Clean Energy to Nourish a Continent: Unlocking renewable power for Africa’s food systems

Clean Energy to Nourish a Continent: Unlocking renewable power for Africa’s food systems, a white paper co-authored with GAIN and SNV, looks at how renewable energy can be a vehicle for growth in the African food processing sector. 

Read the executive summary HERE and the full report HERE.

Fermentation: from evidence to scale

Fermentation: An Ancient Solution to Modern Challenges, published by Sight and Life in March 2025. CIFF supported the publication. 100 pp.

The report examines traditional food fermentation as a potentially powerful solution for nutrition, food security, livelihoods, and environmental challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Its main findings include:

• Improved nutrition: Fermentation can improve mineral bioavailability and protein digestibility while reducing anti-nutritional compounds.
• Food preservation: Fermentation can extend shelf life, helping reduce food loss and improve food availability where refrigeration and storage are limited.
• Food safety: Certain fermentation processes can inhibit harmful microorganisms and improve the safety of foods.
• Climate and sustainability: Fermentation is generally an energy-efficient preservation method and can contribute to reducing food waste.
• Women and livelihoods: Traditional fermentation is frequently carried out by women at household or small-business level, so scaling it could create income opportunities and strengthen women's economic participation.
• Local food systems: The report emphasizes building on indigenous knowledge and locally available foods rather than relying exclusively on imported technologies.
• Scaling challenges: Major barriers include inconsistent fermentation processes, food-safety concerns, limited scientific evidence, lack of standards and regulation, consumer acceptance, and difficulties moving from household production to commercial scale.

1 September 2026. Organized by: Sight and

Life, CIFF Sight and Life (SAL) work on fermentation. This included the first-of-its-kind Special Report on Fermentation, and a new programme –Foundations for Scaling Fermented Foods in Nigeria and Ethiopia– generating country-level evidence to guide safe, effective scaleup of fermented foods across Africa. 

SAL launched the report and programme to spotlight fermentation's potential to combat malnutrition, improve livelihoods and reduce food's climate impact. 

This session was the flagship to position fermentation on the continental agenda and anchor the evidence base for Ethiopia's national roadmap. 

Session objectives 

1. Launch the Special Report on Fermentation to a high-level, continental audience. 
2. Position fermentation on the African food-systems agenda as a climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive solution strengthening local livelihoods - especially for women producers. 
3. Inspire collaboration: driving innovation, attracting investment, and supporting evidence-informed policy on fermented foods

Speakers 

1. Petrida Paul Moderator; Executive Communications Coordinator Sight and Life
2. Elvis Gakuba Africa Director Sight and Life
3. Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen-Küffer Scientific Director Sight and Life
4. Dr. Elmer Ametefe Senior Lecturer University of Ghana
5. Dr. Zouera Youssoufou Managing Director & CEO Aliko Dangote Foundation
6. H.E. Dr. Telesphore Ndabamenye Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources Government of Rwanda
7. H.E. Demeke Mekonnen Hassen Former Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia; Founder & Board Chairperson Yadam Foundation
8. H.E. Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Nigeria
9. H.E. Aurélie Royet-Gounin French Ambassador to Rwanda French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs / Embassy of France in Rwanda
10. Chef Dieuveil Malonga (see picture)

Hodari Foundation: Building a Future Through Innovation, Independence and Inclusion

The HODARI Foundation operates as a refugee-led nonprofit within the Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in Southwestern Uganda to assist marginalized groups. Its core focus areas include enterprise development, agriculture, and community protection aimed at fostering sustainable livelihoods and empowerment.


Over the past five years, we have worked alongside communities to create opportunities, strengthen resilience, and promote sustainable solutions—reaching *more than 6,310 people of concern* through locally led initiatives.

See video https://youtu.be/VFUPuEZLVos?si=mS14h3jvwMiw3fjb

Hodari Foundation is built around a simple but powerful belief: people and communities can thrive when they have access to the right opportunities and support.

The organisation’s work, as is centred on responding to challenges such as food insecurity, climate-related pressures and the need for sustainable livelihoods. Rather than focusing only on short-term assistance, Hodari seeks to develop practical solutions that can create lasting impact.

Its approach is reflected in its three guiding principles:

• Innovation – finding creative and practical ways to address community challenges.
• Independence – helping people develop skills, income and opportunities that enable greater self-reliance.
• Inclusion – ensuring that people and communities are not left behind.

Turning Challenges Into Opportunities

Many communities face interconnected challenges. Limited employment opportunities can contribute to poverty, while food insecurity and environmental pressures can make it even harder for families to build stable lives.

Hodari Foundation's approach is to respond to these challenges through sustainable, community-focused initiatives. Its work combines social impact with enterprise, creating opportunities that can contribute to both individual independence and wider community development.

Permaculture and sustainable food systems

Hodari identifies food insecurity and climate change among the challenges it wants to address. A permaculture approach fits naturally with this goal because it emphasises:

• growing food sustainably using local resources;
• improving soil and biodiversity;
• reducing dependence on expensive external inputs;
• building resilient local food systems; and
• creating livelihoods alongside food production.

Indigenous and local foods

Food-related products, include Mushroom Flour, Composite Porridge, Mushroom Coffee, Mushroom - Hibiscus Juice. They provide a way of bringing traditional foods into modern markets while creating income for producers.

Indigenous food systems often contain knowledge about locally adapted crops, ecological conditions and sustainable cultivation practices.

Rather than treating food insecurity only as a problem requiring food distribution, a sustainable food-system model seeks to enable communities to grow, process, sell and consume their own food.

Nourishing You Naturally: How a Small Ghanaian Enterprise Is Turning Local Crops into Nutritious Foods

In Bolgatanga-Soe in Ghana’s Upper East Region, an inspiring food enterprise is demonstrating what can happen when local agricultural resources are transformed into convenient, marketable and nutritious foods.

Nutribrown Enterprise, operating near the Catholic Church in Bolgatanga-Soe, has a  powerful message: “Nourishing You Naturally.” 

Its product range, brings together grains, seeds and fruits in powdered and cereal-based products designed for both adults and children above six months.

The story of Nutribrown is more than a story about cereal. It is a story about crop diversity, local value addition and the potential of African food systems to create nutritious products from locally available resources.

From local crops to finished products

The enterprise's GrainGlow range includes products made with ingredients such as sesame seeds, tiger nuts, legumes, coconut, dates, cinnamon and baobab fruit.

Among the products featured are:

• GrainGlow Sesame Seeds
• GrainGlow Cereal Tiger Nut Mix – Tombrown
• GrainGlow Cereal Legume Mix Powder with Cinnamon
• GrainGlow Cereal Legume Mix Powder with Coconut
• GrainGlow Cereal Legume Mix Powder with Coconut & Dates
• Glow Baobab Fruit Powder

This is precisely the kind of value addition that can make agricultural diversification economically meaningful.

Instead of selling crops only as raw commodities, entrepreneurs can process them into products with greater shelf value, convenience and market appeal. The result can potentially create opportunities at several points along the value chain—from farmers producing the raw materials to processors, packaging businesses, distributors and retailers.

A model worth scaling

What makes enterprises such as Nutribrown particularly interesting is their potential to demonstrate a different model of African agricultural development.

For decades, the conversation has often focused on increasing production of major commodities. That remains important, but there is another question we need to ask:

• What can we do with the crops we already have?
• Can we process them locally?
• Can we develop better products?
• Can we build brands around African ingredients?
• Can farmers receive a larger share of the value created?
• Can young entrepreneurs build businesses around food processing?
• Can indigenous and underutilized crops become commercially attractive while retaining their cultural significance?

Nutribrown offers one small but tangible example of what this approach can look like.

• From Bolgatanga to the wider African food system
• The location is significant.
• The Upper East Region has a long agricultural tradition, but like many parts of Africa, producers and entrepreneurs face challenges associated with markets, processing capacity, financing and access to technology.

Small and medium-sized food enterprises can help bridge some of these gaps.

When local entrepreneurs buy agricultural products, process them and sell finished foods, agriculture becomes connected to a much broader economic ecosystem.

The opportunity extends beyond one enterprise. Imagine networks of businesses producing flours, cereals, snacks, beverages and other foods from millet, sorghum, legumes, sesame, baobab, tiger nuts and other locally adapted crops.

That is how crop diversity can become not only a nutritional asset, but also an economic asset.

The bigger message: African solutions from African resources

The Nutribrown story also resonates strongly with the emerging conversation around initiatives such as AfricaVeg, led by the World Vegetable Center.

Nutribrown represents the downstream end of that same philosophy: turning agricultural diversity into products that can reach consumers.

The future of African food systems will require both sides of the equation.

• We need scientists and breeders developing better crops.
• We need farmers producing them.
• We need entrepreneurs processing them.
• We need investors financing them.
• And we need consumers creating demand for them.

From “Nourishing You Naturally” to “Growing Africa's Food Future”

The Nutribrown brochure tells a much bigger story.

It shows what is possible when local ingredients meet entrepreneurship and value addition.

From sesame seeds to tiger nuts, legumes, coconut, dates and baobab, the products demonstrate that Africa's food future does not have to be built exclusively around imported ingredients or a narrow range of staple crops.

There is enormous potential in the diversity already present across African farms, landscapes and food cultures.

The challenge—and the opportunity—is to build the research, finance, processing, branding and market systems that allow entrepreneurs like Nutribrown to take that diversity from farm to factory, from factory to market, and ultimately from market to the household table.

That is what a truly diversified African food system could look like: local crops, local entrepreneurs, local value addition—and healthier, more resilient food economies.

Nourishing people naturally may begin with a product on a shelf. But transforming Africa's food system begins with recognizing the value of what is already growing in its fields.

AfricaVeg: Turning Africa’s Vegetable Diversity into a New Engine for Food, Nutrition and Investment

1 September 2026. Interview with 

• Dr. Gabriel Rugalema — Regional Director, WorldVeg. 

https://youtu.be/653wzYV_gzs?si=OKEh-VmoUbaSWLRv

See his testimony about innovation in amaranth during the panel Innovation Hub: Investing in Diverse Crops discussion 

 https://youtu.be/dqcXkJAfs-s?si=iG2-wHZ8YZOOkCsC

Africa’s vegetable sector is entering an important new phase. Across the continent, vegetables are increasingly being recognized not simply as a source of food, but as a pathway to better nutrition, climate resilience, employment, entrepreneurship and stronger agricultural economies.

At the center of this emerging opportunity is AfricaVeg, a new public–private initiative led by the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) to strengthen Africa’s vegetable breeding and seed innovation ecosystem.

The initiative was launched at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda, under the theme “African Seeds, African Solutions.” Its central proposition is straightforward: Africa needs vegetable varieties that are developed for African farmers, African environments and African markets—and it needs stronger local seed businesses and research institutions capable of delivering those varieties at scale.

Why vegetables matter for Africa

Africa has enormous vegetable diversity, including traditional and indigenous crops such as amaranth, African eggplant, okra, jute mallow, spider plant and roselle.

Many of these crops are nutritionally rich, adapted to local climates and important to household diets and livelihoods. Yet their potential remains underdeveloped. In many countries, farmers face limited access to quality seed, improved varieties, technical knowledge and reliable markets.

WorldVeg's work reflects a broader understanding of food-system transformation: improving diets is not only about producing more calories. It is also about increasing the diversity, nutritional quality and resilience of what people grow and eat.

The Center describes its mission as contributing to healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods through greater diversity in what we grow and eat. Its work spans climate resilience, healthy diets, vegetable biodiversity, economic empowerment, urban food systems, and food safety and loss reduction. 

From better varieties to better businesses

One of the most interesting aspects of AfricaVeg is that it recognizes that breeding a good vegetable variety is only the beginning.

A new variety must move from the laboratory and research station into a seed company, then to farmers, markets and ultimately consumers. 

That requires a functioning ecosystem connecting:

• Public agricultural research institutions
• Universities and scientists
• Vegetable breeders
• African seed companies
• Farmers and farmer organizations
• Investors
• Markets and food businesses
• Regional and continental agricultural organizations

This “last mile” between scientific innovation and farmers is critical. WorldVeg has emphasized that AfricaVeg is designed to strengthen precisely this pathway by connecting breeding, seed systems, seed companies, markets and investment.

The initiative therefore represents a shift from thinking about vegetable breeding as an isolated research activity toward seeing it as an innovation and investment ecosystem.

The forgotten opportunity: African vegetables

AfricaVeg is arriving at a time when there is growing recognition of the value of traditional African vegetables.

These crops have sometimes been overlooked by formal agricultural research and commercial seed systems despite their nutritional and environmental potential.

WorldVeg and its partners are now working to conserve and make better use of this biodiversity. More than 17,000 accessions have been collected under the African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan, with most stored in Africa's Vegetable Genebank in Arusha, Tanzania, and more than 5,000 backed up in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. 

The challenge is therefore no longer simply to preserve diversity. It is to turn diversity into opportunity.

That means developing varieties farmers want to grow, seed companies can commercialize, consumers want to eat, and investors can support.

AFS Forum 2026 — Innovation Hub: Investing in Diverse Crops

1 September 2026. 10:00 AM–12:00. Innovation Hub: Investing in Diverse Crops

The session focused on how investment in diverse, underutilized and climate-resilient crops can strengthen Africa’s food systems. It moves beyond dependence on major staples such as maize, wheat and rice and examines opportunities around indigenous, nutritious and high-value crops.

Key areas of discussion included:

• Financing and investment opportunities for diverse crops.
• Developing markets and strengthening value chains.
• Research, innovation and improved seed systems.
• Value addition and commercialization.
• Policies and partnerships needed to scale diversified agriculture.
• How crop diversification can improve food and nutrition security, farmer incomes, biodiversity and climate resilience. 

Bright Lights

• Josephine Okot — CEO, Victoria Seeds
• Rokiatou Traore — Founder & Executive Manager, Herou Alliance
• Zainab Lawal Gwadabe — CEO, Seed Pro Africa. 

Panel 1 — Innovating for Resilient and

Diverse Food Systems

• Dr. Jerry Asalma Nboyine — Senior Research Scientist & Entomologist, CSIR-SARI, Ghana
• Dr. Mercy Diebiru-Ojo — Assistant Specialist, Cassava Seed Systems; Africa Food Prize Winner 2024
• Dr. Rufaro Madakadze — Lead, Capacity Building & Technical Support, CESSA/AGRA
• Dr. Gabriel Rugalema — Regional Director, WorldVeg. See his testimony about innovation in amaranth https://youtu.be/dqcXkJAfs-s?si=iG2-wHZ8YZOOkCsC

Panel 2 — Unlocking Markets and Investment for Diverse Crops

• Innocent Namuhoranye — Chairman & CEO, National Seed Association of Rwanda
• Jean Claude Rubyogo — PABRA Director & Seed Systems Specialist, PABRA/CIAT
• Ayodeji Balogun — CEO, AFEX
• Andile Mnguni — Executive Director, ProVeg South Africa

This was an investment-focused session about turning Africa’s crop diversity into commercial opportunities, resilient food systems and better livelihoods, with investors, researchers, seed-sector leaders and agribusiness executives discussed how to move from promising crops to scalable markets.

Global initiative seeks greater coherence among sustainability standards for agri-food

24–28 August 2026. Mombasa, Kenya. ARSO Week 2026. This is the annual week of meetings and stakeholder events surrounding the 32nd General Assembly of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO), hosted in 2026 by the Government of Kenya through the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). 

The theme of this year was “Standards enabling Intra-Africa Trade under the AfCFTA – One Certificate Working for You.”  It reflects its focus on harmonising African standards, conformity assessment and certification to reduce technical barriers to trade and support implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

It brought together African standardisation bodies, policymakers and industry stakeholders around the theme.

The ARSO Week 2026 programme contained several sessions on greater coherence, interoperability and mutual recognition among sustainability standards for agri-food. 

26/08: World Bank Seminar: “World Development Report 2025 – Standards for Development”. 

World Development Report 2025. Standards for trade provides the most comprehensive assessment of the global landscape of standards today and how they can be used to accelerate economic development. 

This panel addressed the growing role of voluntary sustainability standards, tensions and complementarities between public and private standards, the risks of fragmentation, and opportunities for alignment and mutual recognition. 

• Xavier Giné (World Bank)
• Sergio Mujica (ISO)
• Aka Kouassim (UNIDO)
• Chidi Ileka (Afreximbank)
• Emmanueline Irizerwa (Rwanda Standards Board) 
• Erastus Gatebe (Kenya Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry).

26/08: High-Level Panel: “Standards enabling Intra-Africa trade under the AfCFTA – One
Certificate Working for You”. 

The panel examined different standards and conformity-assessment procedures as technical barriers to trade, the benefits of harmonised standards, and the concept of a single certification/quality mark. Speakers represented the Government of Kenya, ARSO, ISO, AfCFTA Secretariat and International Trade Centre, making this particularly relevant to translating global standards coherence into an African/AfCFTA context.

26/08: African Day of Standardisation

Session 1: Agro-Processing

Under the theme “The Role of Agro-processing Industries in Sustainable Development and the Challenge of Incoherent Regulatory Frameworks in Africa,” this panel addressed technical barriers to trade, SPS requirements, ARSO harmonisation and conformity assessment, and capacity constraints facing African agro-processing SMEs. 

• Liliane Kamanzi (ARSO), 
  
  
• Ludovica Ghizzoni (ITC), 
• Andrew Edewa (TradeMark Africa), 
• Efe Ukala (ImpactHER Foundation)
• Caroline Kiende Kaua (MSEA).

Session 2: ARSO Conformity Assessment Programme. 

This session focused explicitly on mutual recognition of conformity assessment procedures, the ARSO Quality Mark as a “One Certificate” model, and cooperation among national, regional and continental quality-infrastructure institutions—all practical mechanisms for making different standards systems interoperable.

 
Session 3: Eco Mark Africa Certification and Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS). This is
the closest match to the global sustainability standards initiative. It examined VSS and eco-certification for sustainable trade, Eco Mark Africa, alignment with global regulatory frameworks such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), sustainable certification for African SMEs and green value chains. 

• Rupal Verma of IISD presented the ARSO Sustainability Standards Benchmarking Study, followed by discussants from African and international organizations.

Related:

A growing international coalition is exploring how greater coherence and interoperability among major global sustainability standards and reporting frameworks could support more sustainable and inclusive agri-food trade. 

The initiative, facilitated through a Collaborative Ag-food Advisory Group, responds to concerns that the proliferation and fragmentation of sustainability schemes creates overlapping requirements, higher compliance costs and barriers to broader industry engagement. For agricultural producers and food companies in particular, interoperability could improve market access, while more regionally relevant standards could help connect sustainable production in the Global South with global supply chains.

Rather than creating another standard or organization, the initiative proposes a pre-competitive, partner-driven collaboration focused on practical actions and complementing existing international processes. Its objectives include enabling sustainable agri-food trade between the Global South and North, strengthening food security and resilience, and improving accountability. The work is deliberately focused on major sustainability frameworks and reporting/disclosure schemes rather than trying to harmonize the hundreds of individual standards covering sustainability, safety and quality

26 August 2026 – Sixth coalition discussion

This meeting reviewed the initiative's purpose, interoperability and the coalition's focus, lessons from discussions so far, and a six-month plan for deepening stakeholder input, external outreach and messaging. The central discussion asked: “Why does bringing greater coherence to major global sustainability standards and reporting frameworks matter to the agri-food system and what should be done to address this?”

The initiative has already brought together 24 organizations, representing commodity sectors, farmers, business, research, sustainability initiatives and international organizations. Participants include the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), GFAiR, Pan-African Farmers’ Organization, International Trade Centre, Consumer Goods Forum, GRI, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Global Pulse Confederation, Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, among others.

APAARI, is working extensively with International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures for compliance with the SPS/WTO agreements for trade of agricultural commodity trade. Applying these standards also helps countries with their market access strategy. The key issues for the developing countries in Asia-Pacific are the sustainability of using these standards and the standards themselves, which constantly evolve. How we overcome such challenges is something that we need to capture in the sustainbility model. Ravi Khetarpal, Executive Director, APAARI

The diversity of this coalition could be particularly important for ensuring that future sustainability frameworks are not only internationally coherent but also practical and regionally relevant for farmers and agri-food businesses in developing countries—turning interoperability of standards into an instrument for market access, sustainable trade and food-system resilience rather than an additional compliance burden.

The challenge for Africa and smallholder farmers

For developing countries, sustainability standards offer opportunities but also significant risks. Compliance can help producers demonstrate environmental and social performance, strengthen traceability and gain access to higher-value markets. But certification, auditing, data collection and changes in production practices can also impose substantial costs. UNCTAD warns that high compliance costs, limited knowledge about certification and regulatory fragmentation can leave smallholder farmers behind.

This concern is particularly important for Africa, where agricultural exports frequently originate from production systems involving large numbers of smallholders. A standard developed primarily around the capacities of large commercial enterprises can unintentionally become a trade barrier for smaller producers.

African institutions are therefore increasingly advocating sustainability standards that reflect African production realities. The African Organization for Standardisation (ARSO), for example, developed the Eco-Mark Africa ecolabelling scheme as a continental approach to sustainability certification. Standards initially covered agriculture, fisheries, forestry and tourism, while newer standards approved in 2025 extend into areas including sustainable cotton, textiles, leather, mining and construction.

ARSO Week 2026, held on 24–28 August in Mombasa, Kenya, brought together African standardisation bodies, policymakers and industry stakeholders around the theme “Standards enabling Intra-Africa trade under the AfCFTA – One Certificate Working for You,” promoting harmonised standards and quality infrastructure to reduce technical barriers and facilitate intra-African trade.

Related:

26 August 2026. How Food Trade and Markets Shape Diets in West Africa

This webinar was jointly organised by the Sahel and West Africa Club (OECD/SWAC), the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and AGRA. Bringing together perspectives from trade, nutrition, public policy and the private sector.

3 September 2026 | 11:30–13:00. AFS Kigali From Change to Proof: System Transformation

This session brings together leaders from AGRA, the Mastercard Foundation, the True Cost Accounting (TCA) Accelerator, AfrEA, and other partners to explore how innovative measurement approaches, digital technologies, and integrated data systems can strengthen system-wide evidence generation, use, and decision-making.

• Moderator: Liz Ntonjira, Director of Program Communications, Pan-African Programs, Mastercard Foundation
• Keynote Speaker: Prof Hamadi Boga, Vice-President, Program Delivery, AGRA
• Andrew Cox – Director, Strategy, Monitoring & Evaluation, AGRA
• Dr. Tadele Fayso – Director, Impact Delivery – Pan-African Programs, Mastercard Foundation
• Jenn Yates – Director, True Cost Accounting (TCA) Accelerator
• Dr. John Ulimwengu – Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI
• Dr. Getaw Tadese – Director, Department of Policy Intelligence, AKADEMIYA2063
• Dr. Máximo Torero – Chief Economist, FAO

Resources:

World Bank. 2025. World Development Report 2025. Standards for trade World Bank. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-2275-9. 408 p.

The report identifies proliferation and fragmentation of private standards as a concrete problem for global value chains. Private standards originally helped buyers manage food-safety and reputational risks, but their multiplication created duplication: suppliers serving several retailers may need multiple certifications, audits and documentation even when schemes cover similar criteria. The report notes that consolidation and benchmarking have already reduced this problem in food safety.

For agricultural sustainability, the challenge is becoming more important because private environmental and social standards are expanding rapidly. The WDR examines 12 sustainability schemes—including Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, GLOBALG.A.P., Better Cotton, Organic and RSPO—and finds that the share of harvest area certified by major sustainability schemes has grown substantially, particularly in low- and lower-middle-income countries. For eight major commodities—bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, oil palm, soybeans, sugarcane and tea—the certified share in low- and lower-middle-income countries rose from about 10% in 2016 to almost 16% in 2022.

The WDR does not advocate creating one universal sustainability standard. Rather, its logic points toward benchmarking, interoperability, mutual recognition, regulatory cooperation and a shared sustainability language, while allowing standards to reflect different national capacities.

Kassa, Woubet; Kee, Hiau Looi; Maur, Jean-Christophe. 2026. Integrating Africa: From Threads to Hubs. © World Bank. 190 p.

The report argues that interoperability— the capacity of goods, data, finance, and regulatory systems to operate seamlessly across borders—rather than liberalization alone is the central condition for integration. 

Integrating Africa: From Threads to Hubs offers a new analytical and operational framework organized around four interdependent pillars. 

1. First, integrate production regionally. 
2. Second, fix the frictions. 
3. Third, deepen and enforce agreements and implement AfCFTA
4. Fourth, strengthen the provision of regional public goods. Infrastructure, energy, digital platforms, and security are preconditions for integration.

 

Rudolf Buntzel and Francisco Marí (2016) Good Food – Poor Producers: How the Agricultural Industry Rules the Food Markets with Standards - Gutes Essen – arme Erzeuger: Wie die Agrarwirtschaft mit Standards die Nahrungsmärkte beherrscht

This book is unusually relevant to current debates about interoperability of sustainability standards: it examines private standards, certification and conformity systems, their duplication, adaptation to local conditions, and the disproportionate compliance burden on small producers.

Farmers’ seeds in West Africa: from an invisible seed system to a political movement

A doctoral thesis completed by Omoniyi Françoise Agbodjo, entitled Comprendre les mouvements paysans pour la reconnaissance des semences paysannes en Afrique de l’Ouest (“Understanding farmers’ movements for the recognition of farmers’ seeds in West Africa”), provides a detailed socio-anthropological analysis of the struggle for recognition of farmers’ seed systems in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal. 

[see also 6 August: Roundtable on Farmer Managed Seed Systems in Africa]

The thesis, submitted for the doctorate in Socio-Anthropology at Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, examines how farmers’ organizations have progressively transformed seeds from what is often treated simply as an agricultural input into an issue of rights, heritage, food sovereignty and political representation. The research focuses particularly on the Comité Ouest Africain des Semences Paysannes (COASP) and its relationships with other West African farmer movements, civil-society organizations and political institutions.

From farmers’ organizations to a regional seed movement

The thesis places today's seed movement within the much longer history of West African farmers’ organizations. Successive droughts, structural adjustment, agricultural liberalization and regional integration contributed to the emergence and strengthening of farmer organizations and regional platforms. These organizations progressively acquired roles not only in agricultural production and services but also in negotiating prices, defending farmers’ interests and participating in agricultural policy processes. At the same time, new networks emerged around biodiversity, agroecology and food sovereignty, emphasizing farmers’ knowledge and locally managed crop diversity.

The farmers’ seed movement began taking shape before biodiversity became a central element of the agroecological transition debate. From around 2004, local farmers’ organizations and international associations were already advocating political recognition of farmers’ seeds as a strategic component of sustainable agriculture. These efforts eventually contributed to the establishment of the COASP in 2011. Since 2014, climate-change adaptation and growing interest in agricultural biodiversity have brought scientists, NGOs, policymakers and farmers into the debate, considerably expanding the network of actors concerned with farmers’ seed systems.

An important milestone identified in the thesis was the

Djimini farmers’ seed fair in Senegal. The fairs
became more than places for exchanging seeds: they helped connect farmers and organizations across national borders and stimulated the creation of national networks. Following the 2009 fair, participants were encouraged to organize in their respective countries and report back on the situation of farmers’ seeds. These connections also generated farmer-led research initiatives and political mobilization, illustrating how a seed fair could evolve into an instrument for regional collective action.

Seeds are more than agricultural inputs

One of the central messages emerging from the thesis is that farmers’ seeds occupy a fundamentally different position in the discourse of the movement than conventional agricultural inputs. COASP was established partly to defend farmers' freedom to produce, conserve and circulate their own seeds. Its founders associated farmers’ seeds with autonomy, food sovereignty and agricultural heritage. The emergence of COASP therefore represented a shift in the political framing of seeds: farmers’ seeds became simultaneously an agricultural resource, a heritage asset and an object around which rights could be claimed.

Yet the thesis highlights a striking paradox. Farmers’ seeds are considered crucial to West African food production, but they largely remain within what policy and legislation classify as the informal seed system, without the same legal status accorded to certified seed. This “legal invisibility” has important consequences, including reduced access to public support, and has itself become a major driver of farmer mobilization. The struggle therefore concerns not only conserving crop diversity but also who has the right to produce, reproduce, exchange and govern seed.

Many organizations, one cause—but different strategies

Since 2014, the political landscape around farmers’ seeds has become increasingly crowded. The thesis examines a network that includes

COASP, the Coalition for the Protection of African Genetic Heritage (COPAGEN), the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), the Network of Farmers' and Agricultural Producers' Organisations of West Africa (ROPPA), La Via Campesina West Africa (LVC-AO), and the Global Convergence of Land and Water Struggles – West Africa (CGLTE-AO).

These organizations do not play identical roles. COASP is particularly rooted in farmers’ practices and the promotion and preservation of farmers’ seeds but has limited direct access to formal political arenas. COPAGEN and AFSA bring legal, scientific and policy expertise to advocacy. ROPPA has developed substantial institutional recognition and access to regional and international policymaking, while LVC-AO and CGLTE-AO mobilize farmers across borders and connect seeds to wider struggles over food sovereignty, land and natural resources.

This diversity is simultaneously a strength and a weakness. It creates an unusually rich combination of farmer knowledge, mobilization capacity, scientific expertise, legal advocacy and political connections. But organizations use different terminology, methods and approaches to in-situ seed management and sometimes pursue different political strategies. Consequently, alliances can strengthen the movement while disagreements and fragmented advocacy can slow collective progress towards formal recognition.

The thesis identifies an additional challenge: when farmers’ demands move from local movements into institutional policy arenas, they are frequently translated into broader policy languages such as biodiversity, agroecological transition or food security. This translation can facilitate access to policymakers, but it can also dilute the explicit demand for recognition of farmers’ seed systems and farmers’ rights over seeds.

The unresolved question: how should COASP organize its political voice?

The research therefore moves beyond documenting the movement and asks a practical question: how can COASP consolidate its leadership while obtaining greater political and institutional recognition? Within COASP itself, the thesis identifies tension between a more radical position that prioritizes local legitimacy and independence from institutions and a more pragmatic position that considers engagement and negotiation with research organizations and political institutions essential. The latter approach appears to be gaining ground, reflected in growing cooperation with research organizations, participation in agroecology platforms and engagement with other farmer organizations.

Rather than prescribing a single institutional solution, Agbodjo develops three scenarios for stronger collective action.

1. 
   The first scenario would establish a coalition between COASP, COPAGEN, CGLTE-AO, AFSA and LVC-AO, with COASP recognized as the principal voice on farmers’ seeds. Such a coalition could combine COASP's farmer-based technical expertise with AFSA's international advocacy, COPAGEN's legal and scientific expertise and the mobilizing capacity of LVC-AO and CGLTE-AO. It could
   also allow participating organizations to pool technical and financial resources for advocacy.
   
   
2. The second scenario would build a more formal relationship between COASP and ROPPA, using ROPPA's established institutional position while allowing COASP to lead specialized advocacy on farmers’ seeds. The thesis stresses, however, that COASP would need to retain its identity and freedom of expression. Otherwise, institutional integration could result in co-optation or dilution of its farmer-based position. At its most ambitious, however, such cooperation could constitute an institutional innovation capable of advancing recognition of farmers’ seeds alongside conventional seed systems.
   
   
3. The third scenario explores COASP seeking direct official recognition within West African political institutions, rather than relying primarily on another farmer platform to carry its voice. Together, the scenarios illustrate the central dilemma identified throughout the research: how can a farmer movement acquire greater institutional influence without losing the grassroots legitimacy that made it influential in the first place?

From seed diversity to the governance of food systems

The significance of this thesis extends beyond seed policy. The author connects farmers’ access to locally adapted seeds with food autonomy, resilience to international market disruption and climate change, and the rehabilitation of local resources, knowledge and foods. This makes the debate particularly relevant to current efforts to promote agroecology, indigenous and neglected crops, local food value chains and more diverse and resilient food systems.

The study ultimately shows that conserving agricultural biodiversity cannot be separated from the institutions and people who maintain that diversity. Seed diversity survives not simply because varieties are conserved, but because farmers continue to select, reproduce, exchange, experiment with and attach cultural and economic value to them. Recognition of farmers’ seeds is therefore also recognition of farmers as knowledge holders, innovators and actors in the governance of agricultural biodiversity.

The challenge ahead is consequently not merely to demonstrate the agronomic value of farmers’ varieties. It is to create governance arrangements through which farmer organizations, researchers, civil society and regional institutions can translate the considerable diversity of existing initiatives into a stronger collective political voice. As Agbodjo's thesis demonstrates, the future of farmers’ seeds in West Africa will depend as much on the governance of alliances as on the conservation of the seeds themselves.

Note Q & A session @34:22 

OR4FOOD was a research project funded by the African Union Commission for the period 2018-2021 under the African Union Research Grant Programme (AURG II - 2). It involved agronomists from CIRAD, IRD and ISRA, as well as experts in food and nutritional science from ITA and UCAD in Senegal and Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. These teams have taken up the challenge of micronutrient biofortification of commonly consumed local food products in Africa, working with farmers to implement agro-ecological selection of varieties that are naturally high in micronutrients along with organic fertilisation.

Related:

21/10/2025 Side event CFS/FAO Seeds of resilience: Unlocking food systems transformation through Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) and agroecological approaches

Organizers: Switzerland SWISSAID European Union (European Commission – DG INTPA) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM-Bari)

How Food Trade and Markets Shape Diets in West Africa

26 August 2026. This webinar was jointly organised by the Sahel and West Africa Club (OECD/SWAC), the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and AGRA. Bringing together perspectives from trade, nutrition, public policy and the private sector.

Recording forthcoming

This webinar examined how food trade and markets shape diets in West Africa, recognising both their potential to improve access to diverse and nutritious foods and the risks they may pose for healthier food environments. 

• Explored how trade and markets influence diets in West Africa, including both their contribution to food diversity and affordability and their potential to expand access to less healthy foods.
• Identified policy and market conditions that can help align intra-African food trade and nutrition objectives.
•  Fostered dialogue between trade, nutrition, public-sector and private-sector actors on practical entry points to leverage markets and trade for healthier food systems.

Background 

Diet quality in West Africa remains constrained by insufficient diversity, limited affordability of healthy diets and underconsumption of nutritious foods. Food environments are also changing. Consumption of unhealthy and ultra-processed foods is still lower than in many other regions, but recent evidence from the Global Diet Quality Project shows it is rising in several countries, including Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria. These trends point to a dual challenge: improving access to diverse and nutritious foods while preventing a faster shift towards less healthy food environments.

Trade and markets are central to this challenge, but their role remains insufficiently understood. Imports are often associated with adverse effects on diets, particularly through the increased availability of ultra-processed and unhealthy foods. Yet trade and markets can also support better nutrition outcomes by improving the availability, affordability and seasonal access to diverse foods. Recent evidence from OECD/SWAC shows that intra-regional food trade in West Africa is around six times larger than official statistics suggest and provides an estimated 25% of regional calorie needs. It also connects growing urban demand to more diverse production basins, supporting food diversity and helping to mitigate seasonality.

Speakers 

• Joyce Akpata Head of Policy, Advocacy & Communications Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) 
• Alban Mas Aparisi Food Systems Lead OECD SWAC 
• Koffi Zougbede Economist OECD SWAC 
• Emmanuel Konjoh Director Ministry of Trade of Sierra Leone 
• Seun Sangoleye CEO Baby Grubz 
• Wubeneh Nega Head of Trade and Markets AGRA 
• Victor Ajieroh Director Praisegate / ATNi

Resources

OECD (2025) Report: Intra-regional Food Trade in West Africa: New Evidence, New Perspectives 138 p.

Intra-regional Food Trade in West Africa: New Evidence, New Perspectives (see PAEPARD blogpost 12/09/2025) introduces a pioneering approach to measuring and understanding food trade within the region. This report is the first to combine official statistics with innovative data on unrecorded trade flows for over 130 food products, revealing that the annual value of intra-regional food trade exceeds USD 10 billion annually—six times higher than officially reported. 

OECD (2026) The West African food trade environment Private sector perceptions of barriers, opportunities and the future 54 p.

This paper provides new evidence on private sector perceptions on intra-regional food trade in West Africa, drawing on a survey of more than 3 200 food traders operating across 32 markets in eight countries. The dataset allows for a differentiated analysis by business size, gender, country and product specialisation. The findings reveal an extensive, economically significant, and market-driven sector, though it remains predominantly informal. While over 80% of traders are unregistered, the median trader has an average monthly turnover of USD 13 289 and employs five workers. 

Traders respond strongly to market signals, such as price differentials and demand patterns, and more than half (56%) trade with non-neighbouring countries. Overall, 62% of traders report a positive business outlook for the next five years, with variations across countries and food products. The main constraints identified extend beyond border procedures and include limited access to finance, insecurity, and inadequate transport and market infrastructure. This analysis points to a strong but under-leveraged market dynamic and underscores the need for better-adapted policies to unlock the potential of intra-regional food trade.

Related:

Rudolf Buntzel and Francisco Marí (2016) Good Food – Poor Producers: How the Agricultural Industry Rules the Food Markets with Standards - Gutes Essen – arme Erzeuger: Wie die Agrarwirtschaft mit Standards die Nahrungsmärkte beherrscht

This book is unusually relevant to current debates about interoperability of sustainability standards: it examines private standards, certification and conformity systems, their duplication, adaptation to local conditions, and the disproportionate compliance burden on small producers.

Private sector seed health testing lab accreditation for facilitation of seed trade

25 August 2026. Private sector seed health testing lab accreditation for facilitation of seed trade

9th session of the APAARI Community of Practice on Public–Private Partnership (PPP), featuring practical perspectives on implementing ISPM 45, global guidance, industry experiences, and the role of the private sector in seed health testing and accreditation.

• Core topic: Practical implementation of ISPM 45 (international standards for authorizing entities to perform phytosanitary actions).
• Key Themes: Technical, regulatory, and partnership requirements needed to build trusted third-party laboratory authorization systems and accreditation for seed health testing

Seed trade is assuming greater significance in the Asia-Pacific region. However, there are several phytosanitary concerns affecting the safe trade of seed in developing and least developed countries. The most prominent issues include:

• Seed-transmitted pest lists not being updated, affecting the pest risk analysis process (ISPM 2).
• No ePhyto solution in place.
• Lack of compliance with the international standard on the movement of seeds (ISPM 38).
• Lack of coordination between national plant protection organizations and the private sector.

STDF/PG/755 increased seed trade and market access for the Asia-Pacific region by increasing the capacity of national plant protection organizations to meet relevant phytosanitary standards.

 

This webinar was the closure of a 3 years project

• Rose Souza Richards, International Seed Federation

• Kanokwan Chodchoey, East-West Seed Company Ltd

Q & A

@Rose Souza-Richards ISF How does Commercial Seed Trade impact Community Seed banks + Farmer-Managed Seed Systems? Which are the main tensions + opportunities in the interaction between these two systems ?

the challenge is not to choose between commercial and farmer-managed seed systems. It is to create a fair interface between them. Commercial trade contributes scale, investment and innovation; farmer-managed systems contribute diversity, local knowledge, adaptation and resilience. A sustainable seed sector needs both—and governance that prevents one from undermining the other.

Related:

The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) funds similar, highly focused phytosanitary and trade capacity projects across Africa. Rather than launching a single massive pan-African seed project, STDF targets regional hubs and specific exporting countries to improve compliance with Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. 

The closest direct equivalents and related initiatives in Africa include:

1. Growing Regional Seed Trade in Zambia (Project PPG-1044)

• The Project: As of 2026, STDF has an ongoing project titled Improving SPS Capacity in Zambia to Grow Regional Seed Trade.
• The Goal: Despite being one of Africa’s largest seed exporters, Zambia faces heavy compliance challenges. This project brings together the Zambia Seed Trade Association (ZASTA) and national plant quarantine services to streamline seed certification and scale up cross-border seed exports. [1]

2. The Center of Phytosanitary Excellence (COPE) in East Africa (Project PG-171 / PPG-968)

• The Project: Similar to how the APAARI project established regional seed portals and digital tools in Asia, STDF funded the creation of the Center of Phytosanitary Excellence (COPE) in Kenya. [1, 2]
• The Goal: COPE enhances the capacity of national plant health systems across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. It provides professional training to public and private stakeholders on safe seed certification, pest-risk analysis, and international plant health standards. 

3. Electronic Phytosanitary Certification (ePhyto) Rollouts

• The Project: Just like the APAARI project implemented digital ePhyto solutions in Southeast Asia, STDF co-funded a massive global ePhyto Solution Project alongside the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). 
• The Goal: This digital push heavily targets developing nations across Southern and East Africa. It replaces fragile, paper-based seed certificates with electronic data exchange, dramatically reducing shipping delays and trade barriers for African seed and agricultural exporters.

The collaboration between the Kenyan community seed banks and the national genebank

Traditional crop varieties are disappearing, but farmers and scientists are working together to bring them back.

In Kenya, researchers partnered with farming communities to collect and conserve finger millet and amaranth before they were lost. Supported by the Crop Trust's Power of Diversity Funding Facility, community seed banks and the national genebank are helping safeguard crop diversity and keep it available for farmers, breeders and future generations.

Watch how local knowledge and science come together to strengthen the future food security.

African Food Systems Forum 2026: Highlights

1 - 4 September 2026. The Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 focuses on the theme “Investing in Africa's Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience,” targeting critical transformation goals across the continent.

Highlights of the programme

31 August 2026. Investing in Africa's Agrifood Resilience 

09:00–10:00 AD10 – Breakout Room 2. Side Event.

Hosted by Academy of Global Food Economics & Policy, China Agricultural University; Environmental Defense Fund. This side event explores how investments and partnerships can strengthen the resilience of Africa’sAgrifood systems through China–Africa cooperation.

31 August 2026.Securing Africa's Food Future 

10:30–11:30. MH1 - Investment Room Deal Room 2. Side Event

Hosted by CIMMYT, Mastercard Foundation, AfDB, IFDC, Bayer, Gates Foundation. Africa's agrifood systems face mounting pressures from climate shocks, humanitarian crises, market disruptions, and geopolitical instability. These interconnected challenges threaten food security, nutrition, livelihoods, and economic growth, exposing deep structural vulnerabilities.

31 August 2026. Towards Tropical Regenerative Agriculture

10:30–11:30. MH1 - Investment Room Main Stage. Side Event

Hosted by Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of Sao Paulo. Most of the world's soil biodiversity is found in tropical regions. Rather than destroying this living wealth through chemical and synthetic approaches associated with the simplification and monotony of crop and livestock systems, the objective is to make this abundance the foundation for increasing agricultural production while expanding the supply of healthy foods capable of addressing the alarming rise in the consumption of ultra-processed products and obesity, which in both Brazil and Africa are increasing alongside hunger.

31 August 2026. AfricaVeg: African Seeds, African Solutions 

12:00–13:00. MH1 - Investment Room Deal Room 2. Side Event.

Hosted by World Vegetable Center. AfricaVeg is a new public–private initiative led by the World Vegetable Center to strengthen Africa’s vegetable breeding and seed innovation ecosystem. The session will explore how African seed companies, public breeding programs, universities, and regional partners can work together to accelerate the development and delivery of locally adapted, climate-resilient vegetable varieties that better serve farmers and markets across the continent. Many vegetable farmers in Africa continue to rely on imported or poorly adapted seed, while local seed companies often lack access to advanced breeding tools, elite genetics, and product development partnerships. AfricaVeg aims to bridge this gap by equipping African seed enterprises with the genetics, technical capacity, market intelligence, and collaborative breeding networks needed to become stronger innovation partners.

31 August 2026.Financing Africa’s Agrifood Future 

12:00–13:00. MH1 - Investment Room Main Stage. Side Event

Hosted by WHH, AKADEMIYA2063; ANAPRI; AAIN; ACTS; AFAP; ASARECA; CNG; DSG; EAGC; FRI; ICIPE; RBM ; Resilient40; TMA; CORAF

Transforming Africa's agrifood systems in an increasingly uncertain global context demands smart and inclusive financing. Yet, public funds are stretched thin, private capital tends to underinvest in agriculture, while smallholders, pastoralists, SMEs, and women are too often left out of the financing equation.

Organized by AgriBridge, an African-German Policy Network for Sustainable Agrifood Systems, this session will explore key questions around agrifood systems financing. It will highlight innovative financing approaches, including blended finance and de-risking instruments such as trade credit guarantees for women entrepreneurs or a central livestock feed purchasing agency.

31 August 2026.Harnessing Africa’s Adapted Crops.

13:30–14:30 MH1 - Investment Room Main Stage. Side Event

Hosted by Africa Adaptation Crops Initiative (AACI), Food Action Alliance, AGRA, TechnoServe and Bain & Company. Africa’s adapted crops–including sorghum, millet, cowpea, cassava, teff, bambara groundnut, and indigenous vegetables–offer strong potential for climate resilience, better nutrition, and green jobs. Yet, weak seed systems, low productivity, fragmented markets, limited processing, and insufficient private investment continue to constrain their growth and commercialization.

This side event will convene governments, private sector actors, farmer organizations, youth enterprises, researchers, financiers, and development partners to explore how to unlock the full value of these crops from production to markets and value addition.

Discussions will focus on boosting productivity, expanding structured markets, strengthening processing and food innovation, and increasing investment across value chains. Participants will engage on partnerships, finance, market opportunities, and policy actions needed to scale inclusive, climate-resilient and job-creating food systems in Africa.

31 August 2026.Malabo to Kampala: Transforming Agri-Food 

16:30–17:30. MH1 - Investment Room Deal Room 2. Side Event

Hosted by GIZ; AKADEMIYA2063; CARE International. The side event will examine how countries can turn CAADP Kampala commitments into practical delivery systems. The discussion will focus on concrete mechanisms, including NASIP alignment, Joint Sector Reviews, Biennial Review readiness, public expenditure tracking, non-state actor evidence, citizen accountability and country-to-country learning.

 

1 September 2026. AFS. Innovation Hub: Investing in Diverse Crops

Africa’s agricultural resilience, nutrition outcomes, and market competitiveness depend on diversifying production systems beyond a limited number of staple crops. Shifting the agricultural narrative away from dependence on monocultures such as maize, wheat, and rice toward climate-resilient, high-nutrient alternative crops can help attract greater capital and investment into agrifood systems.

This session will explore investment opportunities in underutilized, climate-resilient, indigenous, and high-value crops that can strengthen food security, food and income diversification, biodiversity, and regional and international trade. 

Discussions will examine financing needs on high value diversified crops, market development, research and innovation, value addition, and policies required to scale diversified agricultural systems across the continent.

Segment 1: Bright lights

• Ms. Josephine Okot, CEO, Victoria Seeds
• Moderator: Ms. Liz Ogutu, Policy Manager and Lead Eastern & Southern Africa, Climate Action, Alliance of Bioversity – CIAT

Segment 2: Panel

• Dr. Jerry Asalma Nboyine, Senior Research Scientist and Entomologist, Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI), Nyankpala, Ghana
• Mr. Jean Claude Rubyogo, PABRA Director and Seed Systems Specialist, PABRA/International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
• Mr. Michael Keller, Secretary General, International Seed Federation
• Dr. Gabriel Rugalema, Regional Director, WorldVeg
• Mr. Ayodeji Balogun, Chief Executive Officer, AFEX
• Dr. Rufaro Madakadze, Lead Capacity Building and Technical Support, CESSA AGRA
• Innocent Namuhoranye, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Seed Association of Rwanda (NSAR), Rwanda
• Mr. Hakeem Jimo, Executive Director, ProVeg Nigeria

1 September 2026. Researchers Roundtable: Targeting Big Bets Across Africa’s Agri-Food Transformation. 

AFS. Kigali Convention Center. 10:00–12:00. Roundtable. 

Research must now power immediate, high-impact continental “Big Bets” that can unlock transformative investment on youth to accelerate Africa’s agrifood systems transformation.

Moderators

• Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Panel Member, Malabo Montpellier & Managing Director–Africa, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT
• Prof. Shenggen Fan, Chair Professor & Dean of the Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy (AGFEP), China Agricultural University (CAU)

Discussants

• Dr. Canisius Kanangire, Executive Director, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF)
• Dr. Simon Heck, Director General, International Potato Centre (CIP) &; Senior Director, CGIAR
• Dr. Tshilidzi Madzivhandila, CEO & Head of Mission, Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)

2 September 2026. Lemigo hotel Kigali. 7:45 AM - 10:00 AM. Scaling Opportunity Crops Through Policy, Partnerships and Investment.

2 September 2026. CGIAR Strategy 2040 and Africa Strategy. 

AFS. Kigali Convention Center. AD10 – Breakout Room 2. 15:30 – 19:30 

This joint CGIAR–FARA workshop will bring together African partners and stakeholders to discuss the emerging CGIAR Africa Strategy and contribute to shaping CGIAR Strategy 2040, inviting feedback, inputs and guidance to strengthen their relevance, ownership and impact.

• Ismahane Elouafi Executive Managing Director CGIAR
• Simeon Ehui Director General, IITA  CGIAR Regional Director for Africa & Continental Champion for Africa IITA | CGIAR
• Namukolo Covic  Lead of Liaison Office for Africa CGIAR
• Aggrey Agumya Executive Director Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)

3 September 2026. 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. FARA-GFAiR catch up over dinner

3 September 2026 | 11:30–13:00. From Change to Proof: System Transformation

This session brings together leaders from AGRA, the Mastercard Foundation, the True Cost Accounting (TCA) Accelerator, AfrEA, and other partners to explore how innovative measurement approaches, digital technologies, and integrated data systems can strengthen system-wide evidence generation, use, and decision-making.

• Moderator: Liz Ntonjira, Director of Program Communications, Pan-African Programs, Mastercard Foundation
• Keynote Speaker: Prof Hamadi Boga, Vice-President, Program Delivery, AGRA
• Andrew Cox – Director, Strategy, Monitoring & Evaluation, AGRA
• Dr. Tadele Fayso – Director, Impact Delivery – Pan-African Programs, Mastercard Foundation
• Jenn Yates – Director, True Cost Accounting (TCA) Accelerator
• Dr. John Ulimwengu – Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI
• Dr. Getaw Tadese – Director, Department of Policy Intelligence, AKADEMIYA2063
• Dr. Máximo Torero – Chief Economist, FAO

4 September 2026. Digitalization: Financing Generative AI for Agricultural Advisory

AFS. Kigali Convention Center. Plenary. 10:00–12:00. 

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping African agriculture, with generative AI offering personalized, real‑time advisory across crops, livestock, weather, and markets at a fraction of traditional extension costs.

Yet unlocking this potential for smallholder farmers requires financing to move beyond pilots and building shared data and digital public infrastructure that ensures accuracy, trust, and accountability.

This plenary will bring both challenges into a single dialogue, drawing on the work of the Institute for Agriculture and AI, launched through a partnership between the Gates Foundation and United Arab Emirates.

Discussions will explore coordinated investments and governance frameworks to deliver AI solutions that reflect African realities and serve farmers, women, youth, and agribusinesses.

In Focus

• Dr. Sandra Milach, Chief Scientist, Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

Center Stage

• Mr. Tajudeen Yahaya, CEO, Extension Africa
• Dr. Nicoline de Haan, Director, CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion Accelerator
• Prof. Vikram Sadanand Adve, Director, AI Institute for Agriculture (AIFARMS) & Head, AI Agribench Consortium
• Mr. Jamie Collinson, CEO & Founder, iSDA-Africa

In Focus

• Prof. Hlami Ngwenya, Associate Professor and Head of Research Chair in Communication for Innovation, University of the Free State

Center Stage

• Ms. Dolapo Olukasumond, Country Director Nigeria, African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS)
• Dr. Daniel Elger, CEO, Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI)
• Mr. Stewart Collis, Senior Program Officer – Digital Solutions & Agricultural Development, Gates Foundation

4 September 2026. Nutrition & Health: Charting Consumer Demand Trends & Our Food Environments 

AFS. Kigali Convention Center. Plenary. 13:30–15:30. 

This thematic plenary explores how consumer demand for healthy and nutrient-dense foods shapes, and is shaped, by Africa’s food environments and informal and formal markets. High food prices, weak purchasing power, and climate-related disruptions continue to limit access to nutritious foods across the continent.

Discussions will examine how food environments influence trust, affordability, and desirability and how private sector strategies can be leveraged to generate demand and aspiration for healthy diets.

By linking demand and supply-side dynamics, the plenary demonstrates how targeted policies and public and private investment into nutrient-dense foods can accelerate healthy diets, unleash market growth, and create jobs for women and youth.

Framing Remarks

• H.E. Paul Gulleik Larsen, Special Envoy and Ambassador-at-Large for Food Security, Norway
• In Focus
• Dr. Roy Steiner, Senior Vice President, The Food Initiative, Rockefeller Foundation
• Dr. Christine Chege, Senior Scientist, Food environment and consumer behaviour, Alliance of Bioversity & CIAT
• Ms. Bettina Iseli, Chief Programs Officer, Welthungerhilfe (WHH)
• Ms. Gena Perry, Executive Director, American Soybean Association's World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (ASA/WISHH)
• Ms. Boitshepo Bibi Giyose, Senior Nutrition Officer for Policy and Programmes - Nutrition and Food Systems Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

In Focus

• Dr. Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN

Center Stage: Consumer influence on private sector operations

• Ms. Wambui Mbarire, CEO, Retail Trade Association Kenya (RETRAK)
• Mr. George Ouma, Coordinator African Leaders for Nutrition, African Development Bank (AfDB)

Commitment Spotlight

• Ms. Angela Kimani, Senior Program Officer – Nutritious Food Systems, Gates Foundation