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Participants highlighted the importance of first addressing the bottlenecks faced by African food systems in order to improve or effectively transform them. They noted several best practices and potential game changing solutions for transforming Africa’s food systems so that they are more resilient and sustainable. These included the need to: a) improve access to innovative technologies and digital solutions such as improved seed, mechanization, irrigation, and ICT to boost agricultural productivity, increase competitiveness, address the effects of climate change, and more generally help tra... Read morensform food systems; b) harness artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as machine learning, digital technologies, and big data including remotely sensed data to not only fill knowledge and data gaps but to also boost agricultural productivity and address the numerous threats facing food systems; c) ensure that technologies used in African are well-adapted to the African context and specificities; d) establish innovative and blended financing mechanisms for high impact projects to make financing more accessible to farmers and other value chain actors; e) invest in better data, policy implementation capacities, and technical and vocational training of Africa’s growing youth population; f) expand mutual accountability processes that are increasingly shown to lead to better outcomes. There is empirical evidence to show that inclusive, regular, and comprehensive mutual accountability platforms to review agriculture sector progress and guide sector priorities while holding actors accountable are associated with greater public agricultural expenditures, which in turn increase agricultural productivity (e.g. Ulimwengu et al, 2020). g)Develop and apply integrated pest and land management systems h) Train smallholder farmers to increase their market competitiveness, enable them to meet sanitary and phytosanitary standards i) In addition, African governments need to raise the level of investment in the agricultural sector to meet the 10 percent Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) budget share target. j)Establish knowledge platforms where policy, institutional, and technological innovations, best practices and lessons in successfully transforming food systems can be made available to different stakeholders so as to learn from the past and avoid past mistakes. For example, it is important to learn from what has worked well in other countries, like mechanization programs in Ghana and the need for governments to create enabling an environment for mechanization and private sector players. The Malabo Montpellier Panel Reports have great examples of African countries with successful policy and institutional innovations that can be scaled up in other countries. Such platforms can include e-learning platforms for farmers to share and exchange on innovations, data, and technologies. k) identify a broad group of African champions that can use their leadership or large networks to amplify and advocate for food systems transformation in Africa. Champions can include youth leaders, local celebrities (e.g. musicians, footballers), leading academics, political leaders including former presidents, and winners of the Africa Food Prize committed to the UNFSS agenda. Champions can also include local people affected by the challenges facing food systems, who are empowered and supported to advocate for themselves and communicate their stories as often they can be the best advocates. Finally, messages used by Champions will need to be presented in formats that easily accessible and understood by the general public to have impact. Read less

The dialogue was convened with the overall goal to enhance regional advocacy in support of the Food Systems Summit engagement process specifically focusing on Action Track 5: Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks, and stress. More specifically the dialogue sought to convene a broad group of African stakeholders including to: 1. Deliberate on challenges and opportunities to transforming African food systems and ensuring that they are sustainable and resilient; 2. Showcase best practices, lessons learned, technological innovations, collaborations, and policies in transforming food systems;... Read more 3. Identify game-changing solutions1 (e.g. emerging best practices, research evidence, conceptual frameworks,) from across the continent that are actionable, sustainable, and can have impact at scale in terms of building the resilience of African food systems to vulnerabilities, shocks, and stress; and 4. Discuss the role of high-level African champions that can advance the African perspective and “solutions” coming out of the regional food system dialogues. The expected outcomes of the dialogue was to: 1) Increased understanding of critical issues around challenges and opportunities to transforming African food systems; 2) Consensus on potential game changing solutions for ensuring resilient and sustainable food systems in Africa; 3) Identification of high level African Champions and agreement on their role in advocating for coherent support on the key issues emanating from the discussions; and 4) A summary statement consolidating African voices on best practices, game changing solutions, and recommendations from the dialogues. Read less

Throughout the dialogue, panelists spoke on their partnerships and the success they have had implementing technological solutions in rural communities with the help of collaborative partnerships. The panelists each agreed that connectivity is essential to strengthening food systems sustainability. Furthering partnerships with private sector businesses and civil society will advance food systems and community-led development. The panelists' stories differed in the areas of implementation. Microsoft AirBand Initiative layed down the infrastructure needed for technological solutions to thrive. Wh... Read moreile Farmerline contributed to the services needed by smallholder farmers. An area where further exploration is needed is the involvement of the youth Read less

Throughout the discussion, panelists shared their outcomes and successes. As a civil society organization, AGRA’s digital transformation works to improve food security for 30 million farming households across 11 countries by 2021. Microsoft Airband Initiative provides high-speed internet connectivity to rural communities to leverage the technological solutions. These partnerships serve as examples of the success public and private sectors have in strengthening food systems through collaboration. The Hunger Project, Farmerline, and AGRA currently work together, resulting in sustainable digita... Read morel solutions to aid communities in Ghana and establish a village-based advisor delivery model. The panelists agreed that partnerships and connectivity in rural communities are two areas of action that can be continued to further progress and success. Read less

The panelists involved in the discussion shared their organizations progress and success stories.Many of the speakers expressed that in order to further advance the technological solutions in place in rural communities there needs to be an increase in partnerships between private sector businesses and civil society, as well as involvement of the youth. THP-Ghana, AGRA, Farmerline, and Microsoft AirBand Initiative all concluded that technology strengthens food systems and allows for farmers to grow safe, nutritious, and accessible food to the community through various services provided by techn... Read moreology. Read less

“Bridging the Digital Divide” focused on the implementation of technological solutions and how they strengthen food systems. The discussion centered on THP-Ghana and partnerships with Microsoft AirBand Initiative and civil society organizations such as AGRA and Farmerline. The conversation explored a few of the action tracks essential to Science Days, such as Action Track 1, 2, and 4. Speakers addressed how implementing technological solutions into rural communities aids farmers in delivery services that are needed to grow their yields. Specifically, some of these solutions are sending voi... Read morece messages about weather forecast alerts, market prices, new farming techniques, and agrochemical applications to more data-driven individualized for the farmers. We focused on how these services ensure production of safe and nutritional food accessible to the communities, as well as advance equitable livelihoods for farmers and members of the communities. Read less

Al contrario de divergencia, los sectores llegaron a acuerdos y puntos en común claros que declaran que es preciso continuar el proceso de discusión en relación a los sistemas alimentarios y la forma de hacerlos cada vez más sostenibles y resiliente. El camino acordado continua siendo la Soberanía Alimentaria, misma que debe ser puesta en la mesa de dialogo en espacios internacionales donde todos los sectores incluyendo el campesino e indígena – quienes producen la mayor parte de alimentos mundialmente- deben participar bajo sus propias apuestas. Un sistema alimentario que no considere... Read more la producción sana, que fomente justicia económica y social, no puede ser concebido por los sectores populares, quienes conforman una mayoría. Read less

La Soberanía Alimentaria es toda una estrategia de lucha que retoma los temas trascendentales y necesaria para su desarrollo como es el acceso a la tierra, agua y territorio mediante una Reforma Agraria Popular e integral y la Agroecología, resiliencia necesaria para salir al frente a crisis originada por el capitalismo, la pandemia y post pandemia. Es necesario mantener una visión de reconstrucción, el panorama post pandemia, trabajar en la prevención de plagas y enfermedades de animales y plantas de importancia económica, tales como la roya del café, el fusarium del banano, la monilia... Read moresis del cacao, la langosta sudamericana, o las enfermedades zoonoticas, las enfermedades transfronterizas de los animales, como la peste porcina africana, y todas las demás enfermedades que puedan afectar a la producción agroalimentaria, así como para promover las regulaciones y las prácticas basadas en la ciencia y la evidencia que fomenten el uso prudente y responsable de antimicrobianos en la producción de alimentos, en el marco del enfoque Una Salud, que reconoce que la salud humana, animal y de los ecosistemas está interconectada, por ello es necesario crear ambientes saludables para mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático. Apoyar a las comunidades costeras para tomar medidas de resiliencia, adaptación y nuevas técnicas para enfrentar el aumento del nivel del mar y la intrusión salina e iniciar la elaboración de directrices técnicas voluntarias para facilitar la rápida adopción de las mejores prácticas que ayudarán a pescadores, acuicultores y comunidades costeras a adaptarse al calentamiento del océano. Seguir trabajando en la promoción de la conservación, el uso eficiente del agua y la gestión de la escasez del agua, además del acceso y el manejo sostenible del recurso, en el contexto del aumento de la frecuencia e intensidad de sequías, inundaciones, intrusión salina y otras amenazas que se exacerban por el cambio climático. La restauración de paisajes forestales, la conservación y aumento de la cobertura boscosa, incluidas la forestería urbana y los sistemas agroforestales y silvopastoriles, considerando los pueblos indígenas y Afrodescendietes. Read less