Coordinated by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and CIHEAM-Bari, SUSTLIVES has been working since 2021 to strengthen seed systems, value chains, markets, and enabling policies for neglected and underutilised crops in Burkina Faso and Niger, laying important foundations for a broader continental effort.
Institutionally the Working Group belongs to the African Seed and Biotechnology Partnership Platform (ASBPP) under the African Union's African Seed and Biotechnology Programme (ASBP). SUSTLIVES/DeSIRA provided the support and enabling process for its creation, but the platform itself is an AU-led mechanism.
The ASBP was endorsed by the African Union in 2007 as a continental framework for modernising Africa's seed sector. As discussions on climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and food systems resilience gained momentum, stakeholders increasingly highlighted the importance of opportunity crops in addressing these challenges. During the 5th Steering Group Meeting of the ASBPP in Nairobi in December 2024, members proposed the creation of a dedicated Working Group focused on opportunity crops. The proposal was subsequently endorsed in 2025, with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT appointed to lead the initiative alongside partners including FARA, World Vegetable Center, Crop Trust, ICRISAT, CIHEAM-Bari, PELUM, and others.
The African Opportunity Crops Working Group aims to serve as a continental hub for coordination, knowledge exchange, policy advocacy, and partnership building around opportunity crops. Its objectives range from strengthening conservation, seed systems, and research to supporting value addition, market development, regional trade, and inclusive participation of women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities. By bringing together researchers, gene banks, farmer organizations, policymakers, and development partners, the Working Group seeks to transform opportunity crops from overlooked resources into strategic assets for achieving the ambitions of the CAADP agenda, the African Continental Free Trade Area, and Africa's broader vision for resilient and sustainable food systems.
The African Opportunity Crops Working Group
The African Opportunity Crops Working Group brings together leading African and international organizations working on neglected and underutilised species (NUS), seed systems, crop diversity, conservation, research, and food systems transformation.
Leadership
- Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT – Lead
- Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) – Co-lead
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World Vegetable Center – Co-lead
Research and Crop Development
- African Orphan Crops Initiative (AOCC)
- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
- Abdou Moumouni University (Niger)
- University Joseph Ki-Zerbo (Burkina Faso)
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Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Conservation and Genetic Resources
- Crop Trust
- SADC Plant Genetic Resources Centre (SPGRC)
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CIHEAM-Bari
Farmer, Community and Food System Organizations
- Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM)
- Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT), Zimbabwe
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Slow Food International
Steering Committee
- FAO – International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA)
- Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS)
AgrEcoNUS+ (Agroecology and Neglected & Underutilised Species Plus)
AgrEcoNUS+ (Agroecology and Neglected & Underutilised Species Plus) is a new multi-country initiative under the EU's DeSIRA+ programme that seeks to strengthen sustainable food systems by combining agroecology, neglected and underutilised species (NUS), and inclusive value-chain development. The project aims to improve food security, nutrition, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods by promoting diverse, nutrient-rich crops and supporting their integration into markets and food systems.
The project builds on the experience of the earlier SUSTLIVES and CROPS4HD initiatives, which focused on conserving farmers' varieties and NUS while promoting agroecological approaches. AgrEcoNUS+ moves a step further by emphasizing sustainable value chains, market opportunities, and access to finance for smallholder farmers, cooperatives, MSMEs, and agroecological innovators. A key component is the creation of financial mechanisms to de-risk investments and attract both public and private capital into agroecological and NUS-based enterprises.
Key features
- Promotes agroecological production systems and climate-resilient agriculture.
- Supports the conservation, production, processing, and commercialization of opportunity crops/NUS.
- Develops sustainable value chains and market linkages.
- Improves access to finance through blended finance and investment mechanisms.
- Strengthens livelihoods of smallholder farmers, youth, women, cooperatives, and local enterprises.
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