Delivering the Kampala Strategy for Agricultural R&D in Africa

16 - 19 June 2025. Cairo, Egypt. From Commitment to Action: Delivering the Kampala Strategy for Agricultural R&D in Africa. 

This meeting was organized by AU‑SAFGRAD (the African Union’s Semi‑Arid Food Grains Research & Development office). It served as a key strategy session aimed at operationalizing the newly launched CAADP Kampala Strategy (covering 2026–2035), which is Africa's post‑Malabo framework for transforming agriculture through science and innovation.

It is important to strengthen joint African action to address the risks and challenges facing the region, as well as the optimal and effective exploitation of the vast and diverse economic and natural resources possessed by the African continent, to achieve intra-African economic integration and address the new global reality. Egypt develops agriculture through several axes, including: horizontal expansion through the reclamation of approximately 4 million acres to support the production of strategic crops and reduce the food gap therein, as well as vertical expansion through the development of new varieties with high productivity, early maturity, low water requirements, and tolerance to climate change.  

Egyptian state's efforts include adopting modern technologies to develop irrigation systems and increase the efficiency of water resource use by building giant agricultural wastewater treatment plants. This is in addition to supporting the transition to healthy and safe food systems, reducing loss and waste by expanding the scope of the National Silos Program and diversifying import sources for strategic grain commodities. This is in addition to strengthening and expanding the social protection network through the "Takaful and Karama" programs and launching the presidential "Decent Life" initiative, which aims to alleviate the burden on citizens in the most needy communities in rural areas and urban slums, representing more than 60% of the Egyptian population. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and its scientists from the Agricultural Research Center and the Desert Research Center are fully prepared to provide the necessary expertise and all means of support to cooperate with our brothers from the African continent, harnessing all capabilities to ensure the success of this cooperation and achieve food security. Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt

The workshop was attended by: the Director of the African Union Office for Research and Development at the African Union Commission; the Executive Secretary of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa; the Executive Secretary of the Arab Fund for Technical Support to African Countries; Dr. Adel Abdel Azim, Head of the Agricultural Research Center; Dr. Saad Moussa, Supervisor of External Agricultural Relations; and representatives of African Union bodies and organizations.

Objectives of the Meeting

• Translate the Kampala Strategy into a concrete Action Plan: Participants focused on identifying R&D priorities, setting targets, defining implementation pathways, and establishing an M&E (monitoring & evaluation) framework .
• Engage key stakeholders: A broad range of actors from national agricultural research centers, CGIAR institutes, regional bodies like FARA, and AU entities (e.g., SAFGRAD, AUC) were consulted to ensure ownership at all levels.
  
• Mobilize support and funding mechanisms: The meeting also explored ways to build strong public–private partnerships, secure donor engagement, and tap into new financing instruments to support agricultural research in Africa.

Key Themes Covered

• Strengthening R&D infrastructure up to 2035.
• Enhancing tech transfer—including mechanization, digital agriculture, AI, climate-smart practices.
• Establishing robust institutional frameworks and governance for implementation and monitoring.
• Formulating resource mobilization strategies.

This event marked the first major consultative workshop aimed at driving the shift from high‑level commitment—to the Kampala Strategy—toward tangible, on‑the‑ground action across Africa. The ultimate goal: to build sustainable, resilient, and innovation-led agri-food systems across the continent.

Extracts of the programma

Panel 1: CAADP Kampala Strategy – From Vision to Action 

• 
  Moderator: Dr. Irene Annor Frempong (Facilitator) 
  
• Kenao Lao (AUC/CAADP) 
• Dr. Samuel Benin (IFPRI/CGIAR) 
• Dr. Clement Adjorlolo (AU-NEPAD) 
• Dr. Moses Odeke (ASARECA) 
• Representative ARC Egypt 

Panel 2: Building Resilient Agricultural Research Systems 

• Moderator: Dr. Niéyidouba Lamien (CORAF) 
• Dr. Majola Lawrence Mabuza (CCARDESA) 
• Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg (CGIAR) 
• Dr. Sokona Dagnoko (RUFORUM) 
• 
  Dr. Charity Kagiso K-Kruger (NARDI, Botswana) 
  
• Dr. Fredah Maina Wangui (KALRO, Kenya) 
• Representative ARC Egypt 

Panel 3: Leveraging Technology and Innovation for Agri-Transformation 

• Moderator: Dr. Charles Kleinermann (CGIAR/ ICARDA) 
• Dr. Baboucarr Manneh (AfricaRice) 
• Dr. Oladunjoye Michael Adeyinka (Pan African University) 
• Kofi Kisiedu Acquaye (YPARD) 
• Dr. Niéyidouba Lamien (CORAF) 
• Dr. Hernán D. Muñoz, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 
• Representative ARC Egypt 

Panel 4: Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap 

• Moderator: Dr. Lilian Lihasi Kidula (AFAAS) 
• Dr. Oyewole Babafemi (PAFO) 
• Representative ROPPA/PROPAC 
• Prof. Quirico Migheli, Director, Desertification Research Centre (EWA 
• BELT) 
• Dr. Uffelen, Gerrit-Jan van (WUR) 
• Representative ARC/Cairo University 

Panel 5: Gender, Youth and Inclusive Research Systems 

• Moderator: Fatma Bensadok (Algeria – Gender/Training) 
• Lovin Kobusingye (Uganda National Women Fish Organization) 
• Kofi Kisiedu Acquaye (YPARD) 
• Jenniffer Wairimu Waruingi (Kenya Youth) 
• Dr. Jennie Van der Mheen (WUR) University 
• Dr. Laura Altea (EWA BELT ) 
• Representative ARC Egypt 

Panel 6: Institutional Collaboration and Policy Engagement for Kampala Delivery 

• Moderator: Dr. AKwesi Ntiamoah Atta-Krah, Senior advisor to the Regional Director for Africa   
• Dr. Uffelen, Gerrit-Jan van (WUR) 
• Dr. Aliou Faye (ISRA, Senegal) 
• Representative ARC/Cairo University 
• Dr. Moyo Siboniso, ILRI Deputy Director General 

Panel 7: Resource Mobilization and Public-Private Partnerships 

• Moderator: Dr Kwaku Antwi (FARA) 
• Dr. Oyewole Babafemi (PAFO – Farmer/PPP links) 
• Dr. Tapsoba François (EWA Scientific Board) 
• Peter Claver Anyeembey (Ministry of Agriculture, Ghana) 
• Dr. Mohammed Ssemwanga (AGRENES-Private Sector) 
• Representative Cairo University 
• Representatives from AFTAAC 
• Representative ARC Egypt 

Key Outcomes & Next Steps

• Drafting of an AU-SAFGRAD Action Plan. Outlining thematic priorities, institutional roles, performance indicators, and implementation timelines.
• Governance Frameworks Initiated. Draft TORs for coordinating bodies, partnership agreements, and M&E systems were proposed for adoption at continental and regional levels 
• Resource Mobilization Framework Drafted. Including proposals for public–private funding, donor coordination, and engagement with “Team Africa” financing mechanisms 
• Research Priorities Finalized. Soil health, digital/agri-tech, AI, mechanization, climate-smart practices and value-chain R&D were signed off as flagship areas 
• Partnership Agreements Under Development. Including a roadmap for AARIEIs (Africa‑wide Agricultural Research & Innovation Excellence Institutions) aligned with Kampala goals 
• RUFORUM-Led Capacity Support Planned. RUFORUM to roll out training programs aiding national implementation efforts

The African Agricultural Research, Innovation, and Education Institutions (AARIEIs)

9 April 2025. To scale up research on food and nutrition security on the continent, several African agricultural organizations have formed an umbrella body called the African Agricultural Research, Innovation, and Education Institutions (AARIEIs).

The new umbrella body has been founded by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), the Center for Coordination of Agricultural Research for Development in Southern Africa (CCARDESA), the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), the North Africa Sub Regional Organization (NASRO) and the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS). AARIEIs is expected to help them improve their linkages on research, extension and higher education.

• On climate change, the partnership plans to focus on joint research in crop and livestock breeding, soil health, regenerative and digital agriculture as part of strengthening collaborative research for sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural technologies.
• It will also have a joint development of climate-smart innovations, nature-positive agroecology, AI-driven precision agriculture, big data analytics, and policy-oriented research for food security and sustainable investment.
• It will emphasize technology transfer and scaling for impact, capacity sharing and development, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and resource mobilization in ensuring that Africa becomes self-sufficient in food production.
• AARIEIs will also establish regional innovation hubs and strengthen private sector linkages and ensure that agricultural technologies reach their intended users.
• It will also promote community-driven technology adaptation, delivery and extension services throughout Sub Saharan Africa (SSA).

At the CGIAR Science Week, the African Agricultural Research, Innovation & Education Institutions (AARIEI) signed a Partnership Engagement Framework with the CGIAR to foster research, innovation, capacity building, and impact-driven solutions to support Africa’s agricultural transformation. 

• The two organizations now have a guiding structure to strengthen collaboration that is expected to foster strategic partnerships, knowledge exchange, and joint innovation efforts.
• It will help enhance partnerships between CGIAR and AARIEIs for joint research, innovation, and policy influence, and also align development agenda with the AU Agenda 2063, CAADP-Kampala Strategy, CGIAR 2025-2030 research strategy, and regional agricultural policies.
• The organization aims to drive a culture shift toward more equal and healthy partnerships for capacity sharing between and among CGIAR and partners advancing food, land, and water systems transformation.

Emphasis will also be put on enhancing research infrastructure within AARIEIs, fostering South-South collaboration and peer learning, and expanding digital learning and open knowledge platforms to facilitate information sharing and skill development.

Related:

11 April 2025. Strengthening Africa’s Seed Systems: AU Calls for Harmonisation and South–South Cooperation.

At the recently concluded CGIAR Science Week side event titled “Breeding for Tomorrow: Inclusive Delivery,” Ms Beatrice Egulu from the African Union Commission (AUC) delivered a compelling address, advocating for deeper continental integration and innovation in seed systems to ensure equitable access and regional impact. The high-level panel session, held at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, brought together prominent voices from the African agricultural sector under the theme of “Inclusive Delivery”, a strategic framework aimed at transforming breeding programmes for greater reach, uptake, and farmer impact.

Ms Egulu highlighted the disparity between promising regional frameworks—such as the COMESA Variety Catalogue, ECOWAS seed regulations and SADC’s Harmonised Seed Regulatory System – and their actual implementation. Despite protocols for mutual recognition, numerous African countries continue to impose redundant variety testing, outdated national laws, and limited regulatory capacity, thereby hindering access to improved varieties.

South-South Cooperation (SSC): A Strategic Pathway to Scale

Discussing the significance of South–South Cooperation, Ms Egulu described it as a cornerstone for democratizing agricultural innovation in Africa. She noted that SSC facilitates the exchange of technologies and institutional best practices—from East African seed traceability systems inspired by Asia to participatory breeding models adapted across African regions.

“SSC is not just a tool. It is a pathway to shared sovereignty and resilience in seed systems.”

To institutionalise these gains, she called for:

• Integrating the SSC into the African Seed and Biotechnology Programme (ASBP) and the framework of the CAADP-Kampala Declaration.
• Utilising triangular cooperation to mobilise financial and technical support.
• Mainstreaming SSC within broader frameworks such as STISA-2024 and the African Agribusiness Strategy.

2nd APPSA Scientific Conference - January 15 - 17, 2025 - Lesotho

 

Overview of the Conference

The 2nd APPSA Regional Scientific Conference is set to take place from April 2 to 4, 2025, in the city of Maseru, nestled in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. This event promises to be a vibrant gathering of agricultural researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who share a common passion for advancing food and nutrition security in the region.

Importance of Agricultural Research

Agricultural research isn't just a field of study; it’s the backbone of food security. As we face growing challenges such as climate change and population growth, innovative research becomes essential. This conference serves as a platform to showcase the latest findings, tools, and methods aimed at improving agricultural practices and enhancing food production. By coming together, attendees will explore how science can solve real problems in everyday farming.

Network and Collaboration Opportunities

Imagine sitting in a room filled with experts from various agricultural backgrounds, all eager to share their success stories and learn from one another. That’s the magic of the APPSA conference! It’s not only about presentations and lectures; it’s about making connections. Collaborating with like-minded individuals can lead to new partnerships and creative solutions that can ripple out into farming communities across the region.

By participating, you will have the opportunity to:

• Engage with leading scientists and practitioners.
• Share and learn about best practices and research findings.
• Collaborate on solutions to improve food security and agricultural sustainability.

Find out MORE and REGISTER HERE to be part of this impactful gathering and contribute to shaping the future of agriculture in our region.

Tropical Summit & South-South-North triangular cooperation - Portugal

4–8 November 2024. Lisbon, TROPICAL SUMMIT - Foreseeing Answers to Global Challenges
Tropical Summit: A unique multi-actor forum to achieve the 2030 Agenda through triangular cooperation.

• 5 - 6 November 2024. 16.30 - 18.00 CET. FARA side event Catalyzing agro-ecological transitions in the tropics in the context of climate change

The main objectives of Tropical Summit are to promote the transfer of knowledge, stimulate multidisciplinary collaboration and the involvement of stakeholders, and contribute to the co-creation and innovative projects, capitalizing and densifying existing initiatives and collaboration platforms for the rapid implementation of tangible and robust solutions. The focus will be on South-South-North triangular cooperation and 4 thematic areas:

1. ‍PLANETARY HEALTH: Nurturing life within the global boundaries
2. AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: Sustainability as a path to socioeconomic progress
3. TERRITORIAL AND SOCIAL TRANSITIONS: Building resilient spaces and societies in every dimension
4. HUMAN GROWTH: Empowerment and technology for the times ahead

Extracts of the programme

5/11 High-level Session

• Carmen Neto - Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources
• Florbela Paraíba - President of Camões I.P
• Jeffrey Sachs - President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network
• Maria da Graça Carvalho - Minister of the Environment and Energy
• Ravi Khetarpal - Executive Secretary of Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI)
• Ubiraci Pataxó - Master of Knowledge and President of the Korihé Institute

5/11 Catalyzing agro-ecological transitions in the tropics in the context of climate change

Parallel Session - Roundtable
‍Organised by : FARA / CORAF / CCARDESA / RUFORUM / JRC-ISPRA / AE-TPP (CIROF - ICRAF) / IFAD

This panel session discussed the critical role of agroecology in addressing food system challenges in Africa, particularly under the looming impacts of climate change. Opening remarks by Dr. Aggrey Agumya focused on the need for a robust ten-year agricultural strategy from FARA that acknowledges the benefits of agroecology, a point furthered by Dr. Guy Faure’s insights on EU support and the importance of innovation and market access for agroecological systems. Dr. Marc Corbeels highlighted the detrimental effects of climate change, indicating changes in temperature and rainfall that could reduce crop yields. Discussions led by Prof. Rachel Wynberg outlined fundamental principles and necessary transformative approaches to agroecology. The session identified key action items for scientists, researchers, policymakers, and research institutions to bolster evidence, innovation, market access, and research capacity, while also addressing the challenges of urbanization and waste management in agroecological practices. Overall, the meeting underscored the urgency of catalyzing agroecological practices as a resilient response to climate change and food security challenges in Africa.

• Aggrey Agumya, FARA
  

FARA is developing 10-year agricultural strategy for Africa. No mention of agroecology in the strategy despite efforts. Lack of evidence cited as reason for not featuring agroecology prominently. Call for scientists to provide more concrete evidence on agroecology benefits.

• Guy Faure, EC-INTPA

He emphasized need for innovation in agroecology to boost production, Highlighted importance of better market access for agroecological farming systems, EU is funding regional multi-actor research networks to strengthen research capacity

• Marc Corbeels, CIRAD
  
  He presented the CANALLS project. This research project aims to drive agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa via multi-actor transdisciplinary Agroecology Living Labs (ALLs) and providing holistic agroecological solutions that meet the challenges of the local food systems. The ALLs are based in 
  
  
1. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Bunia in DRC (Lowlands/ cocoa) + Biega in DRC (Highlands/ coffee) + Kabare (Highlands/ coffee) + Uvira (Lowlands/ cassava, rice)
2. CAMEROON: Ntui (Lowlands/ cocoa) 
3. BURUNDI Giheta (Highlands/ coffee) + Bujumbura (Lowlands/ maize)
4. RWANDA Kamonyi (Highlands/ cassava)
   
   
• 
  Rachel Wynberg, University of Cape Town
  
  She presented the RAENS research project: Research for Agroecology Network Southern Africa
  
  She referred to the book
  
  Rachel Wynberg (2024) African Perspectives on Agroecology Why farmer-led seed and knowledge systems matter # 398 pp.
  
  
  
  This book offers a contribution that is enriched by the collaborative, creative, and critical voices of African farmers, activists, scientists, scholars, and policymakers. Their viewpoints combine in this volume to articulate a shared and dynamic vision of a world where agriculture is productive, diverse, and sustainable; where different ways of seeing and knowing are respected; and where seed and food systems are in the hands of farmers and local communities.
  
  
• Baitsi Podisi, CCARDESA
  
  

06/11 Agricultural Development

• Keynote - Sammy Aggrey Professor in Genetics and Genomics at the University of Georgia, Athens
• Bongiwe Njobe - Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
• Karen Montiel - Technical specialist, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
• Ravi Khetarpal - Chair of the Global Forum on Agriculture Research and Innovation (APAARI)
• Sylvain Perret - Director of Agrinatura
• Moderator: Oseyemi Akinbamijo Former Executive Director of FARA

06/11 Building Climate-Resilient Agri-Food Systems: Case Studies and Indicators

Parallel Session – Project Showcase

• Transformative Agri-Food Supply Chains for Climate Resilience – Which indicators are suitable to measure resilience and social transformation? - Christine Altenbuchner, BOKU University
• Agroecological Solutions for Resilient Farming in West Africa - The Cape Verde Case Study - Miguel Ribeiro, ADPM - Associação de Defesa do Património de Mértola
• Variability and Trends in the Beginning and End of the Rainy Season in West Africa. The Guinea-Bissau case study - Orlando Mendes, National Meteorological Institute; Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning
• Sustainable Aquaponics for Food Security in SIDS: A Case Study of São Tomé and Príncipe - Britta Kautzman, School of Agriculture; Lisbon School of Economics & Management
• INNOECOFOOD - Eco-innovative technologies for improved nutrition, sustainable production and marketing of agroecological food products in Africa - Ana Faria, CIIMAR – Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
  
  INNOECOFOOD aims to establish innovative production/ business ECOHUBS and improve local aquaculture farms using AI and IoT in six African countries. To support EU-AU markets and trade, INNOECOFOOD will train rural farmers, youth and women to innovatively produce and process nutritious aquaculture catfish and tilapia, blue-green cyanobacteria spirulina, and insect value chains that will be processed into certified marketable human food products and feed. 
  
  The project aims to establish ECOHUB farms in six African countries, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Namibia, Tanzania and Egypt, where sustainable cultured fish, Spirulina (a green-blue algae) and insects will be produced using innovative artificial intelligence technologies and climate-friendly renewable local energy sources, with optimized production-processing-operation-marketing. This project will also lead to the employment and training of local people with low socio-economic status in these ECOHUB farms, enabling them to sustainably continue the production chain and cycle in the ECOHUB farms, and to produce and process certified, marketable food and industrial products from these innovative farms, thus providing the potential for sustainable social impact.
  
  
• Soil Salinity and Saline Agriculture in Eastern & Southern Africa: Experiences from a Regional Technical Network Initiative - Jakob Herrmann, Weltweit – Association for the Promotion of Local Initiatives e.V.; Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Soil Science and Soil Protection

06/11 Transforming African farming and food systems through research and innovation – A presentation and discussion with six EU-H2020 projects

• Adam Standring, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão
• Idalina Dias Sardinha, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão
• Giles Young, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
• Helena Serrano, Faculty of Sciences - University of Lisbon
• Cristina Branquinho, Faculty of Sciences - University of Lisbon
• Mary Steverink-Mosugu, ISRIC - World Soil Information
• Giovanna Seddaiu, University of Sassari
• Harun Cicek, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
• Fernando Sousa, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
• Vladimir Mrkajić, InoSens
• Mila Sell, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

6/11 Reflections of Agroecology as pathway to climate change adaptation and mitigation

Parallel Session – Roundtable
Organised by: FARA / CORAF / CCARDESA / RUFORUM / JRC-ISPRA / AE-TPP (CIROF - ICRAF) / IFAD

This Panel Discussion  brought together experts to address the critical role of agroecology in achieving sustainable agricultural systems amidst climate challenges. The panelists identified research gaps, including the pressing need for improved dialogue between scientists and policymakers regarding soil health and agroecological practices. 

Key presentations focused on evidence supporting agroecology's benefits for food security and sustainability, alongside the importance of translating research into actionable policies. The discussion also emphasized participatory approaches to certification, farmer compensation for ecosystem services, and fostering effective communication strategies to bridge the gap between science and policy. Collaborative efforts between FARA and Ruforum were highlighted as essential for advancing research and addressing the challenges of farmer adoption of agroecological practices while ensuring immediate economic benefits. Action items include conducting quantitative studies on agroecological impacts and developing compensation schemes for ecosystem service providers.

• Alex Awiti, CIFOR-ICRAF
• Khamis Fathiya, ICIPE
• Irene Kadzere- Forichi, FiBL
• Emmanuel Njukwe, CORAF
• Felix Rembold, Food Security Team Leader at the Joint Research center of the European Commission EC-JRC
  
  
  He presented findings from systematic reviews on agroecology impacts, discussed positive impacts on food security, socioeconomic factors, and food system sustainability, highlighted ongoing review on climate change mitigation and adaptation and he emphasized the need for more quantitative data and modeling.
  
  He has led the development of the anomaly hotspots of agricultural production and was one of the initiators of the African Post Harvest Losses Information. He has lived in Africa for several years and contributes to numerous international research and cooperation projects together with the EU delegations, UN and local organizations.

Transcript of Felix' contribution:

When yesterday I heard in the introduction of Dr. Aggrey Agumya (FARA) that there are still ongoing discussions, even at a very high level and a very strategic political level, where the availability of scientific evidence that proves the potential of agroecology to have an impact on food security, on socioeconomic aspects, on climate change adaptation, and that this is still questioned, I was really feeling to be in the right discussion. 

The Joint Research center's core mission is to provide scientific evidence to European policymakers. And this includes agroecology. We are not engaged in primary research about agroecology. So in the last three years, together with other research centers such as CIRAD but also several European universities, we have started several systematic scientific reviews of scientific literature and also meta analysis. We have already published the results of three of them. 

1. 
   The impacts of agroecology on food security in comparison with conventional systems.
   
   The first review was specific to developing countries and 19 out of 26 are in Africa. It was an opportunity to characterize what agroecological practices are being implemented and are most used by farmers in those 19 African countries.There is a clear positive impact of agricultural practices on food security. It's not only through yield and production, but it's also very clearly in terms of increased availability of nutritious food and dietary diversity (the link between food security and health).
2. Socioeconomic impacts.   In 80 peer reviewed papers scientific we found clear positive association with farmers income, with revenue and also with efficiency and productivity. Of course, agroecology is labor intensive and can increase costs. But we also know that it is always a question of trade offs and cost benefit. It is important to look very specifically at local context to understand whether the overall effect on income prevails on the increase of costs or on pressure, for example on gender inequality that can be linked to the increase of labor need.
3. Food system sustainability.There is clearly less literature available on this. We compared the principles of agroecology with the food systems framework and food systems sustainability dimensions.Biodiversity has a positive impact on food systems. Increased biodiversity. Synergies in crop livestock systems or increased soil fertility with organic material in the soil and above the soil creates a number of synergies that support sustainable food systems. 

We are currently close to finalizing a review of 16,000 scientific papers about the potential of agroecology in terms of climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

Climate change mitigation:

• There is strong evidence that agroecology has a potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in particular CO2 and N2O thanks to the reduced carbon intensive inputs and thanks to the use of less fossil based fertilizers. From the 16,000 papers 300 papers have been full text contributions and some have quantitative data. There is scientific evidence about the fact that the agricultural practices can clearly and strongly increase the carbon stocks in the soil through the various practices from mulching to practices that increase organic material in the soil and agroforestry which clearly contributes to Carbon Sequestration 
• 
  Rice producing systems are contributing very strongly to methane. Methane can be reduced by different agroecological practices. The same applies also to livestock. It's a body of evidence which cannot be ignored and which can guide also political dialogue and policy dialogue and decisions for adaptation. 

Climate change adaptation:

• there is a strong body of evidence that some aspects or some practices in agroecology and in particular diversification at the farm level clearly has a strong potential to contribute to climate change adaptation. 
• Increased biodiversity can support resistance to drought or drought tolerance. 

Challenges:

• One of the challenges with the scientific reviews was to take into account practices which are not named as Agroecology. Another challenge throughout all these reviews is that we most of the time find papers or work on single practices. So the complexity and the systemic aspects are very difficult to evaluate. 
• Policymakers need not only conclusions about the potential and whether the associated  impact of agricultural practices is positive or neutral or negative. They need also more quantitative data. And this is something we started working on and I think also other research centers are working on. 
• We need to do more modeling so that we can also provide quantitative information, possibly in local contexts and not just globally. 
• A lot of research is focused on the farm and on production aspects and not on the other parts of the food system. So there is clearly a gap. The identification of this gap is the second benefit of literature review, after identifying the main comparative advantages of agroecology with conventional: what are the research gaps? This is also something we are discussing with the colleagues of RUFORUM, FARA others. What are the research gaps so that new initiatives can focus on those gaps.

Resources

• Paracchini, M., Justes, E., Wezel, A., Zingari, P.C., Kahane, R., Madsen, S., Scopel, E., Héraut, A., Bhérer-Breton, P., Buckley, R., Colbert, E., Kapalla, D., Sorge, M., Adu Asieduwaa, G., Bezner Kerr, R., Maes, O. and Negre, T., (2020) Agroecological practices supporting food production and reducing food insecurity in developing countries # 80 pp.
• Sirdey, N., Scopel, E., Ferrier, G., Khann, L., Ermolli, M. and Paracchini, M.L., (2023) Mapping the contribution of agroecological transitions to the sustainability of food systems # 78 pp.
• Mouratiadou, I., Wezel, A., Kamilia, K., Marchetti, A., Paracchini, M.L. and Barberi, P. (2024) The socio-economic performance of agroecology. A review AGRONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, # 21 pp.

07/11 FOOD4WA: Sharing Africa's Centers of Excellence and Innovative Agricultural Solutions with the World

Parallel Session - Project Showcase & Debate

Organised by: Food for West Africa Network

In line with strengthening Inter-ACE collaborations, various thematic networks have been created under the ACE Impact Project. The Food for West Africa (FOOD4WA) is one of eight thematic networks established with the aim of advancing collaboration on cutting edge research, to address food insecurity challenges within the region. The Network headquarters are based at the Regional Center of Excellence on Poultry Sciences (CERSA) of the University of Lome-Togo.

• Eh Samba Sylla, Food for West Africa Network (FOOD4WA)
• Centre of Excellence on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture (CCBAD) of Côte d’Ivoire
• West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI)
• CDA of Nigeria
• AGRISAN of Senegal
• CERSA from Togo

CAADP-XP4 Consortium Maps Steps Towards Project Closure

By: Bridget Kakuwa Kasongamulilo, Benjamin Abugri & Poko Alida Nadinga

Dear Colleagues,

October 15 - Saly, Senegal—The vibrant discussions of the CAADP-XP4 Consortium echoed through the halls of the Rhino Resort Hotels & Spa as representatives from across Africa gathered for a crucial Joint Portfolio Review and Planning Meeting from October 13 to 15, 2024. The air was charged with anticipation as stakeholders aimed to finalize strategies for the project's final year, focusing on sustainable agricultural development and integrating pressing issues such as agroecology and digitalization. For more information, follow the link below; https://www.ccardesa.org/caadp-xp4-consortium-maps-steps...

Source: https://web.facebook.com/share/p/9BUuVJyXJZTxhVuR/

Operationalising Higher Agricultural Education and Research Ecosystems for Innovation, Industrialisation and Economic Development in Africa

 

12 - 16 August 2024. 2nd RUFORUM Triennial Conference Windhoek, Namibia

The theme for the second Triennial Conference is “Operationalising Higher Agricultural Education and Research Ecosystems for Innovation, Industrialisation and Economic Development in Africa: A Call for Action”.

The conference will enable education, research and agricultural ecosystem actors to showcase and present their key findings, lesson-share and inform each other on key actions required to harness science, technology and innovation for Africa’s development. Accordingly, the second Triennial Conference will involve scientific sessions that bring together a wide range of stakeholders and partners. The scientific sessions will include oral and poster presentations as well as exhibitions.

Extracts of the programme # 26 pp.

12/08 @ Educating Africa for the 21st century, lessons leaned over the years, implications for Africa’s Higher Education sector

Download Concept Note

This symposium was held in three sub-themes listed below. 

1. Supplying Africa’s 2nd decade (2024-2034) work force: i. Transforming Graduate Training and Research: The gaps, experiences, and lessons learnt. ii. Entrepreneurial education: The practice, and scalable lessons. iii. Rebalancing the human resource pyramid: The gaps, and linkage between Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVETs) and university education. iv. Closing the gender and diversity gap in agricultural education: The gaps, lessons learnt and opportunities. v. Leaving no one behind: Out of school skilling and education programmes: Practice and lessons learnt. 
2. Emergent Issues-Digitizing education: i. Leveraging digital tool to increase access to education while maintaining quality and relevance. ii. Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence and its impact on education.
3. 
   Emergent issues: Building human capital for Africa’s climate change and resilience
   programmes. i. Climate risks and mitigation: The gaps, experiences, and lessons learnt in training programmes. ii. Low carbon services and renewables: The gaps, experiences, and lessons learnt in training and research programmes. iii. Climate and carbon finance, and resilience investments: The gaps, experiences and lessons learnt.

• Prof. Patrick Okori, RUFORUM
• Dr. Beatrice Muganda Inyangala, Principal Secretary, State Department of Higher Education, Kenya
• Dr. Molapo Qhobela, Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships and Societal Impact (TBC)
• Prof. Olusola Bandele Oyewole, Secretary General, AAU
• Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President, AGRA
• Dr. Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director, FARA
• Dr. Silim Nahdy, Executive Director, AFAAS
• Dr. Simeon Ehui, Regional Director, Continental Africa CGIAR and DG IITA

13/08 @ 8:30 CET Sustainably Growing the economy and Feeding Africa

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Plenary Session, Thematic Area 2: Sustainably Growing the Economy and Feeding Africa 

The event will start with a policy address on “Africa’s strategic and policy aspirations for sustainably feeding and growing its agrifood system to be delivered by Special Advisor to the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (ARBE), African Union Commission. This will be followed by a keynote address on “Sustainably growing the economy and feeding Africa” to be made by the CGIAR.” Discussants from academia, national and continental agricultural research organizations, and the extension service providers, private sector, and farmers will respond to the key issues raised in the keynote address.

• Prof. Jerome Theo Afeikhena, Special Advisor to the Commissioner, Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission (Representing Commissioner ARBE) - Policy address on “Africa’s strategic and policy aspirations for sustainably feeding and growing its agrifood system”
• Dr. Ephraim Nkonya, Nonresident Research Fellow, IFPRI - Economics of land degradation in sub-Saharan Africa
  
  His paper was shared among the participants:
  
  Ephraim Nkonya, Timothy Johnson, Ho Young Kwon, and Edward Kato Background Paper_Economics of land degradation in SSA.pdf # 47 pp.
  
  Efforts to increase adoption of integrated soil fertility management will require improvement of access to markets, advisory services and retraining of agricultural extension services. There is also need to find practical and amenable strategies for incentivizing farmers to use ISFM. For example, conditional fertilizer subsidy could provide incentives for farmers to adopt nitrogen fixing agroforestry trees and improve significantly the current subsidy programs in several SSA countries.
  
  
• Prof. Agnes Mwangombe, Former Principal of the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, University of Nairobi
• Dr. Job Kihara, Initiative Co-Lead, Excellence in Agronomy, CGIAR
• Prof. Umezuruike Linus Opara, Distinguished Professor and Research Chair, Stellenbosch, South Africa
• Prof. Cliff Dlamini, Executive Director and Head of Mission, CCARDESA
• Dr. Moumini Savadogo, Executive Director, CORAF
• Dr. Robert Zougmoré, AICCRA Cluster Lead for West Africa, Alliance of Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

13/08 @ 10:30 Unlocking Inclusive and Broad-Based Economic Opportunity

Thematic Area 3: Plenary Session

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To unlock inclusive and broad-based economic opportunity for Africa, new knowledge on models, pathways, and drivers of Africa’s economic growth, successes, and lessons for scaling these across the continent be identified and widely disseminated. A symposium will discuss how to unlock inclusive economic growth in Africa in two sub-themes:

1. Inclusive resourcing for equitable economic growth: i. Inclusive access to financial resources: Microfinance, Fintechs and supporting excluded communities and populations. ii. Access to agricultural input subsidies: Lessons learnt and options for the future iii. Access to technologies: Lessons learnt and options for the future in formal and informal seed and technology supply systems, post stress seed systems (emergency seed) iv. Closing the gender gap in agriculture practice and enterprise. v. Inclusive access to land, water, and other physical resources for production (land tenure systems -access, usage, control) for all. 
2. Wealth and Youth Employment: i. Agri-entrepreneurship and agriculture de-revived jobs: Initiatives, opportunities, prospects, and lessons learnt from past and ongoing actions. ii. Feeding Africa’s urbanising population: The changing peri-urban and urban food systems and their opportunities for young people through service provision, value addedprocessing and new foods. iii. Unlocking entrepreneurship in innovation: Digitization, and emerging technologies to facilitate best environment for entrepreneurship.

• Dr. David Nielson, RUFORUM IAP, and former WB - "Is an inclusive and diverse growth possible for Africa? Lessons learnt over the past decades of the continental renaissance."
• Dr. Pascal Sanginga, Regional Sector Manager for Agriculture and Agro-Industries, African Development Bank
• Dr. Enock Warinda, Executive Director, ASARECA.
• Dr Tshilidzi Madzivhandila, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), FARNPAN

13/08 @ 8:30 CET Economic Trends, Best -Practices, Policy-Practice and Futures

Thematic Area 4: Plenary Session

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1. Innovations for growing Africa’s agriculture and related sectors: a) Improving Africa’s low agricultural total factor productivity: The status, trends and opportunities; b) Technological Leapfrogging: Digitization, renewables and manufacture transition ; c) Production at scale for a growing population and markets: Can smallholder agriculture grow and feed Africa: Evidence, roles and opportunity?
2. Foresight and trend studies: a) Reaping Africa’s demographic dividend: Implications for education planning and investments; b) Making agriculture work for African economies: lessons learnt from CAADP and other frameworks; c) Policy and economic implications of climate risks and natural disasters.
3. Policies, planning and its implementation (underpinnings for the second decade of Africa’s agenda 2063- (2024-2034): a) People centred development; b) Economic resilience:

14/08 @ 2:00 pm CET AU - EU high level policy dialogue on higher agricultural education

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The meeting is designed to have three sessions that will include an official opening, and two technical sessions that will focus on; (a) Policy frameworks for strengthening Africa-Europe Research and Science capacity; (b) Dialogues on experiences and lessons learnt from implementing intra-Africa, Africa-European partnerships as well as global collaboration for building human and science capacity for Africa.

Session 1: Dialogue Opening : Call for Action to Strengthen Africa’s Human & Science Capacity

• Prof. Kenneth K. Matengu, Vice Chancellor
• Dr. Stephen Onakuse, President, AGRINATURA 
• Mr. Mukulia Kennedy Ayason, Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission 
• H.E. Ana Beatriz Martins, EU Ambassador to Namibia 
• Hon. Carl Schlettwein, MP, Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform 

Session 2: Policy frameworks and agendas for strengthening Africa’s Research and Science capacity

Lead Paper 1: Imperatives for strengthening Africa- European Union higher education and research agendas: Lessons learnt and new opportunities. Prof. Ylva Hillbur, Pro Vice-Chancellor, international relations, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.

Panel Discussion: Making the partnership work for African and European Universities

• Prof. Ioannis Dimitriou moderator 
• Prof. Peter Mageto, Vice Chancellor of Africa University 
• Prof. Georgewill Owunari, University of Port Harcourt 
• Jelle Maas, Wageningen University 
• Prof. Rachid Serraj Director of Strategy & Africa Initiative at UM6P 
• Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor, Makerere University

Session 3: Convergence and way-forward planning for strengthening Africa-European strategic partnerships for higher agricultural education, research for development and policy

Lead Paper 2: The AU-EU International Research Consortium on Research and Innovation on Food, Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture as a coordination mechanism for a coherent AU-EU partnership Dr. Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director, FARA

Panel Discussion: Experiences from Africa and Europe for making the IRC relevant and effective 

• Moderator: Dr. Petronella Chaminuka
• AGRINATURA 
• Dr. Patrice Grimaud Director for East Africa, CIRAD 
• National Research Foundation, South Africa 
• National Council for Research, Science and Technology, Namibia.

Panel Discussion: Strengthening regional coordination of the partnership in Africa

• Moderator: Dr. Petronella Chaminuka
• Dr. Enock Warinda, Executive Director, ASARECA 
• Dr Moumini Savadogo, Executive Director, CORAF 
• Executive Director and Head of Mission, CCARDESA

Triennial Conference side events

13/08 CGIAR, African Agricultural Research, Innovation and Education Institutions

13/08 @ 2:00 pm CET High Level Partnership Roundtable for Last Mile Delivery

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Given the diversity and complexities of SSA farming systems , coupled with increased internet band width, and telephony penetration across the continent; as well as the presence of financial technologies (FINTECs) and other digital information innovations, the potential for the continent to increase access to knowledge to the s majority of farmers, is a realistic optimism. Leveraging all these opportunities requires new ways of doing business, including among others shifting to market-driven, business oriented and integrated systems. This is necessary, among other things, to reengage Africa's women and young population in agriculture.

This meeting brings together different actors to create shared vision for increasing last mile delivery of science and technology products and services as well as other allied requisites for transforming Africa’s agrifood systems. A major objective being the intensification of young people in Africa’s emerging USD 1 trillion agrifood systems market.

• Dr. Paul Fatch 
• Dr Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director, FARA. 
• Dr Simeon Ehui, Director General the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Regional Director for Africa, CGIAR
• Dr Silim M Nahdy Executive Director, AFAAS - Last mile delivery: What we have learnt and the transformations needed to engage unlock opportunity for agrifood systems transformation 
• Prof. Anthony Egeru, Skilling and Engagement Manager, RUFORUM Secretariat. - Engaging young people into the monetized economy: What we have learnt. 
• Experiences from the sub-regional organisation CCARDESA, ASARECA and CORAF
• Development partner perspectives: What is the agenda and what have we learnt?
• Roundtable discussions: Other opportunities for agrifood systems transformation 

14/08 Exploring the Potential of Agroecology Research & Capacity to Contribute to a Green Transition in Sub Saharan Africa

Concept Note + Registration link for virtual participation


The transition towards agroecological food systems and the development of both productive andresilient farming systems and value chains are complex processes. It requires new knowledge, competencies and policies to co-create solutions based on agroecological principles and the integration of scientific and local knowledge.

Therefore the Regional Multi-Actors Research Network (RMRN) projects is being implemented onregional scale to strengthen the capacity of the Regional Centers of Excellence (RCoE) and other actors which are to be selected by the subregional organizations (SROs), namely CORAF, ASARECA, and CCARDESA, to conduct agroecology research within their respective sub-regions . These RCoEs rely on stakeholder engagement to bridge the gap between the research, policy, and practice and provide a better understanding of Co-: the duties and responsibilities of researchers and policy makers and practitioners in promoting the green transition trough agroecology practices.

• Welcome Remarks from the Chair: Aggrey Agumya
• Welcome by DG INTPA
• Prof. Alex Awiti (CIFOR-ICRAF) - Title: Focus on research and capacity on agroecology in Africa

• Welcome Remarks from the Chair: Aggrey Agumya 
• Welcome by DG INTPA
• Prof. Alex Awiti (CIFOR-ICRAF) - Title: Focus on research and capacity on agroecology in Africa 
  
  Shared Resource: Evaluating the Integration of Agroecological Principles into Kenya's Legal and Policy Framework. Alex O. Awiti Aurillia M. Ndiwa June 2024, # 33 pp 
  
  
• Presentation of Discussion Paper: How can agroecology contribute to improving food security in Africa? Prof. Majaliwa JG / Dr. Kwaku A./Dr. Felix Rembold 

Panel Discussion

• Moderator: Caroline Callenius (JRC-ISPRA)
• David Amudavi (Biovision) . David shared the resource: 
• Agile, EOA, Biovision Africa Trust, (2023) ASSESSMENT OF THE LANDSCAPE OF AGROECOLOGY AND THE ECOLOGICAL ORGANIC AGRICULTURE INITIATIVE IN AFRICA. Study Report # 138 pp. 
• Baitsi Podisi (CCARDESA)
• Joseph Sekandi (UMU)

Agroecology RMRN Webinar I



Agroecology RMRN Webinar II

15/08 @ 10:30 – 13:30 The Consortium Europe-Africa on Research and Innovation for Food Systems Transformation (CEA – FIRST)

Concept Note

Approximately 40 participants are expected at the CEA-FIRST side event in Windhoek, Namibia. They include representatives of FNSAA stakeholders from AU/EU member countries; CEA FIRST project beneficiaries; HLPD FNSSA working group; Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (RTD); the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA); the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG-Agri); the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR); regional economic communities (ECOWAS, CEMAC, SADC, EAEC); sub regional organizations (CORAF/WECARD, ASARECA, CCARDESA); and the specialized Technical Committees (i) on Education, Science and Technology, (ii) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment, on (iii) Social Development, Labour and Employment or on (iv) Gender and Women’s Empowerment of the African Union, etc.

1. Overview of the International Research Consortium
2. Presentation of the Results of the desk review and online surveys
3. Setting up Breakout sessions (two – four groups) TORs: (i) What are the levels of implementation, key achievements, challenges, and areas of improvements of the four thematic areas of the 2016 -2026 AU-EU FNSSA roadmap? (ii) What are the emerging trends and future priorities of the new AU-EU FNSSA R&I roadmap?  
4. Breakout sessions – Inputs to the MEL Frameworks

16/08 @ 14:00 – 16:30 AU-EU Working Group on FNSSA (CLOSED MEETING)

From Degradation to Regeneration: Agroecology and Soil Health Research for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa

17 July 2024. 02:00 PM Agroecology RMRN Webinar II

From Degradation to Regeneration: Agroecology and Soil Health Research for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa.

Organised by the Regional Multi-Actor Research Network on Agroecology to Support Regional Centres of Excellence related to the Green Transition.

• Keynote Speaker: Dr. David Amudavi, Biovision Africa Trust
• Dr. Guy Faure, European Commissio, DG INTPA
• Dr. Oluwole A. Fatunbi, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
• Dr. Bernhard Freyer , Institute of Organic, Farming (IFÖL)
• Dr. Wivine Munyahali, Université Catholique de Bukavu
• Modetators: Dr. Kwaku Antwi, FARA, Prof. Majaliwa Mwanjololo, RUFORUM, Mrs. Ama P. A. Adu-Dartey, FARA

Background 

The project’s main aim is to increase Science Technology and Innovation capacities of RCoEs in agroecology to efficiently contribute to a green transition in Sub Saharan Africa. The 36-month project officially started on January 1, 2024. 

This project has three main objectives :  

• Strengthened scientific and technological capacities of RMRNs in Agroecology to produce, collect, access, process, share data / information and carry out research activities using a gender-sensitive approach.  
• Increased RMRNs contribution in agroecology through transformative quality research and scientific knowledge generation and dissemination. 
• Enhanced gender-sensitive support to agroecology practitioners, scientists, and policymakers.  

The RMRN Project is funded by the European Union (EU) as part of its Regional Multi-year Indicative Programme (MIP) for Africa. The MIP will support strengthening the consortia of Africa based institutions to lead interventions in Africa in several domains including multi-stakeholder partnerships to bring agroecological innovations to scale, using co-learning, co-creation, and multi-stakeholder approach.

The Africa-based and Africa-led research organisations include FARA, CORAF, ASARECA, CCARDESA, universities under the RUFORUM Network and Africa in general and other research institutions. The proposed actions will promote partnership with relevant institutions such as Farmer organizations under the Pan African Farmers Organization (PAFO), extension institutions under the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory services (AFAAS), NGOs, CSOs, the private sector, and financial institutions. The project targets countries in Eastern, Western, Southern and Central Africa.

Recording of the first webinar

 5 June:

https://www.youtube.com/live/rEqftSCPXjw?si=7UIFrsnOz9ZuHpUN

Regional Multi-actor Research Network (RMRN) Consortium on Agroecology

13  March 2024. Kampala. Inception Meetings for the Launch of the Regional Multi-actor Research Network (RMRN) Project.

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) alongside the Agroecology Consortium, EC-Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) and the EC Directorate General’s Department for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) have launched the Regional Multi-actor Research Network (RMRN) Consortium on Agroecology to support the Regional Centres of Excellence (RCoEs) related to Green Transition, as part of the FARA and RUFORUM component on agroecology.

AGRICONSULTING EUROPE S.A will assure the Technical support to INTPA for the coordination of the “Scientific and technological support to the Regional centres of Excellence related to Green Transition" (INTPA/2023/EA-RP/0016) 

• Number of tenders received: 6
• It will provide technical assistance to improve cross-sectoral and cross-regional coordination and strategic steering of the RCoEs in Sub-Saharan Africa. 
• In particular: a programme coordination mechanism; exchange and dissemination of knowledge and information; creation and consolidation of inter-sectoral networking opportunities and of linkages with other STI –green transition initiatives
• see also here

The RMRN Project is funded by the European Union (EU) as part of its Regional Multi-year Indicative Programme (MIP) for Africa (2021-2027) (# 75 pages). 

• The MIP will support strengthening the consortia of Africa based institutions to lead interventions in Africa in several domains including multi-stakeholder partnerships to bring agroecological innovations to scale, using co-learning, co-creation, and multi-stakeholder approach. 

Page 29: Sustainable Agri-food systems. Result 3.1: Agricultural research-action lead to innovation, supporting the agro-ecological transition for climate resilient and sustainable agri-food systems; monitoring and learning is shared. The EU will support testing, scaling and sharing innovation in support to the agro-ecological transition and to sustainable aquatic systems, towards heathier diets by working with key regional networks and centres of excellence such as FARA and global networks based in Africa (CGIAR centres) including CORAF, ASARECA, CCARDESA, to name only a few). Partnerships will be fostered with international and European research and innovation organisations, farmers’ organisations as well as associations in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors and private sector operators in agriculture, fisheries and food value chains. The topics covered would include pests and diseases, pesticides risk reduction, the contribution of forests and fisheries to food security and nutrition, resilient crop varieties, orphan crops (linked to the dedicated consortium), research and monitoring on land use / biodiversity, research, knowledge and data in support of Africa’s Great Green Wall. Building on ongoing initiatives such as the EU-Africa Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA-Partnership), there is a strong potential for Team Europe Initiatives.  

Page 64: Sustainable Agri-food systems. Results 3.1 to 3.5

The proposed actions will promote partnership with relevant institutions such as Farmer organizations under the Pan African Farmers Organization (PAFO), extension institutions under the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory services (AFAAS), NGOs, CSOs, the private sector, and financial institutions.

• Regional Multi-actor Research Network (RMRN) on agroecology in West and Central Africa (WCA).
• Regional Multi-actor Research Network (RMRN) Consortium on Agroecology in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Region

During the launch the RMRN project implementing partners and participants were granted first hand experiences and interactions with agro-ecological value chains at NARO Uganda as well as exposure to wide ranges of coffee and cocoa products during the agro-ecology familiarization field visit at The National Coffee Research Institute NaCORI.

Background

The aim of the RMRN is to build excellence in research and education based on innovative approaches by mobilising and engaging with a diversity of stakeholders ranging from universities, agricultural research institutions, multi-disciplinary teams of researchers, multi-sectoral private-sector actors, farmer’s organisations and the civil society. The ultimate goal is to develop sustainably productive and resilient agri-food systems, able to address current aspirations and emerging challenges (food security, climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, water scarcity).

The RMRN overall objective is to contribute to a sustainable agri-food system transition based on agroecological principles. The transition towards agroecological agri-food systems is an effective pathway supported by a broad range of multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral actors such as researchers, policy makers, civil society, traders, and consumers. It requires new knowledge, competences, and policies to address complex situations, as well as challenges and co-create solutions based on agroecological principles and the integration of scientific and local knowledge.

The Specific Objectives are to:

• Strengthen the scientific and technological capacities of RMRN Consortium to produce, collect, access, process, share data / information guided by agroecology principles and using a gender-sensitive approach.
  
• Increase the RMRN’s Consortium contribution to scientific knowledge and innovation for agroecology through transformative quality multi-disciplinary research.
• Enhance the RMRN Consortium support to agroecology practitioners, scientists, consumers, and policymakers with a gender-sensitive approach.

PRIORITY TOPICS 

• 
  Agrobiodiversity to support agroecological processes. Agrobiodiversity (crops, animals, mycorrhiza/bacteria) is key to support ecological processes towards healthy soils, diversified cropping and farming systems for better production and resilience, Page 7 sur 15 diversified landscapes to provide eco-systemic services.
• Soil health to improve production and eco-system services. Soils are the basis of food and non-food production and generate eco-system services (water cycle, carbon storage, etc.). There is a need to address knowledge gaps regarding ecological processes and the development of solutions
  based on ecological processes (including bio- and organic fertilisers).
• Integrated pest management based on agroecological processes. Pest and diseases are challenging production in Africa. Developing new solutions based on ecological processes is a priority to avoid an overwhelming dependence on chemical pesticides.
• 
  Water management to address climate change. In the context of increasing climate change, the need for better monitoring and innovative solutions is more and more important to deal with risks (drought and flood) and to manage water for agricultural production.
• Adapted mechanisation for small-scale farmers to increase productivity and farmers’ incomes. Low labour productivity is a key issue to be addressed to improve production and make farmers activities more attractive and less painful especially for youth and women.
  
• Digitalisation for agroecology. Digital tools are developed and more and more used in the
  agricultural sector in Africa to monitor crops and manage resources such as pasture or water, to facilitate access to markets (price information, traceability, etc.) and services (inputs, advisory services, etc.). 
• Value chains to scale agroecology. It is a priority to scale agroecology through value chains able to valorise agricultural production based on agroecological principles to increase farmers’ incomes. 
  
• Innovation service supports. Farmers need support to develop and improve agroecological farming systems in a changing context. However, advisory services and other innovation support services (incubators, innovation platforms, etc.) are to be adapted or strengthened to provide relevant and effective services with a holistic farm approach, based on the principles of agroecology and aimed at strengthening capacities and valorising local knowledge.
• Institutions and policies as drivers for agroecological transitions. The food system transition depends on the institutional and policy landscape. Global, continental, and national policies drive the food systems transition and may shape an enabling environment to scale agroecology. 

At the end of the three years of the project, technical capacities and skill of researchers and scientists would have been built to carry out scientific studies in agroecology; improved infrastructural access by the RMRNs to carry out quality research and studies in Agroecology; available and accessible quality agroecology knowledge products and information; platform for knowledge exchange and information sharing/exchange would have been established; improved research-policy linkage; strengthened collaboration between the RMRNs and the Pan-African Network for economic Analysis of Policies (PANAP), and increased Advocacy for agroecology principles and practices.

Related: 9-10 March 2024. Tunisia. The ANzAR Forum 2023: Agroecology in North Africa

The aim of this forum was, in a convivial atmosphere, to share the experiences and knowledge of farmers, researchers, associations and consumers on agroecology, while creating a network in North Africa around this subject. 

This multi-stakeholder forum on agroecology in North Africa, organized by the Centre de recherche en économie appliquée pour le développement (Cread Algérie), the Institut national agronomique de Tunisie (INAT), CIRAD and INRAe (France), took place at the Gaïa farm near Tunis. It brought together over 50 people from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and France. The forum was organized as part of the ANzAR project funded by Agropolis Fondation and the Systèmes irrigués au North Africa (dP Sirma) partnership. The aim of this project is to create an agroecology network in North Africa.