• AGRA urges holistic overhaul of Africa’s fragile food systems
• Climate change, urbanization worsening hunger and food insecurity
• Youth inclusion seen as key to sustainable agricultural transformation

Africa must adopt a more holistic approach to its food systems to achieve sustainable and resilient growth, according to a new report by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

The 150-page document, titled "Drivers of Change and Innovation in Africa’s Food Systems," serves as a roadmap for overhauling the continent's agriculture in the coming decades. While Africa has seen significant gains over the last 30 years—including a world-leading 4.3% annual increase in agricultural production since 2000 and a rise in intra-African trade—its food systems remain fragile.

According to the report's authors, persistent hunger and a lack of access to healthy food are exacerbated by climate change and rapid urbanization. They argue that fragmented, sector-by-sector progress is no longer sufficient and call for a systemic transformation.

A holistic approach, the report says, recognizes that "food systems are interconnected, from production to markets, nutrition, finance, trade, environmental sustainability, and technology." To achieve this paradigm shift, the authors recommend several key ingredients.

"We believe that the future lies in building resilient food baskets and corridors, leveraging catalytic finance, and strengthening partnerships across governments, the private sector, development partners, and our farmers themselves, while investing in knowledge systems to ensure decisions are evidence-driven," the report states.

AGRA also emphasizes that young people must be at the center of these new strategies. "The continent’s food systems transformation must be a transformation for and by youth," the report asserts. "Creating youth-led viable, dignified employment across the value chain is not only an economic necessity but also it is a political and social imperative. [...] It must also prioritize youth inclusion, labor productivity, and pathways to decent work for the next generation."

Espoir Olodo