10 June 2024. Benguerir, Morocco. Paris Peace Forum (PPF) is an annual event dedicated to discussing different topics and propose solutions to tackle different challenges facing people worldwide. In a deteriorated international environment characterised by conflicts and complex crises, actors from around the world gathered at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) to foster cooperation and co-create policies to achieve “Fair Transitions”.

The PPF provides a platform for dialogue and action developed and adapted by different players, be they from private or public sectors, Global North or Global South to get broad consensuses to support projects, convey power, and establish multi-actor policy initiatives in distinct areas. The forum also builds up its role on saving global coordination, common action for the green transition, biodiversity, critical minerals, and for African agriculture from tensions. Actions are needed to gauge actual implementations of what has been discussed and explore the possibilities to establish the notion of fair benefit-sharing.

The event convened over 300 influential figures, including Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah, non-profit leader Mo Ibrahim, and former high-ranking officials from organizations such as the OECD, WTO, and UNIDO, emphasizing the urgent need for fair transitions in global governance to address climate change, poverty, and geopolitical tensions. In preparation for the “Nutrition for Growth” Summit in March 2025, the Forum launched a group of independent experts and a dialogue platform with the private sector. Chaired by Shawn Baker of Helen Keller International, these groups will develop recommendations to combat malnutrition.

Extracts of the programme

ATLAS (Agricultural Transitions Lab for African Solutions) Roundtable, 1st Edition: Africa-Europe Policymaker Meeting on African Agri-food Systems

Organized in partnership with Africa-Europe Foundation and Global Perspectives Initiative.

The African continent has immense agricultural potential that needs to be unleashed to enhance food security on both a continental and global scale, and to achieve climate goals. African agriculture should therefore be a priority on the international agenda.

The ATLAS Laboratory is the permanent structure for North-South dialogue and cooperation of the multi-stakeholder coalition of the Paris Peace Forum on African agricultural systems, following the call named “Africa Can Be a Major Agricultural Power.”

This inaugural session brought together policymakers and experts from the African and European continents to strengthen cooperation between the North and the South and to overcome the barriers to agricultural development on the African continent.

The discussions focused on developing a shared Euro-African vision to break away from traditional North-South divides, identifying financial, environmental, and psychological challenges that need to be overcome, as well as highlighting the needs of African countries, the role Europe can play, and the common interests that should lead to enhanced collaboration and, eventually, better coordination of agri-food and trade policies between Europe and Africa.

To achieve these targets, ATLAS' activities will focus on 3 core activities:

➡️ Advocacy: convene multistakeholder dialogues to boost investment and align priorities
➡️ Knowledge: become the leading reference on tracking investment into African food systems
➡️ Spotlight: select initiatives in line with ATLAS vision, elevating them on the global stage as best-in-class examples

Cultivating Cooperation: Ground-up solutions for productive and sustainable agricultures

To challenge prevailing assumptions, encourage knowledge-sharing, and catalyze South-South cooperation, this session brought together leaders of concrete solutions, innovative agriculture practices and community-led projects that can inspire policymakers. Acknowledging the potential of these initiatives in their unique local context while still facilitating meaningful cooperation across regions is imperative to achieve equitable agricultural transitions in Africa.

Dhananjay Ray, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Development of Human Initiatives (CDHI). He presented : Agriculture Collectives of Marginalized Women. In India’s Bihar and West Bengal states, and the Tarai of Nepal, action research shows that by pooling their land, labor, capital and skills in self-organized collectives can sustainably allow women to sustainably increase skills and knowledge, generate economies of scale in agricultural production, and importantly, improve their bargaining power in deeply feudal and masculine local contexts. As they continue this work in Asia, they also aim to take forward these lessons into Africa.

Bouchra Rahmouni: Director, Social Innovation Lab & CoopLab, Full Professor of Social Entrepreneurship & Head of Diversity Research Stream at Africa Business School – UM6P, Office of the President - UM6PSpeaker. She presented: Value Chain Upgrade (VCU-SIL). This is part of an approach aimed at stimulating and supporting agricultural value chains in various branches, with particular emphasis on caper cultivation, Beldi chicken farming and beekeeping. VCU-SIL is also in the process of replicating the same strategy in several regions of Morocco and Senegal through the development of 6 value chains: Baobab, Salt, Rice, Cashew, Mango and Vegetables. The aim of this project is to promote harmony within communities in Morocco and Africa, by encouraging sustainable and inclusive agricultural development. It strives to reduce economic tensions by creating equitable opportunities, strengthening food security and prioritising the empowerment of women and youth. They believe that their active participation in these areas is essential to building a balanced and inclusive society.

Jack Kimani
CEO, Climate Action Platform For Africa (CAP-A)

Satya Tripathi
Secretary General, Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet
Moderator

Promoting fair agricultural transitions in Africa

To feed the growing population on the African continent, agricultural production will have to increase significantly. Today, many believe that this agricultural revolution can only be achieved at the expense of the climate and biodiversity: a choice would have to be made between feeding and protecting the planet. However, solutions do exist, and it is on the African continent that the destiny of the planet in terms of both food and climate is at stake. The Paris Peace Forum aims to help renew the dialogue between North and South and promote a positive vision so that the climate, agricultural development and poverty reduction agendas are no longer pitted against each other.

Hamadi Boga
Vice President-Program Delivery, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Hailemariam Dessalegn
Former Prime Minister, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Iliass El Fali
Managing Director in charge of the Corporate Strategy - Performance Management & Operations Coordination, OCP Group

Pascal Lamy
Vice President, Paris Peace Forum

Abir Lemseffer
Deputy Managing Director, Azura Group; Director General, Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture to Climate Change

Patrick Dupoux
Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group
Moderator

In below podcast Patrick Dupoux, Managing Director and Senior Partner, Head of Social Impact Practice for Europe, Middle East, Africa and South America, Member of BCG's Executive Committee, answers following questions:

What are the key goals of promoting fair agricultural transitions in Africa, especially in the context of addressing food security and sustainability challenges?
What are the primary obstacles or barriers that need to be overcome to promote fair agricultural transitions in Africa?
In what ways can local communities, governments, and international organizations collaborate to accelerate progress towards fair agricultural transitions and improved nutrition outcomes in Africa?

On the road to the “Nutrition for Growth” (N4G) Summit

The Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit will take place in Paris in 2025. Following on from the summits in London in 2012 and Tokyo in 2021, this will be a major event given the scale of the issue, which covers obesity (more than 30% of humanity), malnutrition and undernutrition (more than 25% of humanity) and affects countries in both the North and the South. As well as being a global health issue, undernutrition affects the development of physical and cognitive capacities, and is therefore at the root of many other development problems. There is therefore an urgent need to take action and direct our resources towards this "mother of all battles".

Shawn Baker
Chief Program Officer, Helen Keller Intl

Afshan Khan
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator, Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement

Raj Kumar
President and Editor in Chief, Devex
Moderator

Chika Morishima
Executive Officer and Vice President Sustainability and Communications, Ajinomoto Co. Inc.

Brieuc Pont
Special Envoy and Secretary General, Nutrition for Growth Summit

In below podcast Brieuc Pont, Special Envoy and Secretary General of the Nutrition for Growth Summit, answers following questions:

How does malnutrition affect both developed and developing countries?
What are the key challenges in addressing this issue on a global scale? -
What progress has been made since previous Nutrition for Growth summits, and what are the priorities leading up to the 2025 summit in Paris?

Seeds of Collaboration: Franco-African Partnerships in Agri-Food Systems

Amidst the challenges of climate change and food insecurity, Franco-African collaborations emerge as beacons of hope. Initiatives in sustainable fertilizers, agricultural value addition or better smallholder farmers' market access enable to enhance productivity and boost incomes in Africa. France's proactive engagement through initiatives like FARM amplify these efforts. By 2050, Africa will need to feed 2 billion people, making these joint efforts even more critical. Together, these partnerships drive equitable transitions, fostering shared prosperity. This session highlighted some successful African initiatives and projects that have significant impact on food security and job creation in Africa and explore how to replicate and scale them to meet the growing food needs of the African continent.