to the world that our country aims to become a food granary for Africa and the world in general. I would like to call on the international community, partners of Africa’s Food Systems Forum, the private sector and development partners to participate fully in the upcoming forum on the development of the agricultural sector to strengthen food systems in Africa.”

In his remarks, the Chair of the Africa Food Systems Forum H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn highlighted the importance of the continent moving beyond planning to curb food insecurity, to executing and actualizing commitments, and called for innovation, partnership, leadership and home-grown solutions to respond to emergent agricultural and food systems challenges.

“Our challenges around food system challenges will only get worse unless we work together to drive meaningful change. The difference between the Africa we seek to see and the Africa we shall become by 2060 is all dependent on the decisions we as leaders make and the supporting infrastructure, investments and policies in transforming food systems to produce sufficient, nutritious food in the changing social, political and climatic conditions.

As we rally towards the next Africa’s Food Systems Forum, it is important that we deepen our efforts to scale up our homegrown solutions and partnerships.” He said.

The Africa Food Systems Forum will take place from September 5th-8th 2023 in Dar es Salaam Tanzania, with a pre-summit event scheduled for September 4th 2023. Launch. The summit will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, including leaders, policymakers, scientists, heads of governments and private institutions, farmers, and youth, to agree on practical actions and solutions. These discussions are crucial to driving Africa’s food security forward and creating better livelihoods for all.

ENDS

Catherine Ndungu- Senior Communications Officer, AGRF
+250 791 568 865 cndungu@edaudMedia contact – agrf-media@hudsonsandler.com Eugene Nganga – +254 703 516 173