Insights from the CEA-FIRST and AfriFOODlinks projects

21 October 2025. The role of EU–AU R&I strategies in contributing to Africa’s food future: Insights from the CEA-FIRST and AfriFOODlinks projects.

Side Event of the AU–EU Senior Officials Meeting of the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation.

Download the programme here

The CEA-FIRST and AfriFOODlinks projects highlighted how AU-EU R&I strategies can support Africa's food future by focusing on urban and peri-urban food insecurity through evidence-based policymaking and co-creation. These projects contribute by providing insights for the FNSSA Roadmap (2027-2036), emphasizing African-led innovation in cities, and exploring ways to incentivize private sector investment and align initiatives like Horizon Europe. 

Key contributions of the projects

• Urban and peri-urban focus: The projects identified that food insecurity is a significant problem in urban and peri-urban areas, shifting the focus of food systems transformation to these locations.
• Evidence-based policymaking: They aim to strengthen the integration of R&I into policy by supporting evidence-based policymaking for the FNSSA Roadmap (2027–2036).
• African-led innovation: They showcase the importance of African-led, context-specific research and co-creation processes, such as Living Labs, to drive food system transformation in cities.
• Private sector engagement: The projects facilitate discussions on how to better involve the private sector and its funding in advancing food and nutrition security goals.
• Aligning initiatives: They work to ensure better alignment between key initiatives, including the Horizon Europe program and others like DESIRA.
• FNSSA Roadmap development: The projects are directly contributing to the development of the next AU-EU Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) Roadmap for 2027–2036. 

Highlight: The AfriFOODlinks project is a four-year initiative (2023–2027) funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, designed to transform urban food systems across Africa and Europe to be more sustainable, resilient, and equitable. Coordinated by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability Africa, it connects 65 partners—including 15 African and 5 European cities—to foster collaboration, policy innovation, and city-to-city learning. See the dedicated blogpost

20 October 2025. FIRST IRC FUNDERS’ WORKING GROUP MEETING

The NRF and CIHEAM-Bari, as co-task leaders under the Consortium Europe-Africa on Research and Innovation for Food Systems Transformation (CEA-FIRST) initiative, co-hosted the inaugural Funders’ Working Group Meeting of the International Research Consortium (IRC) on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA). The event took place at the South African Embassy in Brussels and served as a side event to the AU-EU Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM).

CEA-FIRST is a joint bi-continental effort designed to establish the FNSSA IRC in alignment with the
FNSSA roadmap of the AU-EU High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD). The IRC has been created to operationalise the FNSSA roadmap and address fragmentation across the research landscape by functioning as a ‘network of networks’ that connects and coordinates research, education, advisory services, policy, industry, and funding.

The meeting aimed to provide foundational insights into CEA-FIRST and the IRC, while fostering a co-creation and co-design process for the Funders’ Working Group. Building on a report developed within the CEA-FIRST framework, led by the NRF and CIHEAM-Bari, participants exchanged views on how the Working Group could be structured and operationalised within the IRC. Discussions focused on FNSSA priorities, investment opportunities, funding modalities, and potential governance structures to ensure effective support for sustainable food and agriculture across Africa and Europe. The insights and outcomes from this session will inform the development of a Joint Work Programme, which will serve as the operational framework for the Funders’ Working Group within the FNSSA IRC.

The funders’ discussions continued the following day during the CEA-FIRST side event entitled Stakeholder Co-Creation for the IRC Functional Working Groups Strategy and Operational Plan. The NRF contributed to the panel discussion on Refining the Working Groups Strategy and Co-Designing the Joint Work Programmes.