7 - 20 July 2025. The Food Indaba is an annual programme of talks and events that focus on the local food system.
It brings together a wide range of speakers involved in shaping the food system, providing an opportunity for food growers, academics, activists, writers, nutritionists, policy makers, food lovers and anyone interested in sustainable approaches, to engage in key issues intimately connected to the food we eat, and find ways to work together in creating a better food future. With over 500 in-person attendees and a media audience reach over 50 million, Food Indaba has become a major platform for food systems awareness and transformation.
- Gareth Haysom, senior researcher at the African Centre for Cities, as well as Associate Professor in food security from the University of Namibia
Haysom introduced an AfriFOODlinks project, which looks at the city food systems in hub cities in countries like Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. Those cities then work with 10 more cities, and five European cities. They study what food systems in Africa need, feeding that information back to the public, and working with city officials. He questioned how we challenge the disposable nature of the food system, start to see our bodies as being just as polluted as our atmosphere, and how we could start valorising local and indigenous foods in different ways — the ways that were thrown out by colonialism because they did not suit the economic model. - Ms Alison Pulker, PhD candidate and research assistant at the African Centre for Cities. Her current research interests are related to urban food insecurity and urban food systems governance.
Pulker said that during her research they ran into an ethical consideration: how to protect data taken from people, and, during storage of that data, how to create long-term anonymity.“We need to ask the questions ‘what is our interest?’ and ‘what is our interest in the food system?’. AfriFOODlinks is a project that has managed to show that Africa’s food systems are not homogenous, in the same way that Africa is not homogenous,” said Pulker. - Dr Dennis Ndolo, Leads the Biopesticides Research Group at the International Centre for. Genetic and Engineering and Technology (ICGEB), which focuses on information and data sourcing, collation, generation and dissemination to support the discovery, development, formulation and commercialisation of low cost, stable and effective biopesticides.
- Prof Ndeyapo Nickanor, Executive Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Engineering & Natural Sciences at the University of Namibia
- Dr Rike Sitas, Inter-disciplinary urban scholar at the African Centre for Cities, whose research focus includes culture, technology and African cities, with a particular interest in youth, democratic decision-making, and the future of work.
- Mr Russel Hlongwane, Cultural producer, research on the Young and Online in African Cities Project (afrotecha.urban). Work aims to understand how digital services and platformed practices are enabling new access to essential services and contributing to urban development.
- Prof Shari Daya, Director, Humanities Learning Support Unit at the University of Cape Town whose research focus includes food and ethics. (tbc if not replaced by Dr Anesu Makina)
Upcoming:
19 July 2025. AI & the Food Systems Conference: A full day in-person conference anchored by key regional AI thought leaders and practitioners drawn from the Centre of Excellence in Food Security's Innovation Lab, the Data Science for Social Impact research group at the University of Pretoria, and the Global Centre on AI Governance.
Launched in December 2022, AfriFOODlinks TRANSFORMING AFRICA’S URBAN FOOD
ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH STRENGTHENING LINKAGES BETWEEN FOOD SYSTEMS STAKEHOLDERS IN CITIES ACROSS EUROPE AND THE CONTINENT (1 December 2022 - 30 November 2026, Total cost € 11 816 305,09) is an EU funded project. Coordinated by ICLEI Africa, the project gathers 26 partners across the globe to improve food security and urban sustainability in 65+ cities in Africa and Europe
Background:
ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH STRENGTHENING LINKAGES BETWEEN FOOD SYSTEMS STAKEHOLDERS IN CITIES ACROSS EUROPE AND THE CONTINENT (1 December 2022 - 30 November 2026, Total cost € 11 816 305,09) is an EU funded project. Coordinated by ICLEI Africa, the project gathers 26 partners across the globe to improve food security and urban sustainability in 65+ cities in Africa and Europe
Related:
25 June 2025. Advancing Urban-Rural Linkages for Resilient Food Systems. The session was set up with the following objectives:
- Discuss how strengthening urban-rural linkages through local, traditional, and farmers’ markets contributes to both food systems resilience and climate adaptation/mitigation.
- To exchange policy-relevant experiences and field practices linking local food systems and climate action through integrated urban-rural approaches
- Identify key messages to inform UN-Habitat and partners’ contribution to UNFSS+4, CFS 53 and COP30, particularly on sustainable urbanization, inclusive food systems, and climate resilience.
The session brought together participants from a wide range of sectors, UN agencies, international
organizations, local governments, market actors, development agencies, academia, and civil society,
creating a rich space for dialogue and cross-sectoral learning. Download the main messages (4 pp.)
- Remy Sietchiping UN-Habitat, PLGS
- Ann Trevenen-Jones (PhD) Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
- Sensasi Boney Advocates for Public Spaces in Uganda
- J. Robin Moon (PhD) World Farmers Markets Coalition (WorldFMC)
- Giaime Berti Resilient Local Food Supply Chains Alliance (RLFSC)
- Sharon Gil Cities Lead, UN Environment Program (UNEP)
- Dennis Andaye Team lead, Regional Coalition for Farmers Market, MAMi project, Kenya
- Furaha Abwe (PhD) Urban Planning for community Change in Tanzania
- Grace Githiri UN-Habitat, PLGS
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