Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Friday, April 5, 2024

Resources March 2024

AgriFoodTech Investment

AgFunder (2023) Africa AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2023 # 56 p.
AU (2024) 4th CAADP Biennial Review Report 2012-2023 #170 p

FOLU (2024) The financial implications of mitigating agriculture and land use change emissions forbusinesses #27 p + Key Messages #3 p
  • Investment from the food sector of approximately US $205 billion per year between 2025 and 2030 could mitigate up to 9 GtCO2e annually by 2030. 
  • While significant, these costs represent less than 2% of total projected food sector revenues and come with other benefits including access to new and growing markets, some on farm savings and improved supply chain resilience.
  • This report highlights that the burden of mitigation varies depending on where actors sit along the value chain. A critical challenge is that the costs are currently projected to land most heavily on farmers, who are the least able to pay. 
  • Overcoming this inequity requires companies to reassess how they partner with actors in the value chain, particularly farmers, and how they engage with policymakers to accelerate action.

FOLU (2024) Developments in voluntary frameworks and standards and their influence on legislation for businesses #30 p + Key Messages #2 p
  • Businesses setting and implementing ambitious climate and nature strategies today will be better prepared for future sustainability regulation, facing fewer compliance risks and experiencing less disruption in their supply chains. 
  • Ambitious companies can not only leverage established and emerging voluntary standards to get ahead of the game, but they can and should also seize the opportunity to advocate for harmonized standards and regulation, which will accelerate the food sector’s transition to a sustainable future.
  • Related:11 April 2024. 03:00pm - 04:15pm How Can Businesses Secure a More Sustainable, Equitable and Resilient Future for the Food Sector?

AEF (2023) Realising the full potential of carbon pricing and markets: Opportunities for the Africa-
Europe Partnership # 33p.
  • In the framework of COP28 (the UN Climate Change Conference), the Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) and the Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A) released a joint report, outlining the reasons why carbon pricing and subsequent trading is a win-win opportunity to advance global climate action and achieve socio-economic growth.
OGL (2023) International development in a contested world: endingextreme poverty and tackling climate change A White Paper on International Development November 2023, #155 p.
  • This White Paper sets out a re-energised international development agenda, for the UK, working with its partners, based (among others) on the following priorities: going further, faster to mobilise international finance to end extreme poverty, tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, power sustainable growth and increase private sector investment in development
  • (page 55) Established in Nairobi in 2012 by the UK, FSD Africa is a specialist development agency working across more than 30 African countries to address challenges stopping finance getting to where it is most needed.


Food systems


IFPRI, UN Women (2024) GLOBALFOOD 50/50REPORT2023/2024Analysis of family-friendly
workplace policies and gender equality in 51 global food system organizations
#30 p
  • For the first time, the 2023/2024 Report expands its focus to address a policy area that plays a decisive role in promoting equality of opportunity in the workplace: the extent to which workplace policies recognize and support employees’ care responsibilities. 
  • The data reveal policy attention to parental leave, but other policies related to family needs, such as child care and elder care, remain scarce.
  • Gender- and equity-related policies and practices global food system organizations Recorded

Keith O. Fuglie , Ruben G. Echeverria (2024) The economic impact of CGIAR-related crop technologies on agricultural productivity in developing countries, 1961–2020 #21 p.
  • This article highlights the diffusion and productivity impact of CGIAR crop research. The report shows that by 2020 , CGIAR-related crop technologies were adopted on at least 221 million hectares across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
  • There is increasing evidence for the need to develop effective ‘double-duty policy bundles’ (DDPBs), which can enable more nutritious diets and effectively tackle under- and over-nutrition. 
  • To achieve food systems change, DDPBs integrate nutrition- and healthsensitive policies within broader strategies (e.g. environmental and agricultural policies).
  • Webinar: 28 March 2024. Transforming Africa’s food future: Policy changes for healthier food systems

Nutrition


ACB (2024) Exploitation of socioeconomic inequities drives UPF consumption and malnutrition #13 p.

  • In this fifth fact sheet of the series, ACB delves into the complexity of some of these socioeconomic inequities and argue that these are being perversely exploited by the ultra-processed food (UPF) giants to drive the purchase and consumption of UPF in Africa. 
  • This is overlayed by the changing socio- and politico-economic conditions, which provide further market opportunities for UPF as more accessible, affordable, and desirable food options in both urban and rural contexts.

FAO, FARA (2024) Compendium of forgotten foods in Africa  # 120 p



Agrocology

FAO (2024) Outcome Brief: National Agroecology Strategies in Eastern and Southern Africa - Lighthouses for food system transformation #52 p
  • Following a three-day peer-to-peer exchange with policymakers and shapers on the National Agroecology Strategies (NAS), which took place in Nairobi in October 2023, the Biovision Foundation has recently published an outcome brief at a joint event with FAO and Agroecology Coalition. This brief shares insights on the NAS processes in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, outlining five main reasons why governments should opt for NAS today and serve as a unique opportunity to learn from policy developments in Eastern and Southern Africa.
  • These strategies have the potential to harness opportunities of a sustainable development of agri-food systems, by upscaling agroecological production practices, developing markets, value chains and consumer demand that can accelerate transition.

Climate adaptation


Clim-Eat (2024) Picking locks for potential. Mobilizing private sector innovation for climate action # 8 p.
  • This paper outlines the most promising ways for research and philanthropic organizations to engage with the private sector to develop innovations that support the transition to a more sustainable food system.
  • It explores how the private sector research and development pipeline for food and agriculture works, how it currently aligns to the need for climate action, the hurdles (“lock-ins”) involved in making it more climate responsive, and how to overcome them with a series of interventions (“lockpicks”).

Trade


Digital agriculture


  • The report analyses 72 FAO activities and projects in Africa, spanning various agricultural subsectors and sub-regions, and how they harnessed digitalization. It highlights where more investment is needed from FAO and others. 
  • Two sets of recommendations are made: the first centres around how generally to better leverage digital technologies for food security and food system transformation in Africa. The second articulates around how FAO may strengthen the integration of digitalization in its Africa programme priorities.

EC publications



  • The Commission has proposed a series of targeted actions to boost biotechnology and biomanufacturing in the EU. 
  • The advances in life sciences, supported by digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI), and the potential of solutions based on biology to solve societal issues, make biotechnology and biomanufacturing one of the most promising technological areas of this century. 
  • They can help the EU to modernise its agriculture, forestry, energy, food and feed sectors and industry. In addition, these technologies can contribute to a more competitive and resilient EU, that provides better healthcare to its citizens, and succeeds in its green and digital transitions. Find more online.
EC (2024) Transition pathway for the agri-food industrial ecosystem #63 p.
  • The agri-food ecosystem is one of the 14 key industrial ecosystems identified in the EU's Industrial Strategy. This strategy announced the co-creation of transition pathways with stakeholders to help accelerate the green and digital transition. This collaborative effort aims to build on existing strategies and enable their implementation by providing concrete actions. These actions aim to reinforce commitments by relevant actors towards the sustainability, digitalisation and resilience of the ecosystem.

EC/DG RI (2024) Food 2030: Green and resilient food systems - conference outcome report #45 p.

EC/DG RI (2024) Valorisation policies – Code of practice on industry-academia co-creation – Commission recommendation, Publications Office of the European Union # 2p.
  • The Code of Practice on industry-academia provides practical guidance for creating successful partnerships for knowledge valorisation. It calls for promoting co-creation in the organisation’s strategy, investing in skills, networking, communication, and awareness raising. It stresses the importance of creating incentives and strengthening the role of intermediaries and joint infrastructures in translating research results into business applications.
EC/DG RI (2024) Valorisation policies – Code of practice on citizen engagement – Commission recommendation, Publications Office of the European Union, # 2p.
  • The Code of Practice on citizen engagement offers practical guidance to strengthen links between research entities and societal actors for better uptake of research results. It identifies the need for a strategic approach at the organisation level which encourage cross-sector collaboration, awareness raising and strengthening the role of intermediaries. 
  • It also proposes the use of incentives, co-creation tools and digital solutions with a human-centric and sustainable design.

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