Organisation holds Regional Policy Dialogue on Transforming Africa’s Agriculture

The Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) is set to hold the 2024 High-Level Regional Multi-stakeholder Policy Dialogue from 6 to 9 August 2024, in Lilongwe, Malawi.

BACKGROUND

Agriculture and food systems are pivotal to socio-economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), serving as a primary source of livelihood and contributing significantly to national economies.

However, these systems face numerous challenges, including climate change accelerating a surge of new pests and diseases, natural disasters and shocks, and unsustainable practices, all of which threaten their sustainability and resilience.

Addressing this challenge requires increased production and equitable distribution, access, and utilisation of food resources. Furthermore, unsustainable agricultural practices exacerbate environmental degradation, soil erosion, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss and undermine the resilience of agri-food systems to shocks and stresses.

Despite its immense potential, African agriculture has yet to fully embrace modern technologies like biotechnology, which could sustainably boost productivity and counter climate change challenges.

By integrating new and advanced technologies, Africa could revolutionize its food systems, ensuring a more secure and prosperous future. To ensure the long-term viability of agri-food systems, a paradigm shift is imperative.

This entails transitioning towards more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient approaches to agriculture and food production. Such a transformation requires strategic policy interventions that address both the immediate needs of vulnerable populations and the long-term sustainability goals of the sector.

To contribute to solutions aimed at addressing these challenges, the 2024 FANRPAN High-Level Regional Multi-stakeholder Policy Dialogue will explore policy frameworks to enhance agricultural productivity,

Sustainability, and resilience, as well as discuss the role of modern agricultural technologies, innovation, and research towards the transformation of agriculture and food systems.

The last conference was in 2008 and sixteen years later, FANRPAN will once again convene representatives from regional economic communities (RECs), national governments, international and regional institutions, NGOs, civil society organizations, academic and research institutions, farmer organizations, the private sector, and the media for their annual flagship event in Lilongwe.

The theme for this year is “Policy Pathways towards Transforming Africa’s Agriculture and Food Systems” with the following sub-themes: “Policy Actions”  “Climate Actions” “Food & Nutrition Security Actions”

The event will feature plenary sessions, panel discussions, and parallel sessions, aimed at generating actionable recommendations and commitments for policy implementation. The dialogue will also feature exhibitions by the different partner organisations.

The Policy Dialogue will bring together Representatives from the 17 member countries of Angola, Benin, Botswana, Democratic Republic of

Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.