New strategy to secure Africa's food systems launched

Stakeholders follow proceedings during the Strategy launch in Kigali, Rwanda. [Courtesy]

Africa, like many parts of the developing world, faces growing challenges such as climate change, land degradation, biodiversity loss, and changing diets.

These constraints are further compounded by a growing population, which automatically increases demand for safe, nutritious and sufficient food.

To transform the continent’s land and food systems, stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers, investors and development partners, are calling for urgent, evidence-driven action.

At the recently convened Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 held in Kigali, Rwanda, stakeholders emphasised the significant opportunities in Africa to build more resilient, productive and inclusive food systems.

“Africa has a great opportunity to build on its rich agricultural biodiversity, indigenous knowledge, entrepreneurial energy, youthful population and scientific capacity to create food systems that are more productive, resilient, inclusive and sustainable,” said the Director General of The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (The Alliance) Juan Lucas Restrepo.

Food and land systems, he added, are simultaneously among the sources of some of the planet’s most urgent challenges and among its most powerful levers for change.

He was speaking during the launch of The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT’s strategy for Africa 2026-2030.

The new strategy places science, investment and partnerships at the centre of efforts to build more resilient, inclusive and sustainable food systems.

The regional launch marked the African chapter of the global rollout of the Alliance’s 2026–2030 Strategy. Under the theme, “Resilient Futures: Urgent Science for Food and Land Systems Transformation,” the strategy was launched in July 2026.

It responds to the challenges along food systems by prioritising practical, impact-oriented science that is grounded in local realities while drawing on global expertise and scientific partnerships. Additionally, the strategy seeks to translate research and innovation into solutions that farmers, policymakers, businesses, investors and consumers can understand, access and use to make timely decisions.

The Africa strategy emphasises four mutually reinforcing priorities: science and sustainability seeks to address present-day crises through scientific solutions rooted in nature and biodiversity, recognising that what benefits the planet also benefits people.

Equity and inclusive food systems seek to build food economies in which smallholder farmers, informal vendors and consumers have a voice, earn decent incomes and have access to healthy and nutritious food.

Partnership as a success factor is geared towards designing and implementing solutions collaboratively and grounding them in local realities, from marginalised communities to influential institutions and decision-makers.

Financing as the decisive lever will involve using scientific evidence to attract investment into food and land systems and accelerate the adoption of proven solutions at scale.

This pillar closely aligns with the theme of the 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum: “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience.”

Discussions during the launch highlighted that financing is a strategic mechanism for accelerating the uptake of proven solutions. Scientific evidence was also identified as essential for helping investors understand the risks, opportunities and potential returns associated with more resilient and sustainable food and land systems.

“Science alone does not change anything, nor does scaling without science mean anything,” said Head of Climate Adaptation, Sustainable Agriculture and Resilience at AGRA Kindie Fantaye.

Therefore, he added, science and implementation must move together.

The Alliance’s MD for Africa, Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, emphasised the importance of producing science that responds to people’s everyday realities.

She said, “Africa’s food systems need science that is not only rigorous but also relevant to the realities of the people who depend on them. Farmers need to know when and what to plant and how to manage risk. Communities need access to knowledge about sustainable and highly nutritious diets."

The Strategy, she added, puts urgent, locally grounded science and trusted partnerships at the heart of transformation, turning knowledge into practical solutions that farmers, communities and decision-makers can use with confidence.

Rwanda’s Minister of State for Agriculture and Animal Resources Dr Solange Uwituze Agriculture called for partnerships’ shift from broad commitments to clear plans with accountable leads and timelines.

“We must turn partnership into action: agree on the priorities, identify the people responsible, and set dates for delivery,” she said.

The Africa Strategy’s launch served as a call to action for food systems actors to unite around a shared investment and implementation agenda. Participants acknowledged that no single institution could solely transform Africa’s food and land systems.