The African Union Commission (AUC), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), the
Regional Economic Committees (RECs), and technical partners have been developing tools and guidelines to support the implementation of the CAADP Kampala agenda. Amongst these is a robust Results
Framework and set of indicators to be assessed every two years at the continental level. A technical team of experts, led by IFPRI, and working with AUC/AUDA-NEPAD and partners, has undertaken initial
technical work to draft a proposed CAADP Kampala Results Framework, a preliminary indicator set and technical notes.
This consultation and technical workshop provided the platform for Member States, RECs and key stakeholders to review the proposed Results Framework and indicators, co-design and agree on indicators (2026-2035), strengthen feasibility and ownership, and agree on a clear roadmap for implementing the biennial review system.
Specific objectives:
Understand, review and agree on the proposed Kampala Results Framework
Explore alignment between the CAADP results framework with the AU-wide strategy on Flagship
Programs
Share, understand and review the proposed Kampala BR indicators, baselines and benchmarks
Review associated tools (technical guidelines, technical notes, and country reporting template)
Agree on governance and coordination arrangements for data collection, validation, and reporting
While global warming is accelerating, the green transition is being replaced by a new armament race in Europe and the US. At the same time, Amazonian rain forests and the boreal forest zone are turning from carbon sinks to new sources of carbon dioxide.
Luckily, two incredible African trees might still save us from a climate chaos.
Baobab (Adansonia digitata) and marula (Sclerocarya spp) can become large trees even in arid conditions where nothing else grows well. Baobab and marula cannot burn in forest fires, and they are extremely resistant to insect pests and plant diseases.
Both trees produce large amounts of nutritious and popular food and could be planted sparsely on vast areas of land without changing local land-use patterns.
The largest baobabs measured by the French and British during the colonial period were 18 or 20 meters in diameter. Baobabs and marulas could, within half a century, absorb a huge amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
This would also benefit food security. The nutritious value of one baobab fruit is twice the amount of an avocado, and a middle-sized marula typically produces half a ton of fruit in a year. One half of the fruit is edible and the other half consists of stones whose energy value is close to that of coal.
The Baorula Network is an informal coalition of African and European universities, research centers, non-governmental organizations and environmental activists interested in promoting the large-scale planting of baobab and marula – and other neglected African tree species – as an important partial solution to the world’s pressing problems.
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.
9 July 2025.AI and the African Food System African practitioners, scholars, and policy specialists were invited to provide inputs on the merits, risks, and ethical imperatives that need to be prioritised within African deliberations on the regulation of Artificial Intelligence, which is being rapidly and eagerly adopted by agro-industries and other food system role players in Africa. (See also press release: 11/07 Decolonising data: ensuring AI reflects Africa’s rich diversity in food systems and ethics
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.
Background:
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
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 BertiResilient 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
For millenia, draft animals played a key role in the survival of many cultures. Even today, draft
animals still secure the livelihood of millions of people around the globe. Be it in transportation,
agriculture or forestry: draft animals can offer sustainable, ecofriendly and economically valuable
ways of land-use. Nevertheless, there are a lot of challenges, ranging from the pressure of hight
profit markets or politics to animal welfare, breeding and harnessing. The total number of draft
animals is universally declining. In 2021, our international and virtual conference will seek to address
these challenges.
Experts from around the world will discuss the history, preservation, education and future of draft
animals.
31 May - 2 June 2017, Windhoek, Namibia. Hosted by the Government of Namibia through the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology, and Supported by the European Commission and African Union Commission, IST-Africa Week 2017 is the twelfth in an annual series of Ministerial Level Technology Research Conferences.
Focused on ICT-enabled Innovation, Science and Technology related policy dialogues, Global
Development, Research and Innovation Cooperation and Community Building, each conference brings together senior representatives of leading public, private, education and research organisations from 50 countries to discuss policy, share insight and identify collaboration opportunities.
IoT at the Grassroots – Exploring the Use of Sensors for Livestock Monitoring, Ciira Maina, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Kenya
Jaguza Livestock APP, Ronald Katamba, AFROSOFT IT Solutions, Uganda
The development of a mobile information system to assess the food security of rural communities in South Africa, Marita Turpin, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Farmers’ Perceptions of ICTs and its Effects on Access and Use of Agricultural Input Information in Developing Countries: Case of Sikasso, Mali, Suama Hamunyela , Namibia University of Science and Technology , Namibia
Session 10e: eAgriculture and Environmental Sustainability
"Virtuous Cycles" for Rural Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development, Johann (Rensie) Janse van Rensburg, CSIR, South Africa
Demonstrating Smart Irrigation Control and Communications Systems for Rural Farms, Robert BASOMINGERA, Carnegie Mellon University Africa, Rwanda
MCDA Criteria Elicitation For Dams In Conflicted Regions - Merowe Case Study, Mohamed Abdallah, Sudan university of science and technology, Sudan
Leakage Detection in Tsumeb East Water Distribution Network Using EPANET and Support Vector Regression, Joseph Kemba, University of Namibia, Namibia
Linking Climate Information to Livelihood Strategies through ICTs: the Role of Integrated Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, Michaelina Yohannis, University of Nairobi, Kenya
SARIMA is a membership organization of Research and Innovation Managers that operates at an institutional, national and international level, as well as across the value chain, from research through to successful innovation commercialization). The organization provides a platform for the promotion and facilitation of best practice in research and innovation management in Southern Africa and its purpose is to strengthen the research and innovation system to ensure the social and economic development of the Southern African region.
The purpose of this workshop was to provide a platform for the private and public sector, as well as the
research community and philanthropic actors to engage in an open discussion towards the
implementation of the R&I Roadmap on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture
(FNSSA).
The Roadmap identifies short, medium and long term actions aimed at addressing gaps in
food security and sustainable agriculture with the purpose of addressing the developmental
challenges common to both continents.
In particular, the Roadmap identifies four key priorities that
aim to influence the research agenda, the nature of collaboration and the types of research to be
funded. These priorities are: (i) Sustainable intensification in agriculture; (ii) Agricultural and food
systems for nutrition; (iii) Development and improvement of agricultural markets and trade; and (iv)
Cross-cutting issues such as adding value to what already exists, facilitating the innovation process,
strengthening R&I capacities etc.
It is envisaged that the outcomes of such a dialogue will lead to
recommendations on: (i) conditions necessary for maximising dynamic and innovative partnerships
between private sector, non-state actors and government, (ii) funding instruments for research and
innovation, (iii) the potential role of SMEs and large enterprises in funding FNSSA initiatives; (iv)
linking the agricultural sector to non-traditional funding opportunities, and (v) addressing challenges
with respect to policy and R&I funding.
Good practices in private sector engagement in FNSSA – a case study
of the National Food Technology Centre, Botswana, Dr Boitshepo Miriam
Keikotlhaile - National
Food Technology Centre,
Botswana
Good practices in private sector engagement in FNSSA – a case study
of the SANBio Network
This workshop brought together technology transfer practitioners and those involved in the commercialisation of research results to share best practices and experiences, exchange knowledge and collectively identify practical ways to address common challenges. In particular this workshop explored techniques and innovative models for commercializing research results through the exchange of good practices from both EU and African countries, identifying bottlenecks in the market uptake of research results highlighting common traits in EU and Africa; pin-pointed existing obstacles in cooperation between EU-African technology broker professionals; and laid out a path for cooperation among technology transfer stakeholders from both regions taking into consideration recent developments in the wider EU-Africa R&I cooperation.
Speakers:
Insights from High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) in Africa – EU STI – Mr Tapsoba Issa, Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation - Burkina Faso
Africa – EU Knowledge Management and Communication System (KMCS) on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) – Department of Science and Technology, South Africa
According to the concept note, the KMCS is an initiative which aims to respond to the "need for an Africa‐EU platform for structured access to all knowledge, outputs and lessons learned from various initiatives and research projects, as well as the need for a communication strategy, not only for the implementation of the Roadmap on FNSSA but also for the transfer of knowledge into solutions, including the national decision‐makers and potential investors in Research and Innovation (R&I) and entrepreneurs."See draft agenda
Existing initiatives on FNSSA big data collection
The role of technology transfer officers in establishing the KMCS
Good practice methods and principles for knowledge sharing
Identifying methodological/technical needs for a joint Africa-EU KMCS on FNSSA
The priority topics identified for initial collaboration include: Immunology/vaccinology (tools and technologies); Diagnostics (tools and technologies); Innovative anti-infective approaches, including alternatives to anti-microbial agents; Influenza; Bovine Tuberculosis; Foot and Mouth Disease; Brucellosis; African Swine Fever; Emerging issues; Vector-borne diseases; Coronaviruses; One Health (including food-borne pathogens and AMR); Mastitis; Animal genetics/genomics for animal health; Foresight; Epidemiology; Helminths; Rabies; Respiratory Diseases of Pigs.
The IRC builds on the success of the EU-funded STAR-IDAZ Project (Global Strategic Alliances for the Coordination of Research on the Major Infectious Diseases of Animals and Zoonoses), an exciting initiative to coordinate animal health research globally. The IRC was launched on 27 January 2016 on the occasion of a large conference on agricultural research in Brussels. The Secretariat aims to deliver measurable advances in the control of animal diseases through the alignment of both public and privately funded animal health research around the world.
The Secretariat will be run by a partnership of organizations including
Defra (UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs),
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE),
CAB International,
BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council),
and IFAH-Europe (International Federation of Animal Health – Europe).
The IRC will focus on particular diseases such as foot and mouth disease and brucellosis, or aspects related to animal health and welfare such as antimicrobial resistance. The Scientific Secretariat, hosted at OIE Headquarters in Paris, will provide literature reviews and gap analyses to thematic working groups, and support the Scientific Committee and Executive Committee logistically. It will facilitate information exchange within the different partners of the consortium. The Secretariat will also play an important role in advocacy for the consortium and link with new members.
STAR-IDAZ IRC includes research funders and programme owners from Europe, Asia, Australasia, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East as well as international organisations and the representation of veterinary pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies. Together, they have committed a total budget in the region of EUR 2 billion to invest over a five-year period to 2021. Nineteen organisations from fourteen countries have signed so far (latest one being Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and the consortium is likely to enlarge in the coming weeks and months. These partners have agreed to coordinate their research programmes to address agreed research needs, share results and together seek for new and improved animal health strategies for at least 30 priority diseases, infections or issues. These include candidate vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and other animal health products, procedures and/or key scientific information and tools to support risk analysis and disease control.
The first meeting of the IRC Executive Committee and Scientific Committee was held at the International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya on 31 January – 1 February.
The OIE is the inter-governmental organisation responsible for improving animal health worldwide. It is recognised as a reference organisation by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and in 2016 had 180 member countries, including Namibia.
Fifty-four representatives from member countries such as Zimbabwe, Togo, Cameroon and Uganda during the five-day conference discussed ways to improve animal health.
This is a 3-year project funded by the European Union, through the European Parliament and the European Commission, aimed at building better African Veterinary Services that deliver effective governance, health safety, food security and food safety for their citizens.
It specifically addresses the compliance of African Veterinary Services with the standards on the quality of Veterinary Services of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). These international standards and guidelines constitute the basis for independent external country evaluations of the quality of Veterinary Services and Animal Health Systems and have been democratically adopted by all OIE Members.
A specific methodology has been developed and published as the “OIE Tool for the Evaluation of Performance of Veterinary Services” (the OIE PVS Tool) and is key to this Project as it enables national Veterinary Services to establish their current level of performance, identify gaps and weaknesses in their compliance with the international standards of the OIE, and establish priorities. The Project is formed of two components.
The first component focuses on strengthening national Veterinary Services in Africa,
and the second component is centred on rabies control and elimination in Kenya and northern Africa
15 - 19 August 2016. Windhoek, Namibia. Some 400 delegates from across Africa and beyond came together in Windhoek, Namibia for the first African Drought Conference. International and African leaders and experts are set to find solutions to the recurring drought events and their associated impacts.
In the framework of Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) activities, the High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) provides practical insight into useful, science-based actions to address the key drought issues being considered by governments and the private sector under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the various strategies to cope with drought.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Namibia organized the African Drought Conference in follow up to its role as UNCCD COP11 President and to the outcomes of the high-level meeting on national drought policies (HMNDP) held in Geneva in 2013. The conference focused on identifying the specific needs of African countries in the area of effective drought mitigation, with a view to developing a strategic framework for enhancing resilience to drought events on the African continent.
The overall objective of the Conference was to come up with an overarching strategic framework for Africa that will enhance resilience to the impact of drought events. The work of the Conference was guided by an agenda for action white paper document, which was circulated in advance of the conference. The specific objectives of the conference were to:
Focus regional and international attention on the issue of enhancing resilience to drought events.
Identify needs and shortcomings as well as good practices in the area of enhancing resilience to drought
events.
Encourage African Countries to develop their short, medium and long term drought mitigation and adaptation
measures/interventions and plans.
Move towards a strategic framework for drought management and enhancing resilience to drought events at
the African level.
Strengthen partnerships and cooperation for enhanced drought resilience
