WAFI 2026: Green and Healthy Transformation of Agrifood Systems

17–19 September 2026, Pinggu, Beijing, China. The World AgriFood Innovation Conference (WAFI 2026) brought together the global agricultural innovation community in , under the theme “Green and Healthy Transformation of Agrifood Systems.” 

• Video recordings are available here

WAFI positioned innovation as a key driver for making agrifood systems healthier, more resilient, inclusive and sustainable. The conference is conceived not simply as an annual event, but as a platform for continuing collaboration among governments, research and academia, industry, practitioners and other actors working on food security, climate change and sustainable development. 

The 2026 conference was jointly hosted by China Agricultural University, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the People’s Government of Pinggu District, and CGIAR. The programme combined plenary and thematic discussions with parallel sessions, side events, innovation showcases and the World AgriFood Technology Expo, creating opportunities to connect scientific advances with policy, investment, entrepreneurship and practical application.

Innovation across the agrifood system

Reflecting the breadth of agrifood transformation, WAFI 2026 addressed topics including artificial
intelligence and digital technologies, smart agriculture, future foods, nutrition and health, livestock and aquaculture, biotechnology, policy and governance, resilience and sustainability, smallholder agriculture and green finance. This broad agenda underscored that transforming agrifood systems requires more than increasing agricultural productivity: technological innovation needs to connect with environmental sustainability, human health, viable businesses and effective institutions.

16 + 17/09 AI-Driven Global Agrifood Transformation 

• Watch the recording here of 16/09: AI and Agriculture Forum
• Watch the recording here of 17/09: AI-Driven Global Agrifood Transformation

Digital innovation featured prominently. Discussions on AI and agriculture examined how emerging technologies can support agricultural modernisation and smallholder development, while other sessions explored remote sensing and the digital transformation of land and agricultural management. At the same time, the programme gave attention to regenerative agriculture, illustrating the growing interest in approaches that combine agricultural production with restoration of soils and ecosystems.

This session asked a very practical question: whether AI can actually help farmers make better decisions rather than simply produce increasingly sophisticated models. Digital Green presented farmer-facing digital extension approaches. The discussion stressed that reaching farmers digitally is only the starting point; the larger challenge is converting AI-generated information into usable agricultural decisions.

• Yvonne Pinto, Director General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) – moderator
• Silvia Maria Fonseca Silveira Massruha, President, Embrapa Solos
• Liu Jie, Chair Professor and Dean, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Harbin Institute of Technology
• Rikin Gandhi, Co-founder and CEO, Digital Green.

17/09 Transforming the Food Industry for Healthy Diets and Better Nutrition

Watch the recording here of 17/09: Transforming the Food Industry for Healthy Diets and Better Nutrition

Among WAFI's prominent nutrition voices was Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, CGIAR Platform Director for Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact and 2021 World Food Prize Laureate.

18/09 Protein Diversification and Dietary Transformation

Watch the recording here of 18/09: Protein Diversification and Dietary Transformation

The emphasis on a “green and healthy” transformation also placed nutrition and health firmly within the
agricultural innovation agenda. Sessions included discussions around novel and future foods, nutrition, One Health and dietary innovation. 

This session linked dietary diversity with diversification of the food and protein base. The forum explored how protein diversification can contribute to more nutritious, sustainable and resilient food systems, including the transition from technological breakthroughs to market adoption.

• Francesco Branca, former Director of Nutrition and Food Safety, WHO
• Mengshan Chen, Director, China National Food and Nutrition Advisory Committee
• Shenggen Fan, Dean, Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy (AGFEP), China Agricultural University
• Bruce Friedrich, Founder and President, Good Food Institute; and Nicole Wu, Chief Representative & Executive Director, ProVeg China, who moderated the high-level dialogue on industrialisation of novel proteins.

19/09 Coarse Grains, Whole Grains, and the Green and Low-Carbon Transformation of Agrifood Systems

Watch the recording here of 19/09: Coarse Grains, Whole Grains, and the Green and Low-Carbon Transformation of Agrifood Systems

On the final day, WAFI hosted a dietary-fibre innovation forum addressing Low glycemic index (GI) foods and prebiotics, while a One Health forum explored connections between agrifood systems and wider health governance. 

19/09 China Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Industrial Cooperation Forum

Watch the recording here of 19/09:  China Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Industrial Cooperation Forum

This session focused on a central challenge in China–Africa agricultural cooperation: how to move from scientific and technological innovation to adoption, commercialisation and impact at scale. Discussions connected agricultural research with technology transfer, institutional capacity, markets, private-sector investment and locally appropriate innovation ecosystems.

• Antony Chapoto — Executive Director, ANAPRI. His contribution addressed the policy and institutional environment required for technology adoption, scaling and sustained private-sector investment in Africa.
• Esther Van de Voort — Director, Innovation Portfolio & Ecosystem Partnerships, Yara International. She participated in the panel “From Technology to Market: Building Sustainable China–Africa Agricultural Innovation Ecosystems,” looking at how cross-border partnerships can accelerate technology commercialisation, market access and scalable agricultural impact.
• Issa Ouedraogo — Senior Scientist, Climate Action, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and Country Representative in Senegal. He focused on connecting agricultural science and innovation with locally appropriate solutions and moving “from innovation to impact.”

19/09 Tropical Agriculture and South-South Cooperation

Watch the recording here of 19/09: Tropical Agriculture and South-South Cooperation

WAFI 2026 also highlighted the international character of contemporary agricultural research and innovation. Its partnership with CGIAR and engagement of international research, government and private-sector actors provided a space for linking China's agricultural science and innovation capacity with global research networks.

This session centred on two linked themes: “Green, Low-Carbon and Sustainable Transformation of Tropical Agriculture” and “Strengthening South–South Cooperation for a Green and Healthy Agricultural Future.” The forum examined how science, technology, investment, institutional partnerships and knowledge exchange can accelerate sustainable tropical agriculture, particularly across the Global South.

• Feng Weizhe — Dean/Director, Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University; opening-session moderator. He presented the institute's work in tropical agriculture and overseas Science and Technology Backyards, including initiatives in Malawi and Brazil.
  
• Ruben G. Echeverría (picture) — Senior Adviser, Agricultural Research for Development; opening remarks. He argued that South–South cooperation should evolve beyond one-way technology transfer toward long-term partnerships encompassing research, investment, business and innovation.
• Shenggen Fan — Dean and Chair Professor, Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy (AGFEP), China Agricultural University; opening remarks. He highlighted a shift from individual projects toward institutionalised South–South partnerships, including joint funds, networks and working groups.
• Sean de Cleene — Adjunct Professor, Singapore Institute of Technology; moderator of the keynote session. He proposed rapid “sprint” cooperation that brings research, finance, farmer training and private investment together around concrete bottlenecks.
• Jiang Changshun — Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS); keynote speaker. His contribution focused on international tropical-agriculture R&I cooperation, capacity building, germplasm, pest and disease management, technology transfer, standards and trade.
• Simon Heck — Director General, International Potato Center (CIP); keynote speaker. He discussed the expansion of potato production into tropical Asia and Africa and the need to translate advances in breeding more rapidly into farmer-accessible solutions.
• Lin Faqin — Professor, Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy, China Agricultural University; keynote speaker. He addressed agrifood-system resilience amid geopolitical conflict, input-price increases, trade restrictions and climate change, with particular attention to smallholders.
• Conrad Rein — Secretary-General, Flagship Initiative for Global Food Security; keynote speaker. His presentation, “From Knowledge to Scaling: Advancing Resilient Tropical Agriculture through South–South Cooperation,” stressed connecting knowledge, partnerships and capital to take proven solutions to scale.

See: Comments from Ruben G. Echeverria : Strong science, technology, and innovation partnerships are essential to agricultural development. Scaling them requires partners—and partnership requires trust.

"Regional networks such as FARA, CORAF, ASARECA in Africa, APAARI in Asia, and FONTAGRO in LAC can connect local and global innovation. At the global level, CGIAR provides a trusted foundation for science-based partnerships with Chinese universities, academies of science, and other organizations represented at this conference."

Turn innovation to local contexts

The discussions in Pinggu ultimately reinforced a central message: green and healthy agrifood transformation depends on connecting technological innovation with ecological sustainability, nutrition, inclusive development and international cooperation. AI, biotechnology, regenerative agriculture and novel foods can provide new possibilities, but their contribution will depend on how effectively research institutions, farmers, businesses, governments and communities work together to turn innovation into solutions appropriate to diverse local contexts.

Future-proofing EU Agri-Food through research and innovation

24–25 September 2026 Brussels. EU AgRI 2040 Conference “Future-proofing EU Agri-Food through research and innovation”

The two-day event, was chance to connect with key stakeholders and help shape the priorities of the next Horizon Europe EU Research and Innovation Framework Programme and the future European Competitiveness Fund.

• Day 1 explored how research and innovation can support more competitive, resilient and sustainable agriculture, forestry and rural areas. Discussions will focus on deploying and scaling up solutions, strengthening knowledge uptake by farmers, foresters and rural actors, and identifying research and innovation needs that can translate into practical solutions and market opportunities.
• Day 2 built on these exchanges to consider how strategic research and innovation partnerships can be strengthened within the EU and beyond. Participants will reflect on lessons learned from current initiatives, ways to connect public-interest objectives with public and private innovation capacities, and meaningful engagement with international partners.

Highlights:

24/09 11:00 – 12:30 Fostering deployment, scaling-up and uptake of research and innovation results in agriculture, forestry and rural areas

Panel discussion: How to bolster opportunities and overcome barriers for deployment, scaling up and
uptake of R&I outputs? What are successful examples?

• Elisabeth Werner, Director-General, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
• Richard Zaltzman, CEO, EIT-Food
• Adrián Ferrero, EU Mission Soil Board Member
• Jan van Esch, Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality
• Iulia Blagu, President, Romanian National Association of Women in Agriculture

25/09 11:30 – 12:45 (CEST) Partnerships for research and innovation that foster competitive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems in Europe and beyond

Panel discussion: How to build strong strategic partnerships within the EU and beyond? What are successful examples?

• 
  Charles Spillane, Chief Scientist, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)
• Anna Okello, Director of the CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security Program, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
• Jean Francois de Saedeleer, Senior Engineer in Bioeconomy, European Investment Bank (EIB)
• Katariina Kemppainen, Chair of the Governance Board, Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC)
• Ulrike Ziegler, Coordinator, Horizon Europe Partnership ‘Agroecology’
• Mette Damgaard Nielsen, Senior Scientific Manager, Novo Nordisk Global
• Valérie Corre, Director European Affairs, Tereos

Related:

8 September 2026. The European Commission launched a new strategic approach to boost research, innovation, deployment and uptake in Europe’s agri-food sector.


The European Commission adopted a Communication on a new Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation for competitive, resilient and sustainable agriculture, forestry, rural areas and food systems. This strategic document brings together two closely interlinked frameworks, to guide future research, innovation, deployment and uptake across the entire agri-food sector. These frameworks are AgRI 2040, focusing on agriculture, forestry and rural areas, and Food 2040, focusing on food systems, including fisheries and aquaculture.

The Communication identifies cooperation with international partners as one of six cross-cutting priorities and specifically points to the AU–EU FNSSA Roadmap and its International Research Consortium as the framework for identifying common R&I priorities with Africa.

GFAiR through its global coordination and network along with the 5 Regional Fora (FARA, APAARI, CACAARI, FORAGRO, EFARD) can contribute to Food 2040 by acting as the bridge between the EU’s global R&I ambitions and the priorities, capacities and innovation systems of their regions.

Strengthening the international dimension of R&D

23 September 2026. Brussels. SCAR Foresight: preparing European agrifood research and innovation for a world of permanent disruption

Related: 8 September 2026. The European Commission launched a new strategic approach to boost research, innovation, deployment and uptake in Europe’s agri-food sector.

The Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) convened its 6th SCAR Foresight Recommendation Workshop in, bringing together around 45 representatives from SCAR Working Groups, the SCAR Steering Group, the European Commission and foresight experts. Entitled “Shaping the future”, the workshop was designed to review the emerging findings of the 6th SCAR Foresight exercise and, importantly, translate its scientific conclusions into recommendations for European and national research and innovation (R&I) policy. 

The workshop came at an important moment. SCAR undertakes a major foresight exercise every three to five years, and the sixth exercise builds on the previous foresight while responding to a substantially changed environment. COVID-19, geopolitical conflicts, climate change, biodiversity loss, volatile markets and other overlapping disruptions have exposed vulnerabilities in European agrifood systems. The new report therefore asks how European agrifood systems can remain resilient and adaptive in conditions where disruption may increasingly be the norm rather than the exception. 

From three transition pathways to an interconnected agrifood system

A central message of the 6th Foresight is that circularity, diversity, and healthy and sustainable diets cannot be addressed as separate transition pathways. They are interconnected components of the same agrifood system and must be considered within the fundamental biophysical constraints imposed by the land–water nexus. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are consequently viewed not only as production sectors but also as strategic stabilisers of European society and stewards of land, water and biological resources.  

This represents both continuity and evolution from the 5th SCAR Foresight, which identified three major pathways towards a “safe and just operating space”: healthy and sustainable diets for all, circular zero-waste food systems, and greater diversity. The earlier foresight already stressed that these pathways needed to be considered together in order to identify synergies, trade-offs, barriers and gamechangers and to break down disciplinary and policy silos.  The sixth exercise takes this systems perspective further by examining how these priorities perform when confronted with a much more volatile global environment.

Stress-testing the future through “gamechangers”

One distinctive feature of the new foresight is its use of scenarios and gamechangers. Rather than attempting to predict what Europe’s food system will look like in 2050, the exercise explores alternative futures and tests how agrifood systems might respond to major disruptions. The methodology combines scenario building, gamechanger stress-testing, literature review and SWOT analysis across the three focus areas and the land–water nexus. 

This approach reflects a broader understanding of foresight itself. SCAR foresight is not intended to predict the future; its purpose is to explore different possible futures so that research systems and policymakers are better prepared for emerging risks, opportunities and unexpected events.  The 6th Foresight consequently argues for a shift from short-term reaction to long-term preparedness; from separate pathways to interacting system functions; from silo optimisation to system resilience; from isolated outputs to system-level impacts; and from fragmented governance to coordinated operational capability. 

Turning foresight into recommendations

The Brussels workshop focused specifically on converting these insights into actionable recommendations. Following introductory remarks by **Elke Saggau**, Chair of the SCAR Foresight Group, and **Giulia Bizzo** from the SCAR Secretariat, foresight expert **Kerstin Cuhls** presented the principal results and scientific recommendations of the sixth exercise. **Gianluca Brunori** then reflected on recommendations from previous SCAR foresights and what has changed in the context of recent crises, while **Stefano Grando** introduced initial ideas for SCAR recommendations. A tour de table moderated by **Olivier Mora** invited SCAR Working Group chairs to formulate three to four policy-level recommendations from the perspective of their respective sectors. 

The afternoon discussion moved from diagnosis to action. Participants were asked to identify the most important trends, signals and challenges emerging from the Foresight; consider the short- and long-term steps required at European Commission and national levels; identify research needs across circularity, diversity and healthy diets in the face of land, energy and water constraints; and consider how research can raise awareness of the urgency of food-system transformation. The discussion also addressed what needs to change or be strengthened in policies, organisations and ministries to improve the resilience of European agrifood systems. 

Implications for future research and innovation

The draft Foresight report points towards a broader conception of R&I performance. Research should not be judged solely by individual technologies, projects or sectoral outputs, but also by whether it contributes to resilience, ecosystem health, resource efficiency, nutrition, economic viability and long-term public value across the whole system. This calls for stronger interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, closer collaboration between actors and territories, and better connections between technological and social innovation. 

Among the directions identified are stronger integrated governance across policy domains; collaboration at local, regional and EU levels; greater preparedness for future disruption; long-term financing for system adaptation; living labs and regional pilots; improved indicators and “true pricing” approaches that reveal environmental and health impacts; and better use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence. The report also stresses that food security cannot be reduced to the availability of calories: healthy diets, healthy soils, food literacy and sustainable resource use must remain integral to future R&I strategies. 

From European foresight to international research collaboration

An important implication extends beyond Europe. Agrifood systems are globally interconnected through research, trade, genetic resources, knowledge, markets and environmental impacts. The earlier SCAR Foresight already warned that sustainability improvements within Europe should not simply export environmental or social costs elsewhere and emphasised the importance of intercontinental and cross-policy cooperation.  The sixth exercise reinforces this international dimension by explicitly recommending learning from other countries rather than “re-inventing wheels” and by highlighting collaboration as essential to building resilience. 

For international agricultural research partnerships, this suggests moving beyond isolated projects towards long-term knowledge exchange, joint foresight, shared experimentation and research networks capable of responding rapidly to shocks. It also creates a strong rationale for connecting European R&I more systematically with research and innovation actors in Africa, Asia, the Near East and North Africa, and Latin America, particularly where countries face common challenges around climate resilience, biodiversity, diets, water, digitalisation and the inclusion of farmers and other food-system actors.

The Brussels meeting therefore represented more than the final stages of another foresight report. It was an effort to translate possible futures into choices about how research should be organised today. The emerging message of the 6th SCAR Foresight is that preparedness requires the capacity to connect the dots: between circularity and diversity, diets and natural resources, science and society, short-term crises and long-term transformation, and European research priorities and the wider global agrifood system.

See the SCAR-ARCH presentation here (in case the below PPT cannot be viewed in your browser.

Products and Seeds at the World Social Forum

In Cotonou, Benin, the 2026 World Social Forum hosted an exhibition space dedicated to agroecology, bringing together producers and organizations from several countries. Participants showcased a diversity of local food products and farmers’ seeds, highlighting local agricultural practices, crop diversity and farmers’ knowledge and expertise. 

The exchanges emphasized the importance of farmers’ seed systems for food and seed sovereignty, including the ability of farming communities to conserve, use, exchange and further develop crop varieties adapted to their environments and food needs.

Future food symposium UK

14 - 15 September 2026. Future food symposium UK. The Future of Food Symposium is hosted by 6 universities across the UK

1. University of Essex
2. University of Nottingham
3. University of Reading
4. Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex
5. University of Birmingham
6. University of Sheffield

It is an annual event that brings together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and advocates working at the cutting edge of food systems research and practice. In 2026, the symposium took place under the theme Food Systems at a Crossroads: Local Action, Global Change, reflecting the urgent need to connect place-based knowledge and community-led innovation with the broader systemic transformations required to build equitable, sustainable, and resilient food futures.

Book of Abstracts - Food Systems at a Crossroads: Local Action, Global Change 29 p,

This year's symposium spans an extraordinary breadth of topics, from agri-food sustainability and Indigenous food sovereignty, to community food resilience, public dining, coastal food challenges, nutrition and health inequalities, and the growing role of data and artificial intelligence in food systems. Together, the tracks reflect a shared conviction: that meaningful change in food systems requires collaboration across disciplines, sectors, institutions, and borders.

Extracts of the programme

14/09 Positive Agri-Food Futures for People and Planet

Food systems are at a critical juncture, facing intensifying pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss, resource degradation, and persistent inequalities in access to nutritious food and sustainable livelihoods. Delivering a transition toward resilient, nature-positive agri-food systems requires moving beyond fragmented approaches toward integrated, outcome-focused strategies that recognise the interdependencies between environmental health, food production, and societal wellbeing. 

• Luh Putu Kartini, Putu Diah Sastri Pitanatri, Bali Tourism Polytechnic - Beyond Food Waste: Women's Culinary Mediation and Circular Food Futures in Rural Bali
• Shreya, Sijo Abraham, Nimisha Mittal, Independent Researcher - Seed Commons as Integrated Infrastructure for Climate-Resilient Food Systems: Evidence from Eastern India
• Alampik Debbarma, Tripura University - Food, Forests, and Sustainability: Indigenous Tipra Culinary Practices in Northeast India
• Nma Goran Dhahir, Water Diplomacy Center - Governing Water, Governing Nutrition: Transboundary Water Governance Failures, Water Quality Degradation, and Nutritional Vulnerability in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
• Alice Mauchline, University of Reading - Working in Partnership: How can farmers best inform peer-reviewed science and scientists best inform farmers?
• Ada Freaney and Claire Mac Evilly, Airfield Estate - Cultivating Sustainable Futures: The Living Classroom Model at Airfield Estate
• Carina Manitius, University of Vermont - Stranded Assets and Stranded Livelihoods in Agriculture: Identifying Barriers to Change to Support Just Transformation

14/09 Community-Based Approaches to Tackling Food Insecurity 

While a significant body of literature exists on people’s experiences of emergency food access, particularly through networked and independent foodbanks, many new forms of community-based approaches to tackling food insecurity continue to emerge. New community-based spaces of food access go beyond food aid provision and seek to create a sense of connection, build resilience and even ‘close the circular loop’ between food surplus, affordable food access, and food waste that is then revalorised as compost to grow local, sustainable food. 

• Anton Rosenfeld and Bruce Pearce, Garden Organic - Growing resilience through culturally relevant varieties
• Connie Dalton, Pamela Louise Graham, and Richard Lee, Northumbria University - Beyond Nutrition: A Mixed-Methods Study of Children, Families, and School Staff's Experiences of Free School Meals Across the UK
• Neal Haddaway, University of Amsterdam - Commensality: exploring agricultural migrant workers'relationships with food and cooking
• Nia Coupe, Hollie Walsh, Zahra Mulla et al., University of Manchester - Getting nutritious food into food aid: the Food Aid Mapping Manchester (FAMM) study
• Purva Bahadkar and Anita Dighe, Foundation for Mother & Child Health India - Beyond Food: Strengthening Food Security Through Timely Behaviour Change Communication During the First 1,000 Days
• Sharon Mada, Thuenen Institute - Approaches to Food Waste Reduction in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: Practices and Initiatives for Circular Food Systems
  
  Data were collected from 400 households and 39 street market vendors in Hatcliffe, Zimbabwe, through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 experts from Mauritius, Nigeria, Botswana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. 

14/09 Resilience and Community Food Projects 

• 
  Lucy Shepherd, Heritage Seed Library, Garden Organic - Growing Resilience from the Ground Up: Community Conservation of Heritage Crops for a Changing World
  
  This work presented findings from Sowing Your Seeds: Heritage Crops for a Resilient Future, a National Lottery Heritage Fund project led by Garden Organic's Heritage Seed Library. Working across the Midlands, the project identifies, documents and conserves locally maintained edible crop varieties. Through seed-saving workshops, community events and seed swaps, growers are encouraged to share both seeds and the stories behind them, recognising that cultural knowledge and lived experience are inseparable from the genetic resources themselves. By bringing little-known collections of heritage crops back into active cultivation, ‘Sowing Your Seeds’ helps ensure that locally adapted varieties, together with their cultural heritage, remain living components of our food system. This presentation offered attendees opportunities to consider community seed conservation and will suggest a model for participatory conservation that strengthens biodiversity, celebrates community custodianship, and equips food systems with the diversity needed to respond to an uncertain future. 

15/09 Decolonising Food Systems & Sovereignties [Panel Debate]

This panel explored decolonizing food systems through Indigenous resurgence, governance, and relational accountability. Indigenous speakers from Turtle Island will examine how colonial policies, dispossession, and extractive economies have undermined Indigenous food practices and sovereignties. The discussion addressed dismantling colonial structures that regulate land, water, and agriculture, and disrupting the power relationships that privilege state and corporate control over Indigenous decision-making. 

• Track Chair: Dr. Belinda Zakrzewska (University of Birmingham)
• Shyra Barberstock, Co-founder of Kebaonish Inc / Queen's University (Canada)
• Rye Barberstock, Co-founder of Kebaonish Inc / Queen's University (Canada)

Strategy 2040 and Africa Strategy

 2 September 2026. Side event AFS Kigali. CGIAR Strategy 2040 and Africa Strategy

This meeting was a joint CGIAR–FARA consultation held during the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFS Forum) in Kigali. Its purpose was to bring African agricultural research partners and other stakeholders into the development of the emerging CGIAR Africa Strategy while simultaneously gathering African perspectives to shape the longer-term CGIAR Strategy 2040. Participants were invited to provide feedback, priorities and guidance so that both strategies would be more relevant to Africa's needs, better owned by African institutions, and capable of delivering greater impact.

The consultation was particularly important in positioning African institutions as partners in defining CGIAR's future research agenda rather than simply as recipients of CGIAR research. The CGIAR Africa Strategy discussion therefore concerned how CGIAR's science, partnerships and investments should respond to continental and national priorities, while Strategy 2040 looked further ahead at CGIAR's long-term role in a rapidly changing agrifood research and innovation landscape. The workshop also provided an opportunity to strengthen alignment between CGIAR and FARA and the wider African agricultural research and innovation system.

• Dr. Ismahane Elouafi — Executive Managing Director, CGIAR.
• Dr. Simeon Ehui — Director General, IITA, and CGIAR Regional Director for Africa / Continental Champion for Africa.
• Dr. Namukolo Covic — Lead, CGIAR Liaison Office for Africa.
• Dr. Aggrey Agumya — Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
• Dr. Steven Were Omamo — Director, Development Strategies and Governance and Director for Africa, IFPRI
  
   “By 2045, success will not be measured by what CGIAR has done or by the size of CGIAR’s footprint in Africa. Success will be measured by the strength of Africa’s own institutions.”

The session is particularly relevant to GFAiR and the Global NARS Consortium (GNC) because it opens an important space for ensuring that CGIAR Strategy 2040 and its Africa Strategy are connected to NARS priorities, regional research fora and other actors in national agricultural research and innovation systems. This complements GFAiR's role in facilitating dialogue between NARS, regional fora and CGIAR and could provide a practical entry point for GNC to aggregate NARS priorities and feed them systematically into CGIAR's evolving strategy and research agenda.

Related:

Speaking during one of the sessions at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda, Dr Botir Dosov, Global NARS Consortium Coordinator, highlighted four priorities for Africa's agriood systems transformation:

1️⃣ Advance Africa's transition from import dependence to export-oriented economies. Reducing import dependence is only part of the ambition. Africa has the resources and opportunities to become a stronger exporter, and long-term strategies should support this transformation.
2️⃣ Consider how global changes will shape Africa's agricultural future. Africa is part of the global agricultural system. Its long-term strategies must anticipate worldwide trends and their implications for the continent's agricultural development.
3️⃣ Turn policy ambitions into practical action. Progress requires concrete programmes, clear roadmaps, and investment in institutional, cross-sectoral, and interdisciplinary reforms.
4️⃣ Strengthen investment in agricultural research and education. Population growth is increasing food demand. Meeting this challenge requires sustained investment in agricultural research and education systems.

 

Investing in Seed Systems for Resilience, Nutrition and Jobs

3 September 2026. The AFS Forum 2026 side event “Investing in Seed Systems for Resilience, Nutrition and Jobs” was convened by AGRA through its Centre of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa (CESSA). 

The session examined how Africa can move from individual seed-sector projects toward well-financed, nationally coordinated and market-responsive seed systems. The starting point was that quality seed underpins several objectives simultaneously: climate resilience, agricultural productivity, improved nutrition, farmer incomes and rural employment. Yet investment gaps, fragmented coordination and insufficient private-sector participation continue to prevent improved and locally adapted varieties from reaching farmers at scale.

A major focus was the use of Seed Sector Investment Plans to translate evidence on seed-system weaknesses into coordinated public and private investment. 

The first panel, “Seed Sector Investment Plans and National Planning: Mobilising Public and Private Investment,” stressed that investment plans need to cover the whole seed value chain—from breeding and early-generation seed through multiplication, certification, distribution and markets. Governments have a key role in creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment, while private companies provide investment, innovation, multiplication and commercialization. 

The second panel, “Strategic Partnerships for Strengthening Market-Responsive Seed Systems,” shifted attention from seed supply to farmer demand and markets. A central message was that farmers will invest in improved seed when farming is profitable; seed-system development therefore needs stronger links with processors, traders, food value chains and regional markets. This is particularly important for nutritious and climate-resilient crops. Country Manager of HarvestPlus Solutions Nigeria, for example, discussed how biofortified crop seed systems can attract private investment while strengthening nutrition-sensitive and resilient agrifood systems. 

• Evelyn Lusenaka — Director, CESSA/AGRA; keynote/remarks and leadership perspective on strengthening African seed systems.
• Boaz Blackie Keizire — moderator of the session on Seed Sector Investment Plans and National Planning.
• Dr Rufaro Madakadze — Lead, Capacity Building & Technical Support, CESSA/AGRA; moderator of the market-responsive seed-systems panel and contributor to the concluding discussion.
• Enock Chikava — Gates Foundation; remarks on investment and the role of partnerships in strengthening African agricultural and seed systems.
• Dr Jean Claude Rubyogo — Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; perspective linking agricultural research, improved varieties and delivery through functioning seed systems.
• Dr Yusuf Dollah Fou'ad — Country Manager, HarvestPlus Solutions Nigeria; contribution on biofortified seeds, private-sector investment and nutrition-sensitive seed systems
• Samuel Angwenyi — CESSA/AGRA; contributor to the session and concluding discussions.
• Lauren Good — Gates Foundation; contributor to the discussion on investment and partnerships.
• Jonathan Said — AGRA; contributor to the session's concluding discussion on investment and food-system transformation.

The strongest overall conclusion was that seed systems cannot be treated as an isolated agricultural input issue. They have to connect research and breeding with early-generation seed, seed enterprises, finance, regulation, extension, farmers and ultimately profitable markets. This also explains the session's three-part framing: better seed systems contribute to resilience through climate-adapted varieties, nutrition through diverse and biofortified crops, and jobs through seed production, multiplication, distribution, processing and expanding agricultural value chains. (LinkedIn)

Related:

31 August 2026.  Pathways to Scale: Where Nutritious Climate-Smart Seed Systems, Institutional Demand, and Investment Converge for Sustainability

At this breakthrough event, HarvestPlus Solutions (HPS) and partners brought together government, private sector, finance, research, and farmer representatives to explore how Africa can move beyond donor-driven pilots toward locally owned, market-driven food systems that deliver sustained impact at scale.

• Event Moderator: Donald Mavindidze – Senior Program Officer, Gates Foundation 
• Keynote Speaker: Simon Winter – Vice President, Reimagining Humanitarian Nutrition Security at the Rockefeller Foundation Catalytic Capital
• Evelyn Lusenaka – Director of the Center of Excellence for Seed Systems Africa at AGRA
• Ibitoye Oyewale – MD/CEO Premier Seeds Nigeria Ltd. 
• Nelson Munyaka – Zimbabwe Super Seeds
• Yusuf Dollah – Country Manager, HarvestPlus Solutions, Nigeria
• Peter Owoko – Policy Expert, The State Department of Agriculture, Kenya
• Tanner Roark – Senior Technical Advisor at World Vision
• Rewa Misra – Head of National Policy and Innovative Finance, HarvestPlus
• Abebe Chekol – Deputy Director, Country Policy Advocacy and Communications, and Economic Opportunities, Ethiopia, Gates Foundation

Related:

The 27th Annual African Seed Trade Association (AfSTA) Congress will take place from March 16–18, 2027 at the Edge Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. 

Co-hosted by the Seed Trade Association of Kenya (STAK), this premier agricultural event is anticipated to draw more than 600 delegates, bringing together private seed companies, national seed trade groups, and top agricultural research centers from across the globe.

The congress serves as a vital platform for defending the interests of the African seed industry, promoting variety turnover, and advancing trade. 

Key areas of focus for the 2027 sessions include:

1. Technological Innovation: Exploring emerging seed tracing, traceability technologies, and climate-smart agricultural systems. 
   
2. Market Access & Trade Harmonization: Standardizing regional trade policies to facilitate easier seed distribution across African borders.Biotechnology & Intellectual Property: Advancing policy dialogues around plant variety protection, biosafety awareness, and breeding innovations.
3. Institutional Strengthening: Enhancing strategic coordination between national bodies and the international private sector

Related:

8 - 10 September. The Africa Vegetable Breeding Consortium (AVBC) Annual Workshop, hosted by World Vegetable Center in collaboration with African Seed Trade Association (AfSTA), was organised in Cotonou, bringing together key stakeholders to advance innovation and collaboration in Africa’s vegetable seed sector.

AfSTA Secretary General Dr Yacouba Diallo attended this workshop and is part of the insightful presentations from Dr Lourena Arone Maxwell, Dr. Derek Barchenger, Dr Assaf Eybishitz, Dr Mathieu Ayenan and Dr Alfred Ozimati , focusing on important crops for the vegetable sector: Tomato, Okra, and Amaranth.

The participants visited demonstration plots, and had one-on-one meetings between breeders, seed companies, and the producers attending the event. These interactions were designed to better align the needs on the ground, the expectations of the seed sector, and the latest research findings.

The Africa Vegetable Breeding Consortium (AVBC) is a joint initiative of African Seed Trade Association (AfSTA) and the World Vegetable Center.

The new Africa strategy of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

1 September 2026. Africa Food Systems Forum 2026: From research to scale

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT launched its 2026-2030 Africa strategy in Kigali and formalized a partnership with SNV linking research, delivery and finance.

• Juan Lucas Restrepo said the organization is tightening its systems-based approach so research can better connect crop science, soils, biodiversity, local economies and policy.
• The alliance said the time needed to move some agricultural innovations from discovery to farmer adoption has fallen from about 15 years to as little as one to three years.
• Restrepo cited an independent evaluation of the alliance's bean research program showing that every $1 spent generated $32 for farmers.
• The group is rebuilding its funding base after USAID's exit, with a greater focus on development partners, philanthropy, private sector collaboration and impact-investment vehicles.

EC's New Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation

8 September 2026. The European Commission launched a new strategic approach to boost research, innovation, deployment and uptake in Europe’s agri-food sector.

The European Commission adopted a Communication on a new Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation for competitive, resilient and sustainable agriculture, forestry, rural areas and food systems. This strategic document brings together two closely interlinked frameworks, to guide future research, innovation, deployment and uptake across the entire agri-food sector. These frameworks are AgRI 2040, focusing on agriculture, forestry and rural areas, and Food 2040, focusing on food systems, including fisheries and aquaculture.

The Communication aims to strengthen the agri-food innovation ecosystem from early-stage research and innovation to deployment and market uptake, and to accelerate the uptake of knowledge and innovation across the entire sector. It puts greater emphasis on users’ challenges and needs and on the delivery of real impact on the ground by bringing together multiple actors including end users, researchers and businesses, to co-create, test and demonstrate solutions in real-world settings. This will also help startups, scaleups and SMEs to move promising innovations closer to the market.

This Communication draws on insights from the public consultations supporting AgRI 2040 and Food 2040 as summarized in the Staff Working Document.

Resources

• AgRI 2040
• Food 2040
• Future-proofing EU Agri-Food through research and innovation: Summary of the consultation results (12 p)
• Building Food 2040: stakeholder input for the new EU Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Food Systems European Commission Report (17 p)
• Staff Working Document: Analytical overview of the achievements of the 2016 strategic approach to agricultural research and innovation and Food 2030 research and innovation framework and insights from stakeholder consultation activities (91 p)
• EU AgRI 2040 Conference 24-25 September 2026. Brussels

* 25/09 Partnerships for research and innovation that foster competitive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems in Europe and beyond: How to build strong strategic partnerships within the EU and beyond? What are successful examples?

New Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation

The European Commission’s new Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation (26 p.) places global cooperation, inclusive governance, knowledge brokerage and multi-actor innovation at the centre of future agricultural R&I. 

"In 2023, EU agriculture and food systems generated more than EUR 1 trillion in added value and employed around 30 million people (15% of all jobs in the EU2). This includes 4.8 million people employed in 309 000 businesses in the food and drink industry, the EU’s largest manufacturing sector that delivered EUR 1.5 trillion in turnover and EUR 296 billion in value added. As the world’s largest agri-food exporter, the EU recorded a EUR 50 billion agri-food trade surplus in 2025." (page 2)

The Communication identifies cooperation with international partners as one of six cross-cutting priorities and specifically points to the AU–EU FNSSA Roadmap and its International Research Consortium as the framework for identifying common R&I priorities with Africa.

This creates a role for GFAiR as a global convening and brokerage mechanism: connecting the EU with Regional Fora, NARS, farmer organisations, universities, CGIAR and other innovation actors; facilitating equitable participation in research agenda-setting; and helping translate international research investments into locally relevant Collective Actions. 

"The new roadmap agreed between the African Union and the EU on ‘Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture’ (FNSSA), together with the related International Research Consortium should provide a framework for identifying, with the African Union and related partners, common areas on which to focus. Cooperation with other partners to address similar challenges in agriculture, forestry and rural areas, such as India or the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, could be further explored." (page 12)

This is reinforced by the Communication's emphasis on governance that integrates different forms of knowledge and perspectives, inclusive stakeholder engagement, youth and gender, and stronger links between research and policymaking. In this sense, GFAiR can help ensure that international cooperation under AgRI 2040 is not simply EU research transferred to partner countries, but genuinely co-created research and innovation responding to priorities identified by national and regional actors.

The Communication is equally significant for National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) because its proposed innovation model closely corresponds to the functions NARS must perform: linking research, farmers, extension and advisory services, education, private enterprise, policymakers and markets. 

The Commission stresses that innovation must move beyond individual projects through scaling out, scaling up and scaling deep, and argues that farmers are more likely to adopt innovations when they are co-created with them, tested under real-life conditions and supported through advisory services and peer-to-peer exchange. This provides a strong rationale for engaging NARS as national innovation-system partners rather than merely research implementers. Their research stations, extension links, testing facilities, universities and relationships with producers can provide the institutional infrastructure for Living Labs, farmer-led experimentation, validation of traditional knowledge and adaptation of innovations to local conditions. 

Particularly relevant to GFAiR’s current work, AgRI 2040 explicitly calls for the development or reintroduction of “neglected and underutilised species” as climate-smart, resource-efficient, resilient and diverse crops.

"The potential of plant breeding, knowledge of seeds and plant varieties, biotechnology and genetic resources should be further leveraged. This includes supporting breeding activities, as well as the development or reintroduction of climate-smart, resource-efficient, resilient, resistant and diverse varieties, including neglected and underutilised species, suited to a wide range of conditions, with due consideration of the legal and policy context." (page 16-17)

Extract from the consultation results

Up to 88% of the respondents strongly or somewhat agreed with the four proposed mechanisms to strengthen research and innovation (R&I) at EU and international level to address global challenges in agriculture, forestry and rural areas: (page 10)

1. closer public-public cooperation and alignment of agendas between the EU, Member States and Associated Countries; 
2. enhanced public-private collaboration with business and philanthropic actors; 
3. deeper partnerships with international organisations and third countries; 
4. stronger cross-disciplinary and cross sectoral collaboration (for example on One Health, the bioeconomy, biotechnology and the blue economy). 

Extract from the Staff Working Document

The Staff Working Document provides a fairly clear set of lessons for how agricultural research and innovation (R&I) should be strengthened at international level. The most relevant elements are:

• Treat international cooperation as a core R&I function, not an add-on. The Commission argues that climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, water scarcity and food insecurity are inherently cross-border challenges. International cooperation is therefore needed to accelerate innovation uptake, exchange knowledge and co-develop solutions adapted to local needs. The document notes that third-country partners participated in 34% of relevant Horizon 2020 projects and 19% of current Horizon Europe projects.
  
  
• Build long-term international R&I partnerships around jointly agreed priorities. The EU–AU FNSSA Partnership is presented as a flagship model: it combines joint research, innovation, capacity building and knowledge exchange around sustainable agriculture, nutrition-sensitive food systems, markets and trade, climate resilience and innovation uptake. The Commission has mobilised more than €125.5 million for 20 collaborative projects through this cooperation. Several projects began in 2020: FOODLAND | InnoFoodAfrica | HealthyFoodAfricaEWA – BELT | SustainSAHEL | SustInAfrica | UPSCALE | Soils4Africa
  
  
• 
  Move from temporary projects towards permanent or networked international research mechanisms. Particularly important is the International Research Consortium (IRC-FNSSA). 
  "Its establishment has transformed FNSSA from a coordination platform into a long-term, inclusive mechanism for joint AU-EU research governance."
  Together with the forthcoming FNSSA Roadmap 2027–2036, it is expected to support
  innovation, policy alignment and sustainable development across both continents.
  CEA-FIRST further supports this by reducing research fragmentation, developing a common knowledge platform, analysing R&I activities and establishing thematic working groups that feed evidence into high-level policy dialogue.
  
  
• Strengthen NARS and Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). The AKIS4FNSSA project is a Horizon Europe research initiative that builds a shared African and European agricultural knowledge network to support sustainable food security. The envisaged impact is to strengthen the AU–EU agrifood systems R&I governance framework by evolving the IRC into an enduring infrastructure and a community of practice that drives agricultural innovation in Africa. AKIS4FNSSA is a shared African and European knowledge investment into a productive, innovative-driven and inclusive agricultural innovation system supporting the FNSSA Partnership.
  
  
• 
  Use multi-actor and place-based approaches internationally. International cooperation increasingly supports place-based innovation and AKIS, while Horizon cooperation promotes multi-actor approaches and capacity building. CANALLS (Driving agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa through traNsdisciplinary Agroecology Living LabS) provides a concrete African example: eight agroecology Living Labs connect researchers, farmers, advisory services,
  communities and policymakers and engage more than 20,000 farmers and value-chain actors. This is a way of connecting science, policy and practice.
  
  
  
• Connect international research to policy and investment rather than ending at knowledge generation. PRIMA - The Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area - demonstrates such model: countries pool resources around a common R&I strategy and competitive calls. Between 2018 and 2025 it supported 2,900 beneficiaries through 305 projects, illustrating how a long-term intergovernmental partnership can mobilise scientific communities, public institutions and private actors around common challenges.
  
  
• 
  Improve access of smaller and less-connected actors to international R&I. Cascade funding can finance SMEs, farmers and other small actors to test and validate research results, while Living Labs and lighthouses allow innovations to be tested under real conditions.
  
  The PREMIERE project adds training, capacity building, networking, brokerage and even seed funding for proposal development, specifically to widen participation of organisations with little previous experience in collaborative projects. PREMIERE is a European Union funded project that aims to strengthen the multi-actor approach by supporting the development of more relevant, coherent, and well-prepared project proposals. Handbook #2 is the second in PREMIERE’s series of practical guides for multi-actor proposal teams. It’s a companion to the forthcoming, shorter How-to Guide on the same topic and to PREMIERE’s webinar on this subject (available soon).

The role of regional fora

GFAiR through its global coordination and network along with the six Regional Fora can contribute to Food 2040 by acting as the bridge between the EU’s global R&I ambitions and the priorities, capacities and innovation systems of their regions. Building on the Food 2030 experience, they can help co-define research agendas, connect NARS and AKIS actors, identify locally relevant food-system challenges, mobilise multi-actor partnerships, and channel evidence from farmers, researchers, advisory services, private sector and policymakers into international R&I programming.

GFAiR and Regional Fora together could help Food 2040 avoid fragmented, project-by-project cooperation by aggregating national priorities, facilitating cross-country and South–South learning, supporting regional Living Labs and Communities of Practice, and ensuring that EU-funded research is better aligned with regional strategies and more effectively taken up through NARS, extension, education and policy systems.

APAARI’s Role in Agricultural Research and Innovation

The Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) was founded in 1990 through an initiative of FAO and governments across Asia and the Pacific. Its vision is strengthened research and innovation for sustainable agricultural development, while its mission focuses on promoting, coordinating and strengthening agrifood research and innovation systems through partnerships, capacity development and advocacy. Its strategic priorities encompass sustainable agriculture and agroecology, healthy and nutritious value chains, innovation and technology, safe agrifood trade, and climate resilience, biodiversity and environmental sustainability.

APAARI acts as a regional connector and platform for international research collaboration, linking national research organizations, CGIAR and international research centres, universities, extension services, farmers and civil society, the private sector, development partners and regional platforms. Collaboration is organized around knowledge exchange, joint research and innovation, capacity development, regional networking, policy dialogue, resource mobilization and technical cooperation. Current projects illustrate this role in practice, covering phytosanitary compliance and seed trade, plant-health research coordination, SPS modernization, skills and policy support, and agroecology and safe food systems across South and Southeast Asia.

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AARINENA's Role in Agricultural Research and Innovation

The Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA), established in 1985, serves as a regional hub for strengthening and transforming agricultural research and innovation across the NENA region. Its mission is to connect national, regional and international research actors through dialogue, knowledge exchange and partnerships, while strengthening capacities and influencing policy. Its priorities include building a global knowledge platform for South–South and South–North exchange, fostering open and multi-stakeholder agricultural R&I systems, transforming higher education and research, and empowering rural women, youth and smallholder farmers.

AARINENA provides a strong platform for international research collaboration through knowledge sharing, capacity building, joint resource mobilization, policy engagement, networking, technology transfer, and joint monitoring and evaluation. Its thematic networks cover areas such as plant genetic resources, water-use efficiency, date palm, olives, animal production and health, plant protection, biotechnology and Forgotten Foods, Neglected Crops and Underutilized Species (FF-NUS), providing practical structures for collaborative research and innovation. Recent examples include the Date Palm Innovation Platform (2023) and Olive Innovation Platform (2024).

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The role of FORAGRO in Agricultural Research and Innovation

FORAGRO - the Forum of the Americas for Agricultural Research and Technological Development, established in 1997, is a hemispheric, open and inclusive forum connecting the main actors in agricultural research, development and innovation across the Americas. It brings together national agricultural research institutes, academia, producer and private-sector organizations, civil society, extension services, regional cooperation mechanisms and international organizations. Its role combines an internal function—promoting dialogue, coordination, investment and a shared regional R&I agenda—with an external function, connecting the Americas with global research and innovation processes through GFAiR, CGIAR and other regional and international partners.

FORAGRO’s reconceptualization is structured around three strategic axes: (1) developing a strategic and foresight roadmap for science, technology and innovation (STI) in agrifood systems; (2) creating a platform for horizontal cooperation, including AGROFOOD-TROP and AI-supported knowledge management through OPSAa; and (3) strengthening engagement with international STI spaces. The third axis positions FORAGRO as a regional voice, global foresight radar and strategic interpreter of international opportunities, enabling the Americas to formulate common priorities, anticipate emerging trends, connect regional capabilities with global initiatives, and present more coordinated regional positions internationally.

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FARA's role in Agricultural Research and Innovation 

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) was created in 1997 and evolved by 2000 into Africa’s apex organization for agricultural research and innovation. Its establishment responded to the fragmentation of Africa’s national research systems and the need for a continental mechanism to coordinate research, strengthen capacities, facilitate partnerships and knowledge exchange, advocate for supportive policies, and represent African agricultural research internationally, including within GFAiR. 

FARA’s strategic role is to connect science with agriculture at scale by improving access to regional and global knowledge, facilitating innovation-to-impact partnerships, strengthening institutional and human capacities, and supporting collective action across countries and sub-regions. The presentation highlights an evolving African agricultural research agenda shaped by digitalization, climate change, agroecology and regenerative agriculture, gender and social inclusion, a rapidly growing youth population, and the vulnerability of African food systems. 

FARA positions itself as “one door” to research partnerships across 55 African countries and as a key African partner for GFAiR. The final slide identifies concrete areas of FARA–GFAiR Collective Action collaboration: Forgotten Foods, inclusive digital transformation of agriculture, agroecology/pesticides, transformation of higher education in agriculture, and land tenure and climate change.

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CACAARI's Role in Agricultural Research and Innovation

CACAARI—the Central Asia and the Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutions—serves as a regional forum linking national agricultural research institutions in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with universities, advisory services, farmer organizations and international partners. Its approach is based on national ownership: countries identify research priorities and farmers’ needs, while CACAARI facilitates regional consultation, coordination and partnerships. Its main areas of shared interest include water and soil management, climate adaptation, food and rural livelihoods, with an emphasis on connecting research to practical farming and agribusiness decisions.

For 2026–2030, CACAARI proposes four priorities: climate-resilient farming; stronger research systems; innovation with farmers, particularly women and youth; and improved evidence and useful digital tools. It seeks partnerships that can translate these priorities into shared regional agendas, joint programmes, field-learning initiatives and evidence for research investment. Concrete opportunities include cross-border research on water and soils, university–farmer–advisory partnerships for women and youth, and assessments of research capacity and investment needs. CACAARI also provides a bridge to wider regional and global cooperation through GFAiR, APAARI and AARINENA, positioning Central Asian and Caucasus research institutions to contribute to—and benefit from—international agricultural research and innovation initiatives.

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