Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

The Ukraine crisis: Unraveling the impacts and policy responses in low- and middle- income countries

31 August 2022. The Ukraine crisis: Unraveling the impacts and policy responses in low- and middle- income countries.

IFPRI’s modeling work on the impacts of the Ukraine crisis is supported by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and benefitted from working with two CGIAR’s research initiatives: Foresight and Metrics and National Policies and Strategies.

This is the sixth event in an IFPRI seminar series on Food and Fertilizer Price Trends: Impacts on global food security.

IntroductionJohan Swinnen, Global Director, CGIAR Systems Transformation Science Group & Director General, IFPRI

Overview of methodology and key results of IFPRI’s impact and policy response analysisXinshen Diao, Deputy Division Director, Development Strategy and Governance Division, IFPRI
James Thurlow, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Key Considerations for Nigeria
  • Bedru Balana, Research Fellow, IFPRI
  • Sugra Mahmood, Deputy Director, Irrigation agriculture and crop development, Federal Department of Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD)
  • Surendra Srivastava, Head, Fertilizer Marketing, Indorama Eleme Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd., Abuja, Nigeria
Key Considerations for Egypt
Key Considerations for Kenya
  • Lensa Omune, Research Officer, IFPRI
  • Peter Odhiambo Owoko, Head: Policy Coordination, Directorate of Agricultural Policy Research and Regulations, State Department For Crop Development & Agricultural Research
  • Anthony Kioko, Chief Executive Officer, Cereal Growers Association

Closing Remarks
Chris Hillbruner, Division Chief, Analysis and Learning Office of Policy, Analysis, and Engagement Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Moderator
Charlotte Hebebrand, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI

Moving forward the UNFSS 21 Action Plan: Need for Collaborative undertakings

31 August 2022. Moving forward the UNFSS 21 Action Plan: Need for Collaborative undertakings

RUFORUM Network organised a half day dialogue /webinar to review and develop a roadmap towards actioning university and research institutions contribution towards strengthening Africa’s Food Systems.

The dialogue brought together Universities, Research Institutions, the FAO and the African Union Commission.


Session 1: 
  • Opening Remarks: Prof. Adipala Ekwamu, Executive Secretary, RUFORUM
  • Official opening by AUC Commissioner for Rural Development, Sustainable Agriculture and the Blue Economy- Ambassador Josefa Sacko 
Integrating continental frameworks to strengthen agri-food systems in Africa 
  • Keynote Address: Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) – Key outcomes, decisions and actions from UNFSS 2021 – Implication for Africa 
  • Perspective from a Development Partner: Mr Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit in Directorate-General for International Partnerships, European Commission
Session 2: Status of Agri-food Systems in Africa 
  • Lead Paper: FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, HE. Prof. Abebe Haile-Gabriel– Current Status of Food and Nutrition Security in Africa 
Panel Discussion
  1. Hon. Lobin Clarkie Lowe, Minister of Agriculture, Malawi
  2. Hon. Jeanine M. Cooper, Minister of Agriculture, Liberia
  3. Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
  4. Dr. Stephen Muchiri, President East African Farmers Federation
  5. Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Executive Chairperson and Acting Managing Director, Akademiya2063
Wrap Up of Key Messages
  • Prof. Umezuruike Linus Opara, Research Chair in Postharvest Technology ,Stellenbosch University, South Africa

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) Concept Notes

          The  pre- AGM events

  1. Moving forward the UNFSS 21 Action Plan: Need for Collaborative undertakings. 31st Aug 2022 || English  || French || Portuguese || Arabic
  2. Transforming Higher Education in Africa: moving from Dialogue to Action. 05th Sept 2022 || English || French || Portuguese
  3. Strengthening human capital development in Africa: where are we and what are the needed actions05th Oct 2022 English || French || Portuguese
  4. Strengthening Agri-Food Systems Research Capacity in Africa: Overcoming Bottlenecks to Current and Future Challenges.12th Oct 2022 || English || French || Portuguese
  5. Exploring Future Frontiers for Global Collaboration and Partnership in the Field of Higher Education and Research in Africa. 26th Oct 2022 || English || French || Portuguese
  6. The 20th Principals and Deans Committee Business Meeting,  17th Nov 2022 ||.English || French || Portuguese

         The main events 

  1. Building a movement of change-makers in Africa: Every Dot Counts. 11th Dec 2022 || English  || French || Portuguese 
  2. Interactive Session for Carnegie Corporation of New York funded Fellows and Graduate students. 12th Dec 2022 || English || French || Portuguese
  3. Creating Convergence of Investment in Higher Education in Africa for Greater Impact. 14th Dec 2022 || English || French || Portuguese

The Food Security Tracker for Africa

Gro Intelligence, a company using artificial intelligence to analyze agriculture and climate data, recently launched the Food Security Tracker for Africa with support from The Rockefeller Foundation.

The Food Security Tracker for Africa is based on Gro Intelligence’s global data and analytics platform. It provides data and insight on factors related to food security through an interactive map of Africa. Users can click on a country to access information on crop production, crop stocks and demand, import price, drought conditions, and crop health for a selected major crop.

The Rockefeller Foundation views the collaboration with Gro Intelligence as an opportunity to mitigate global food price inflation by increasing access to data and reducing reactions based on fear. Their Director of Communications, John Spangler, and Vice President of the Food Initiative in Africa, Mehrdad Ehsani, tell Food Tank, “strengthening food systems to be more sustainable and resilient is essential, and we hope that this tool demonstrates that technology can be part of the solution for closing the agriculture data gap.”

“Gro’s…team used a machine learning yield prediction framework to generate over 80 production forecast models for corn, rice, wheat, and soybeans across 49 different countries. The models incorporate real-time environmental data and historical production data to predict available supply. Once the growing season starts, the yield model aggregates district level weather and crop condition data to produce yield forecasts. Gro takes these forecasts, along with area harvested from the USDA, to produce production forecasts. These forecasts update weekly to ensure users are working with the most relevant information.  William Osnato, Senior Research Analyst at Gro Intelligence.

Gro Intelligence contrasts crop yield projections with crop demand for consumption and export to determine a stocks-to-use ratio for a selected crop and country over a 12-month period.

“Gro also used machine learning to create the proprietary Gro Drought Index, the world’s first high resolution global agricultural drought index. The values shown are weighted to focus on cropland area in each country to highlight the impact of drought on crop production. To do so, Gro makes use of a global dataset of cropland area values at the district level.” William Osnato

The food security tracker displays the generated assessment of crop stocks and drought status alongside current crop import prices and input from satellite imagery depicting crop health. Combined, this information gives a comprehensive picture of a country’s food security related to a selected crop. The inputs feeding into Gro Intelligence’s platform are updated, at minimum, monthly, with more time sensitive inputs updating weekly or in real-time.

The World Food Programme calls 2022 “a year of unprecedented hunger,” with an estimated 828 million people facing hunger daily. They list conflict, climate change, economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and cost inflation as the major contributing factors. And they highlight several countries in Africa, including Nigeria, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic, as hunger hotspots.

Gro Intelligence’s analysis of rising food security costs highlights a disproportionately negative impact in Africa due to significant staple crop imports. They developed the Food Security Tracker for Africa to help address this inequality by giving “the public greater access to critical data, which will help fill the gaps in accurate supply and demand coverage for major crops in Africa.

By indicating “critical areas of food insecurity the food security tracker can help policy makers at the government level and aid organizations to better allocate resources.” The information provided by the food security tracker will not likely mitigate risk for growers. Direct assistance and education at the farmer level would be the ideal outcome of informing policy makers and organizations about critical at-risk areas.

The Food Security Tracker for Africa has operational funding for one year. But The Rockefeller Foundation gives assurance of its continued commitment to the region. 

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

World Water Week

23 August - 1 September 2022.
World Water Week

World Water Week is the leading conference on global water issues, held every year since 1991. The Week attracts a diverse mix of participants from many professional backgrounds and every corner of the world.

It presents solutions to the planet’s greatest water-related challenges, such as poverty, the climate crisis, and biodiversity loss.

Extracts of the programme:

23/08 “On the money”: Innovating finance to enable farmer-led irrigation

Irrigation can strengthen resilience, improve nutrition and increase incomes, but low access to technologies has limited growth. Credit access alone will not unlock access to irrigation technologies. Instead, scaling farmer-led irrigation requires changes in a complex finance ecosystem that includes farmers, finance providers, value chain actors and equipment suppliers.
  • Constraints on farmer demand for credit and the supply of credit at the farm household level (IFPRI, Bedru Balana)
  • Innovative Financing for Water in Agriculture: An Indian case study (World Bank, Svetlana Valieva and Eeman Amjad)
  • Role of public agencies and subsidy programs: A case study from Rwanda (Grace Mukarusagara, DWFI, University of Nebraska)
  • Finance needs of irrigation equipment suppliers expanding into new markets and taking on risks to reach smallholders market segments: Insights from Ghana and Mali’ (IWMI, Minh Thai)
  • Financing Irrigation for Women & Smallholders: Lessons from Women's World Banking's financial inclusion research (Women’s World Banking, Megan Baumann)

23/08 Rights to water and food in freshwater resource allocation

This session brought WASH, irrigation and other water sectors together to explore integrity and redistributive justice in water law, including statutory protection of indigenous communities and universal core minimum resource rights to water and food. It unraveled intersections between water law, constitutions, land and resource law, customary law, and human rights.

24/08 SIWI Seminar: Achieving 2030 food/nutrition targets through water security (1/3)

The session highlighted the status and trends in the global food and water systems by asking, “Are we on track to achieve water and food security by 2030?”. Furthermore, "What pathways and actions have emerged from the UN Food System Summit 2021 and since, that support achieving water-food security targets?"

24/08 Water for Agriculture: Triggering a Quantum Leap in Performance

The session showcased the recent development of frameworks and tools for irrigation performance benchmarking and assessment. These assessments shift from the traditional methods of monitoring performance to integrate innovative technologies, indicators with high operational relevance and forward-looking elements such as climate resilience, environmental stewardship, inclusion, and customer orientation.

30/08 Water, food and nutrition in a climate crisis: Field insights

The session shared insights from the Nutrition-sensitive-agriculture water productivity project being implemented by FAO/IFAD in Benin-Mozambique-Niger-Egypt-Jordan-Rwanda which aims to strengthen capacities of farmers to access and implement sustainable-production-practices that increase economic yields and dietary diversity. National project-administrators and government representatives will share successes and challenges to-date.

31/08 The role of Regenerative Agriculture and farmers in groundwater management

Talk show session hosted by BlueRisk with Cargill and TNC representatives. The interview  focused on:
  • What role Regenerative Agriculture can play in groundwater management- innovation + benefits
  • How Regenerative Agriculture and Nature-Based Solutions fit in a watershed approach
  • How to drive scale through famer-centric solutions while adapting to a changing marketplace and a changing climate

31/08 Transforming Investments in African Rainfed Agriculture for the Zambezi Watercourse

The session mobilized finance from public and private sources for activities that support rural communities along the Zambezi Watercourse by enhancing rainfed agriculture, increasing food security, improving climate resilience/water and land management, and creating jobs and sustainable livelihoods whilst contributing to growth and development.

Within this context, the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM) partnered with the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to formulate the TIARA programme whose main objective is to increase attention and investment in enhanced rainfed agriculture across the Watercourse. 

ZAMCOM developed a Strategic Plan for the Zambezi Watercourse (ZSP) with a "Livelihoods Support" Pillar, which includes integration of the development of investment initiatives into enhanced rainfed agriculture in the Watercourse. This strategy aims to increase water availability for smallholder farmers through improved rainfed agriculture practices.
  • Transforming Investments in African Rainfed Agriculture (TIARA) initiative - Kasonde Mulenga, Programme Manager SIWI
  • Zambezi Strategic Plan, a framework for climate-smart investments into rainfed agriculture in the Zambezi - Evans Kaseke, Programme manager ZAMCOM
  • Global experiences and responses to landscape management - Professor Catherine Muthuri, Kenya Country Director and Regional Convener for East Africa, CIFOR-ICRAF

01/09 Regenerative agriculture to value water and soils

Convenors: Coalition of Action for Soil Health, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Agroforestry Centre.

The session was organised in three parts:
  1. The state of play: key note presentations outlining the linkages between regenerative farming and sustainable food production: Role of soil health for improved hydrologic function across farming landscapes, CA4SH
  2. A panel discussion bringing perspectives from business, farmers and government; 
  3. An interactive discussion with the audience on opportunities for valuing water through agroecological approaches.

TAAT Investors Forum 3: Seeds, varieties and associated TAAT Technologies

24 August 2022 TAAT Investors Forum 3: Seeds, varieties and associated TAAT Technologies

The TAAT programme connects innovative agricultural technologies from research institutes to private sector partners for adoption and scaling. It held its third edition of the TAAT Investors’ Forum for businesses in the agricultural sector in Africa.

New technologies developed and tested by scientists are ready to be adopted and deployed by enterprises active in the agricultural sector. 

The new technologies are: Hermetic Bags, Wheat Flour Milling, Precooked Beans, FAW, Aflasafe, Deep Urea Placement, Rice Thresher and Polisher, Cassava SAH Multiplication, Cassava Seed Bulking Farm:

Soil Information in farmers' hands

18 August 2022.Getting soil information to the farmers. By FARA





Related:

Action Research Towards Agroecological Transitions


30 August 2022
. Action Research Towards Agroecological Transitions - Set Off Webinar by CGIAR.
The triple threat of climate change, Covid, and conflict is revealing the inherent fragility of food systems worldwide along with their negative impacts on natural resources as well as their prominent role in worsening climate change and social inequities. Agroecology shows enormous potential for helping address these crises, and the time has come for more concerted action to realize its possibilities. Target countries: Burkina Faso, India, Kenya, Lao PDR, Peru, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe.
  • This webinar was an opportunity to present the Agroecology Initiative and discuss donor and partner perspectives on how contextually relevant agroecological principles can be applied by farmers and communities across a wide range of contexts and supported by other food system actors.
  • The “set off” webinar brought together leaders, funders, partners and 218 participants from 48 countries.
  • Consult the Initiative brochure here.

Food systems worldwide are falling far short of sustainability goals. Not only do these systems leave aglobal total of 820 million people undernourished, while also worsening social inequities and – from food production to consumption – biodiversity loss, water pollution, and natural resource depletion. Moreover, food systems account for about a third of the global greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change.

Agroecology is a transdisciplinary, participatory, and action-oriented approach for codesigning options that enhance food system resilience, equity, and sustainability. Based on a thorough understanding of the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of food systems, these options can be implemented at the farm, landscape, or food system level, contributing to more efficient resource use, reducing agriculture’s ecological footprint, strengthening its resilience, while contributing to social equity and responsibility – all necessary for achieving sustainability.

Agroecology further assigns importance to involving a range of stakeholders, especially, farmers, in the
co-creation of knowledge and options that fit particular contexts. The CGIAR Initiative on Transformational Agroecology Across Food, Land and Water Systems will engage with food system actors in seven countries (Burkina Faso, India, Kenya, Lao PDR, Peru, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe) to find better ways of putting into practice agroecological principles.

The 90-minute event was an opportunity to present the Imitative and discuss how food systems actors can design, test, and adapt technological and institutional innovations for agroecological transitions, from food production to consumption.

Background

In territories referred as “Agroecological Living Landscapes”, this CGIAR program will engage with diverse stakeholders, including farmer associations or communities, researchers from multiple disciplines, private companies, international and national non-governmental organizations as well as local, regional, and national policymakers:
  • Assess and demonstrate which agroecological innovations (practices, business models, and institutional arrangements) work best, where, why, and for whom.
  • Identify business opportunities and financial mechanisms for local enterprises to deal with agroecological innovations.
  • Determine the most suitable policies and mechanisms of policy integration for promoting effective and sustainable agroecological transitions.
  • Develop strategies and action plans that encourage and support sustainable behavior change oriented to agroecological principles and transitions.

Participating organizations and networks include:

The CGIAR initiative involves researchers from eight international centers, working closely with the French Agricultural Research and Cooperation Organization (CIRAD) and CIFOR-ICRAF as well as the German International Cooperation (GIZ), Switzerland’s Biovision Foundation, and various national and subnational policymakers.
  • The Swiss Cooperation
  • The European Commission
  • Biohub Trust, Zimbabwe
  • The Government of Andhra Pradesh, India
  • The Inter-Sectoral Forum on Agroecology and Agrobiodiversity (ISFAA)
  • The Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology (Agroecology TPP)

Publications:

Haley Zaremba, Marlène Elias, Anne Rietveld and Nadia Bergamini. 2022. Toward a Feminist Agroecology. Infobrief. Bioversity International, Rome.
Place F, Niederle P, Sinclair F, Carmona NE, Guéneau S, Gitz V, Alpha A, Sabourin E and Hainzelin E. 2022. Agroecologically-conducive policies: A review of recent advances and remaining challenges. Working Paper 1. Bogor, Indonesia: The Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology
Jones, S.K., Bergamini, N., Beggi, F. et al. Research strategies to catalyze agroecological transitions in low- and middle-income countries. Sustain Sci (2022).

Contacts:

Stakeholder perspectives

Taken together, the new Agroecology Initiative, its active community of supporters, its broad and inclusive partnerships, and the diverse body of national experiences provide a much-needed boost for the agroecology movement, as it seeks to transform food systems in the face of growing crises.


Photo: Silver oak and black pepper in a tea
orchard. Wayanad, India. Worldagroforestry Center, Devashree Nayak.
Natural Farming in India: G. Muralidhar, co-lead and senior consultant at Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), cited several issues that the CGIAR Initiative can help address, including policy development, program expansion to other landscapes, and improvement of mixed crop-livestock farming systems. The Natural Farming Program in Andhra Pradesh also needs to address the agency of women and vulnerable communities, while connecting farmers more profitably with markets outside their local areas and enhancing their access to technical innovations.
 
Green Growth strategy in Laos: Phonevilay Sinavong, head of project management and consolidation with the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), noted that during the Covid-19 pandemic communities benefitting from the Green Growth strategy saw improvement in their resilience and food security. NAFRI will work with the CGIAR initiative to build evidence that offers the government a sound basis for developing policies that foster agroecology.
 
National agroecology strategy in Kenya: Martin Oulu, co-lead of the African Inter-sectoral Forum on Agrobiodiversity and Agroecology (ISFAA), on linkages with the formulation of a national agroecology strategy in Kenya: (1) better coordination of the agroecology transition, (2) integration of agroecological principles, practices, and policies with other sectors like health, and education, (3) stronger incentives for behavioral change, and (4) mobilization of public and private finance in support of agroecology initiatives.

Case study Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, farm inputs are very expensive and climate change impacts are severe. The initiative will build on the agroecological policy framework already in place and on several projects currently promoting agroecological principles. With coordination provided by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the initiative will help build agroecological living landscapes in two territories with contrasting conditions and landscapes. In a video by the CIMMYT team, farmers and partners in these territories share their expectations about diversifying agricultural production through a mixed farming approach and about enhancing their capacity to adapt to climate change.




3rd Leap4FNSSA Consultative Meeting on IRC - IRC funding strategy

30 August 2022. 3rd Leap4FNSSA Consultative Meeting on IRC - IRC funding strategy

The International Research Consortium (IRC) Platform is expected to target four specific objectives: 

  1. Increase the synergies and coherence between actors, research and innovation projects, initiatives and programmes, through the development of institutional alliances and clusters of projects and expertise 
  2. Develop a learning environment and a large knowledge base, including monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) activities, creating communication and links between different initiatives to improve STI cooperation 
  3. Establish a long term and sustainable coordination infrastructure, governance and funding mechanism 
  4. Liaise with the HLPD Bureau.

The crafting of the IRC Platform structures shall be undertaken with full participation of all institutions that have declared their intention to be members of the IRC. 

In line with this inclusive approach, the IRC crafting process will involve a schedule of sharing the draft versions of the document to receive inputs from prospective member institutions of the IRC Platform in three consultative sessions on June 9th ; July 5th ; and August 30th, before the final write-shop, final General Assembly and IRC Founding Launch planned for 14-16th September, 2022.

Camel biodiversity—and how to conserve it 

Camel biodiversity—and how to conserve it 

The strengths of the camel in a planetary scenario of rising temperatures are its drought and heat resilience, ability to convert thorny plants into milk, and general capacity for food production in challenging environments. When camels are kept in industrial systems and fed optimized rations, they lose these qualities. In order to maintain camel genetic diversity, we need to support the pastoralist communities that have developed this asset by providing them with secure grazing rights and access to value chains. 

This approach would serve the dual goals of in-situ conservation as well as enhancing food security and rural livelihoods. In an ideal world, the wealthy actors whose breeding practices undermine camel biodiversity would extend their support and throw their weight behind the poor communities that conserve it and have created an important part of our human biocultural heritage.

Implications

  • The existing genetic diversity camels is the result of traditional breeding practices and culturally embedded utilization patterns of camel breeding ethnic groups.
  • Many camel breeding communities experience threats to their traditional management systems due to alienation of customary grazing areas and unfavorable policy environments.
  • “Modern” breeding practices such as embryo transfer and cloning narrowing the camel gene pool.
  • To maintain genetic diversity in camels and their ability to produce food in challenging environments, in-situ conservation by camel herding communities needs strengthening.
  • The affluent countries eroding camel biodiversity should support communities in poor countries that conserve camel biodiversity.

Promotional video CAADP

This video is part of a promotional series on the African Union Agenda 2063. To find out more visit: https://au.int/en/agenda2063/overview

12th Africa Australia Research Forum: Food Security in an Insecure Age

30 August 2022The Africa-Australia Research Forum has sought for more than a decade to bring together such groups of people to present and discuss research findings in the context of inclusive growth agendas for the continent. Last year (2021) it launched the Murdoch Third Commission on Inclusive Growth in Africa.

This year, 2022, the Africa-Australia Research Forum focused on the genuine threat to food security in Africa. It explored impending shortages caused by supply constraints and enablers of agricultural community resilience and climate change adaptation strategies, African farming system solutions, the nexus between mining and agriculture, and opportunities for food trade and agri-innovation partnership between Australia and Africa’s nations and regions.
  • Panel Chair: Dr. Nalishebo Meebelo, Executive Director, Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ReNAPRI) Secretariat
  • Professor Rajeev K Varshney, International Chair in Agriculture & Food Security, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University
  • Ms. Alice Ruhweza, Africa Region Director WWF International & Board Member CGIAR
  • Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
  • Dr. Peter Johnson, Research Officer, Climate System Analysis Group, University of Cape Town

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Food Trade in Africa - The Russia - Ukraine Crisis and its Impact on Africa's Food Security

25 August 2022. “In Conversation: Food Trade in Africa”, the Food Trade Coalition for Africa will host a policy dialogue focused on the Russia – Ukraine Conflict and its impact on food trade and food security

Key stakeholders in food trade in Africa have carried out a number of analyses on the impacts of the conflict on the continent. Learning from other stakeholders, sharing key findings, and refining recommendations made to governments on the continent can play a key role in supporting measures that facilitate food trade and improve the worsening food security situation on the continent. 

In this dialogue key findings and policy implications on the Russia - Urkaine Crisis on trade, growth, poverty and food security from a study carried out by Akademiya2063 were presented and discussed.

Resources:
AKADEMIYA2063 (2022) UKRAINE CRISIS BRIEF SERIES. Country Exposure, Contagion, and TradeEff ects: Summary of Findings and PolicyImplications, # 5p

Related:
27 July 2022. The Importance of Timely Analyses for Decision-Making during a Period of Crisis. By Agrilinks and IFPRI

Multi-actors Agricultural Innovation Platforms (MAIPs) - Experiences from the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) approach in China

25 August 2022. Multi-actors Agricultural Innovation Platforms (MAIPs): Experience from the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) approach

Recording forthcoming

Global food security is facing unprecedented challenges to provide enough food to feed the large growing population with less environmental impact. The challenges are more daunting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the urgent need to make agri-food systems more resilient to shocks and disasters. Improving food production capacity by empowering smallholders is critical to address this issue. Therefore, this webinar is organised to introduce the Science and Technology Backyards (STB) as a novel approach to building multi-actors agricultural innovation platforms (MAIPs) to empower smallholders for sustainable crop production.

The webinar aimed to:
  1. introduce the working mechanism of STB to AGD;
  2. highlight the experience of people benefited from STB; and
  3. explore the way forward in transforming agriculture towards green development through STB.
OPENING REMARKS - Ms Ismahane Elouafi, FAO Chief Scientist
WELCOME ADDRESS - Prof. Taisheng Du, vice president of China Agriculture University
SPEAKERS
  • Prof. Fusuo Zhang, academician the Chinese Academy of Engineering, professor from China Agricultural University
  • Mr Puyun Yang, Agricultural Officer, Office of Innovation (OIN), FAO
  • Mr Selvaraju Ramasamy, Senior Agricultural Officer, OIN, FAO
  • Prof. Oene Oenema, Wageningen University & Research
PANELISTS
  • Mr Alfred Tsitsi, Manager of TAP Framework Project, FAO Country Office in Malawi
  • Prof. Weifeng Zhang, China Agricultural University
  • Mr Xinmin Lin, lead farmer, Fujian pomelo STB
  • Mr David Ngula Mutten Dango, STB student

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

First Summit of Africa and the Americas on Agrifood Systems 

27 - 29 July 2022. Costa Rica.  First Summit of Africa and the Americas on Agrifood Systems.

The forum was organized by IICA, the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The partners are convinced that the two continents face similar challenges in achieving agrifood system transformation and will benefit from the deepening of discussions and the sharing of experiences designed to foster mutual collaboration within the framework of South-South Cooperation.

The ministerial meeting was inaugurated on 27 July by the President of AGRA, the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, and the Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD, Nardos Bekele-Thomas.

The hybrid Summit is the most important event within the framework of joint efforts between leaders of Africa and the Americas to align their priorities based on productive, environmental, cultural and historical similarities and common challenges with respect to agrifood systems.

At the summit, ministers and officials identified areas of joint work and cooperation between the two regions, as well as the operational and financial mechanisms required to mobilise the necessary resources to increase the productivity, inclusion, and sustainability of agrifood systems.

The focus was on five key areas:

  1. Science, technology and innovation, including biotechnology
  2. Climate change and resilience
  3. Digital agriculture
  4. Institutional innovations and policies for social inclusion, safety nets, health and nutrition and the recovery of degraded natural resources
  5. Fostering a more fair and transparent international food trade system.


ARUA-SFS Science Days and High-Level Colloquium

23 – 25 August 2022ARUA-SFS Science Days and High-Level Colloquium

To follow the livestream, kindly use this link: https://bit.ly/3TeYIB1

The African Research Universities Alliance Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (ARUA-SFS) hosted a Science Days and High-level Colloquium event. 

ARUA-SFS established in 2018 is a partnership between the host institution – the University of Pretoria (UP) – and collaborating partner institutions – the University of Ghana and the University of Nairobi. The Centre aims to create an engaging global network of talented researchers to move institutions forward in finding solutions to Africa’s most wicked food systems challenges.

The theme for the event was titled “From Food Security to Sustainable Food Systems: Addressing the Challenges and Ensuring Institutional Alignment”. 

FSNet-Africa has been invited to host two sessions during the event. The first session showcases how the FSNet-Africa model works. The second session provides high-level insights on the enablers for achieving food systems transformation in Africa.

The objectives of the event were to:
  1. Reflect on the trajectory of ARUA-SFS as a unique model for operationalising and integrating transdisciplinary research (governance, implementation arrangements and ongoing research).
  2. Map out the institutional capacities for addressing sustainable food systems and research across the five research focal areas.
  3. Showcase programme outputs and impact as we close-out the Capacity Building in Food Security for Africa (CaBFoodS-Africa) programme (August 31, 2022).
  4. Demonstrate the Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa) model.
  5. Dialogue on key food systems transformation issues through a colloquium of leading experts, opinion leaders and policy influencers in light of prevailing continental and global challenges (COVID-19, conflicts) affecting the research and policy space.

Day 1 Extracts

 

ARUA-SFS RESEARCH FOCAL AREA PROJECTS (afternoon)
  1. AFRICA’S CROPS - FORENS - PROF NAUSHAD EMMAMBAUX (UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA) AND PROF NDOMELELE NDIKO LUDIDI (UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN CAPE)
    The Food and Livelihood Resilience from Neglected and Underutilised Plant Species
    in Africa (FORENS) is an Africa-Japan collaborative programme funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa.
  2. AFRICA’S CROPS - FOSTA - PROF CECILIA ONYANGO (UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI) AND PROF WANDA MARKOTTER (UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA)
    The Food Systems Transformation in Southern Africa for One Health (FoSTA Health)
    aims to develop ambitious and inclusive visions of, and action plans for, food systems
    transformation in order to achieve positive One Health outcomes in Southern Africa.
    The project is co-led by the University of Nairobi and University of Leeds. Funded by EC/Horizon Europe
  3. AFRICA’S HERDS – GREENHOUSE GAS MEASUREMENTS (GGM) – DR LINDEQUE DU TOIT (UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA)
    The project Greenhouse Gas Measurements (GGM) Project seeks to advance a
    regional programme of work to promote innovation and research on shared challenges
    in the agricultural sector, including issues such as sustainable agriculture, indigenous
    development, and climate change across Southern Africa. The project is supported by
    the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre (NZAGRC)
  4. FOOD SYSTEMS DIALOGUES – MS SHIELA CHIKULO (ARUA-SFS, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA)
    The Food Systems Dialogues explore inclusive and diverse approaches to conducting
    conversations on priority issues related to food systems. The dialogues provide a
    unique opportunity for all stakeholder groupings to convene and add their voice on
    important food systems issues. This particularly applies to voices that are often
    overlooked and/or marginalised. Through dialogues, collaborative ideas and actions
    can be developed to inform the food systems transformation agenda. The Food
    Systems Dialogues are convened in partnership with Dr. David Nabarro and the Skills,
    Systems and Synergies for Sustainable Development (4SD) team and the Imperial
    College London.

Day 2: Extracts


THEME A: BUILDING CAPACITY IN FOOD SECURITY FOLLOWING DIFFERENT
APPROACHES
  1. POSTGRADUATE COURSE IN FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY - PROF HETTIE SCHÖNFELDT (UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA)
  2. POSTGRADUATE COURSES IN THE “PRODUCTION AND USE OF FOOD COMPOSITION DATA IN NUTRITION” (PROF HETTIE SCHÖNFELDT, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA)
  3. TRAINING ON THE REDUCTION OF POST-HARVEST LOSSES (PROF JANE AMBUKO, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI)
THEME B: RETAINING NUTRIENT QUALITY THROUGH COMPLEMENTARY
INTERVENTIONS
  1. TAKE STOCK AND IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE POST-HARVEST PRACTICES AND TECHNOLOGIES TO SCALE-UP (PROF JANE AMBUKO, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI)
  2. SITUATIONAL ANALYSES - NUTRIENT QUALITY, FOOD BASKETS AND PRICING OPTIONS (DR HESTER VERMEULEN, BFAP)
THEME D: POLICIES FOR OPTIMAL NUTRITION-SENSITIVE OPTIONS
  1. DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT IN-COUNTRY POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES (PROF SIMBA SIBANDA, FANRPAN) 
  2. STRENGTHENING POLICY MAKERS ON NUTRITION-SENSITIVE POLICY OPTIONS – A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (PROF SIMBA SIBANDA, FANRPAN)
THEME E: HIGH-LEVEL COLLOQUIUM ON “ENDING HUNGER”
  1. HIGH-LEVEL COLLOQUIUM ON “ENDING HUNGER” (PROF LINDIWE MAJELE SIBANDA, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA)
  2. SYNTHESIS AND CLOSING: PROF LISE KORSTEN, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE DST-NRF CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN FOOD SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA
SESSION F: HIGH-LEVEL COLLOQUIUM
  • OPENING AND WELCOME – DR. HEIDE HACKMANN, INTERIM DIRECTOR, FUTURE AFRICA INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA
  • SETTING THE SCENE - PROF. FRANS SWANEPOEL, FSNET-AFRICA DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA
  • GENDER RESPONSIVE AFRICAN FOOD SYSTEMS - DR.THANDI MGWEBI, DVC: RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND INTERNATIONALISATION (RII), NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
  • THE ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION - DR. STEFANO MARRAS, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS - UN AFFAIRS, BAYER CROP SCIENCE
  • PARTNERSHIPS IN AFRICAN FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION MS. JOYENE ISAACS, CHAIRPERSON ARC
  • STRENGTHENING FOOD SYSTEMS RESEARCH CAPACITY IN AFRICA - DR MOSES OSIRU, MANAGER, REGIONAL COORDINATION UNIT (RCU) OF THE REGIONAL SCHOLARSHIP AND INNOVATION FUND (RSIF)
  • BIG DATA FOR FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION - DR YEMI AKINBAMIJO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FARA
  • INFLUENCING POLICY FOR FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION - PROF RICHARD MKANDAWIRE, DIRECTOR OF ALLIANCE FOR AFRICAN PARTNERSHIP (AAP)
  • THE TRUE COST OF FOOD - MR WANDILE SIHLOBO, CHIEF ECONOMIST, AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS CHAMBER OF SOUTH AFRICA
  • INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES TO INFORM AFRICAN FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION - PROF CLAIRE QUINN, FSNET-AFRICA CO-DIRECTOR AND CO- INVESTIGATOR, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS, UK
  • MODERATED DISCUSSION – PROF. LINDIWE MAJELE SIBANDA, DIRECTOR AND CHAIR, ARUA-SFS, UP

Background 

ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems

The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (formerly ACoE in Food Security) was established in 2018 as a partnership between the host institution – University of Pretoria – and collaborating partner institutions – University of Ghana and University of Nairobi. 

The ARUA-SFS aims to create an engaging global network of talented researchers to move institutions forward in pursuit of a common goal. It is recognised that finding solutions to the food security and nutritional challenges in Africa is a huge and daunting task, and there are many local and internationally based organisations working in the African food and agriculture domain. The aim of the ARUA-SFS is not to duplicate efforts, but to create a critical mass of talented researchers working synergistically to maximise complementarity.

ActionOnFood: COP27 Food Systems Pavilion announced

Leading international organisations join forces to put food on the table at COP27

As the countdown to COP gathers pace – with just 80 days now remaining until the United Nations hosts its 27th Climate Change Conference – a coalition of leading international food organisations has today announced its plans to host the first ever Food Systems Pavilion.

The Food Systems Pavilion brings together over 15 international leaders in the food space spanning the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, from farmers and youth to policy makers and scientists. This diversity of expertise and perspectives sets it apart from other coalitions, with co-hosts and partners committing to work collaboratively to tackle trade-offs, showcase solutions and overcome barriers.

Participating organisations include co-hosts Clim-EatCoalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH), EIT FoodEnvironmental Defense FundFOLUGood Food Institute, InfarmSNV and Yara International; session partners Aleph FarmsFood TankJust Rural TransitionOne Acre Fund and Rabobank; and supporting partners World Farmers’ OrganisationWorld Food ForumYPARDIAAS World and YOUNGO.
“New visions are needed for how food systems will operate in the future, and the central role of farmers and small-scale agriculture as positive agents of change. Business as usual is not an option. To address these issues publicly and collaboratively, we are bringing together farmers, food producers, NGOs, businesses, youth, Indigenous Peoples, governments and intergovernmental organisations in the first ever Food Systems Pavilion. We believe COP27 will represent a critical turning point for our food systems. We urge all interested parties to join us in championing #ActionOnFood and making this the food COP. With agriculture and food systems contributing over one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, there are many complex challenges to overcome but also huge opportunities. Transforming the world’s food systems could generate $4.5 trillion annually in new economic activity and help to create a net-zero, nature-positive world, while also ensuring social justice and food security. At the previous COP in Glasgow, policy makers took the first steps towards recognising the critical role of food and agriculture in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At COP27, the Food Systems Pavilion co-hosts want to substantially advance this agenda and put food centre stage." Dr Dhanush Dinesh, Clim-Eat founder
“We must ensure that food dominates the COP27 agenda. It has been the missing piece in climate negotiations for far too long. Yet, Africa is putting huge bets on a COP on the continent. We hope that the world recognizes that our ability to produce food is fast being eroded, our adaptation capacity is the weakest, and how food is produced in parts of the world creates problems we must address. Transforming our food systems unlocks opportunities to significantly reduce GHG emissions, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and provide solutions to some of the most pressing environmental and social issues of our time. Without urgent action on climate change, an additional 100 million people in Africa could be pulled into extreme poverty in the next eight seasons – that’s more than 10 million people every year between now and 2030 – people that have until now been feeding themselves! Timely action on food systems is essential to stop more people from sliding into poverty and food insecurity – it is good for both people and the planet.” Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to the 2021 Food Systems Summit and FOLU Ambassador
The Food Systems Pavilion will focus on actions, strategies and solutions spanning the entire food value chain which offer the potential to accelerate the transition to healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems for all.

To find out more about the Food Systems Pavilion and its programme of events, visit FoodSystemsPavilion.com or search the hashtag #ActionOnFood on social media.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

African food systems for impact: The Food Systems Research Network for Africa

23 August 2022. The Department of Anthropology, Archaeology and Development Studies at the University of Pretoria; FSNet-Africa; and the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security, held a Food Talks webinar on “African food systems for impact: The Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa) Model”

Tis webinar shared more about how the FSNet-Africa Model which was designed for impact. In particular, it discussed how the combination of transdisciplinary research, mentorship, and stakeholder involvement can transform science. Central to this model is the uptake of research outputs to strengthen the Africa food systems.


 

Dr Njongenhle Nyoni is based at FANRPAN and is the  Engagement and Liaison Manager for FSNet-Africa. He specialises in developmental project designs and implementation under the climate-smart agriculture thematic thrust. He has organised, convened, and facilitated several high-level, regional, national policy dialogues on climate-smart agriculture
Dr Melody Mentz-Coetzee is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship (University of Pretoria). Dr Mentz-Coetzee has worked for a number of years as an independent monitoring and evaluation consultant undertaking projects at national, pan-African, and international levels

 

Moderator

Dr Marc Wegerif is a Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at the University of Pretoria. His research focuses on food systems, agrarian transformation, and land rights. He has over 30 years of development sector work experience from project level to national and international policy and advocacy. His doctorate was obtained with the Rural Sociology Group at Wageningen University.

Saturday, August 13, 2022

FOODPathS: Towards a new EU partnership

FOODPathS: Towards a new EU partnership to co-create and co-fund research & innovation activities that make our food systems sustainable

To coordinate EU policy priorities on food, the EU-funded project FOODPathS comprises seventeen key network organisations. 

The project will set up a prototype of the European “Partnership for Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) for people, planet and climate” - a new European governance model to co-fund future research and innovation (R&I) activities at local, national and EU level. As European Food Systems are affected by complex challenges requiring a systemic approach, FOODPathS creates a powerful network with diverse public and private entities to ease the food systems transition.

FOODPathS partners

  • INRAE - National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (France)Aarhus University (Denmark)Jülich Forschungszentrum (Germany)FoodDrinkEurope (Belgium)ANIA – Association Nationale des Industries Alimenatires (France)FIAB – Federación Española de Industrias de la Alimentación y Bebidas (Spain)Confagricoltura (Italy)EFFoST (The Netherlands)Polish Academy of Science – Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development (Poland)ICLEI (Germany)Fondazione Cariplo (Italy)European Foundation Centre (Belgium)EUFIC – European Food Information Council (Belgium)ZonMw (The Netherlands)ISEKI-Food Association (Austria)INRAE Transfert (France)Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences (Finland)