The 2026 Collective Action on Forgotten Foods (CAFF) Youth Challenge is a youth-led innovation initiative of GFAiR’s Collective Action on Forgotten Foods, coordinated by The Food Bridge, that supports young people aged 18–30 in Africa and the Caribbean to rediscover, promote and innovate around indigenous, neglected and underutilized foods.
Through small project grants, mentorship and capacity building, young changemakers implement practical initiatives on university campuses and in semi-urban communities that connect traditional and intergenerational knowledge with nutrition, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, entrepreneurship and stronger local food systems.
More broadly, the Challenge seeks to develop a new generation of biodiversity champions who can turn forgotten foods into “foods of the future,” creating livelihoods and new products and value chains while preserving food heritage and strengthening links among youth, communities, research organisations and other food-system actors.
Across Africa, young people are taking action to revive forgotten and indigenous foods, improve nutrition, preserve traditional knowledge and strengthen local food systems.
The Second Cohort Winners are:
2026 — Second Cohort: 4 winners
| Country | Winner / initiative | What the project does |
|---|---|---|
| Kenya | Serah Masika Samuel – Uji Wa Tano: Restoring Indigenous Nutrition for Child Health | Revives an indigenous porridge and associated food knowledge to use locally available foods to improve child nutrition and health. |
| Uganda | Omony Polycarp – Reviving Finger Millet for Improved Nutrition Among Women Farmers | Promotes the cultivation and consumption of finger millet among women farmers in Palenga Town Council, Omoro District, connecting an indigenous cereal with household nutrition. |
| Ghana | Sakina Abdulai / Fulani Youth Association of Ghana (FuYAG) – Reviving Forgotten Fulani Foods | Creates youth–elder knowledge exchange in Wulugu to preserve and revive traditional Fulani foods and the cultural knowledge surrounding them. |
| DR Congo | Nevile Matabaro Gaddiel – Vita Root Africa | Engages urban youth in Goma, North Kivu, in rediscovering nutritious and medicinal indigenous foods and reconnecting traditional knowledge with contemporary urban food systems. |
These projects demonstrate that forgotten foods are not simply foods of the past. They can contribute to the future of nutrition, biodiversity, livelihoods, cultural heritage and resilient African food systems.
Taken together, the 13 initiatives show an evolution from the 2025 proof-of-concept focused on food heritage and awareness in Nigeria and Ghana toward a broader African youth innovation programme in 2026.
The portfolio now covers indigenous vegetables, Bambara groundnut, purple beans, grains, leafy foods, seaweed, orphan crops, finger millet, traditional Fulani foods and medicinal indigenous foods, while combining nutrition, biodiversity conservation, intergenerational knowledge transfer, youth entrepreneurship, education and community resilience. This reflects CAFF's broader ambition to develop young people not only as beneficiaries but as biodiversity champions and custodians of indigenous knowledge who can turn “forgotten foods” into foods of the future.
Across 2025 and 2026, 13 projects have so far been selected through the CAFF Youth Challenge: four pilot winners in 2025, followed by five winners in the first 2026 cohort and four in the second cohort. The programme has also expanded geographically—from Nigeria and Ghana in 2025 to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2026. (GFAiR)
2025 — 4 winners
| Country | Winner / initiative | What the project does |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | CFF Agroschooling Initiative, Ibadan – Rediscovering Indigenous Vegetables through Youth-Led Campus Food Heritage Hubs | Reconnects university students with indigenous leafy vegetables through cultivation, seed distribution, awareness activities, cooking and a campus Indigenous Food Festival. |
| Nigeria | NAgriFoRD youth group, FUTO – From Elders to Youths: Preserving Igbo Food Heritage in Imo State | Brings young people and elders together to document, cultivate and transmit Igbo traditional foods and associated knowledge, making food heritage relevant to a new generation. Chimezie Marvellous presented the initiative at the 2026 World Social Forum. |
| Ghana | Emmanuella Akumtu Caesar – “Aboboe” Revival: A School Farm for Nutrition, Skills and Indigenous Crop Heritage | Uses a school farm in Ghana’s Eastern Region to introduce children to Bambara groundnut (Aboboe), combining improved nutrition with agricultural skills and preservation of indigenous crop heritage. |
| Ghana | Joel Teye – Reviving Akortormor Purple Beans | Revives the Akortormor purple bean, an indigenous food of the Krobo people, linking on-farm conservation and renewed consumption with cultural heritage and livelihood opportunities. |
2026 — First Cohort: 5 winners
| Country | Winner / initiative | What the project does |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | Dalis Favour Apollos / Gwomshar Initiative – ROOTS & REVIVAL | Mobilizes young people in Plateau State around forgotten foods, using indigenous crops and knowledge to strengthen food heritage and community resilience. |
| Ghana | Wisdom Kofi, with Philomena Blankson & Kwame Asante – From Farm to Feast | Seeks to bring Ghana's forgotten grains and leafy foods back into the diets of urban youth, connecting food heritage with nutrition and food innovation. |
| Kenya | Damaris Adhiambo Adoyo & Quinter Aoko Ogwonyo, Pwani University – Revitalizing Seaweed as a Nutritional Powerhouse in Kwale County | Repositions locally produced seaweed from primarily an income/export commodity towards greater use as a nutritious food within coastal communities. |
| Cameroon | Enongene Beltin Epie – ROOTS REVIVAL: Youth-Elder Action for Forgotten Foods and Community Resilience | Uses intergenerational youth–elder engagement to recover forgotten-food knowledge and strengthen community resilience and indigenous food heritage. |
| Uganda | Suzan Amoit, Makerere University – Reviving Forgotten Foods: A Youth-Led Innovation for Orphan Crops | Mobilizes youth around orphan crops, promoting their revival as part of more diverse, nutritious and sustainable food systems. |
Taken together, the 13 initiatives show an evolution from the 2025 proof-of-concept focused on food heritage and awareness in Nigeria and Ghana toward a broader African youth innovation programme in 2026.
Highlight 1: Gwomshar Initiative – ROOTS & REVIVAL / Nigeria
Highlight 2: Revitalizing Seaweed as a Nutritional Powerhouse in Kwale County / Kenya
Damaris Adhiambo Adoyo & Quinter Aoko Ogwonyo, Pwani University – Revitalizing Seaweed as a Nutritional Powerhouse in Kwale County. She repositions locally produced seaweed from primarily an income/export commodity towards greater use as a nutritious food within coastal communities.
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