No Longer the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF), Africa Food Systems Forum 2025 (AFSF) carries a central identity in the chain of hunger from seed to mouth. It brings DR Congo, another part of life from 2025, here-onward to its very first session in Dakar. Even then, the eventless aftermaths from Rwanda took more than 5,000 congregants from every corner of the globe.
These comprise plenary sessions and thematic platforms, alongside a busy marketplace where startups pitch innovative solutions.
The panel series by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) will be dedicated to various cases: food insecurity for 282 million Africans; climate shocks, which prevent grids of income a chance to flourish; and, more importantly, the pool of dormers that can be ignited with youthful potential across each corner of the continent.
Among the topics that will not be neglected as topics are management of soil health.
The available forums-key partner notes to panels, discussions all ranging from creation of value chain maps by youth to finance mechanism process to practical activities that secure cashflows, such as from enterprise development and NaFAD-. A legislative agenda, when pursued with best dates, will be drawn for each region proceeding from best practices in successful areas.
Dome of the Youth, a favorite for youth, is now up in vibrant energies, top-notch in all the good visions and hot debates. Consequently, His Excellency Wambui Chege’s foundation had faith in the energy provided by BYPs here which was why she talked of how young people with a diplomatic vision could be part Tom intended standard-bearers for transforming food systems.
The circular energy has two wrinkles that would reflect another level of respect around the disgraceful negotiations in fulfilling sustainability requirements such as: scaling young-born agri-preneurs across digital platforms to develop fintech solutions for smallholders.
Key Themes and Discussions
It is packed with topics, showing the multifacetedness of African food challenges and opportunities: the first of which is climate resilience, on traditional systems for food transforming to deal with increasingly variable climate patterns. A side event on “Facing Climate Change with Better Nutrition” had good policy discussions, centering around preserving indigenous crops and knowledge.
Yet another AI panel is envisioned-unpacking climate knowledge sharing with youth and marginalized gender. The agricultural economics perspective: women are 60 percent of our population, their call to action, creating forums for technology handling, etc.
On the other hand, nutrition-sensitive agriculture is given importance now because policies are being driven to account for health outcomes in food production.
Sustainable soil health grabbed more attention, for events focused largely on the presentations and different approaches that the Coalition of Action for Soil Health (Ca4SH) sought to bring up for regeneration.
The Partnership for Root & Tuber Crops for Africa was founded on September 3 with a picture in the air as a result for many kinds of tubers such as potatoes and sweet potatoes Veranstaltungen.
Adaptation Strategies for Building Resilient Food Systems under,
- Temperature Changes and Unpredictable Rainfall: Making Food Systems Resilient.
- Digital Transformation: The Use of AI and Fin Tech Platforms for Sustainable Agriculture and Social Media Marketing.
- Growth within the Economy: Empowering Women and Youth for Leadership in Agri-Businesses.
Benefits and Relationships-Nutritionally better agriculture for a better diet.
Policy Reform: Advocacy Towards Supportive Frameworks under AfCFTA.
Remarkable Participants and Leaders
Honorable people are waiting for such a high-level convening. Among them is the Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and anyway, he is thus accompanied by the President of Rwanda, His Excellency Paul Kagame, and over a dozen other African heads of state.
During this time, the detail seemed rather overwhelming, and a few of these few issues summed up in the timing and place for a dialogue with GAS: the dearth of capable workforce maneuvers for soil health, transfer efficiency, adaptation to climate change, and brand of corporate sustainability.
Eruditely and expertly shared opinions from both IFAD, GAIN, and Heifer International were on the one hand enlightening: youth root-level actions emanate from the innovative capacity within the strength of idealism contacted generations ago.
She/he advocated equally as a capable speaker, whereas LeKan Tobe drew her/himself from Heifer Nigeria and Joyce Maru came into the picture from the International Potato Center.
In fact, they embody the kind of policy leadership and technical skills that the forum can carry through.
Food Systems Statistics in Africa
To understand why the forum is urgent, consider the following numbers, which speak volumes.
- Food imported annually by Africa is about $50 billion, and yet 60 percent of the world’s arable land is found in Africa.
- Over 282 million people are undernourished, an increase of 57 million since the pandemic began.
- Climate change is the 20% reduction on crop tonnage by 2050, heightening food insecurity.
- Youth unemployment is as high as 60% in certain regions; however, agriculture could create an estimated 30 million jobs by 2030.
- Women produce 80% of Africa’s food but own less than 15% of the land.
Such figures, mostly from reports by the UN and IFPRI, paint a picture of possible promise in peril. The forum’s ambitious strategy intends to flip the script and target a trillion dollar agri-food market by 2030 through the AfCFTA.
Analysis and Insights from the Forum
Real-time buzz across social media platforms during this forum will give indications on emerging trends. Several posts by participants speak of excitement being generated by youth-led sessions and calls for intra-African trade.
For example, one of the major sessions on social media’s role in agricultural transformation drew packed crowds with speakers like Sangwa Sifa emphasizing the role of digital tools in engaging the youth.
Live updates on partnerships evolving: localized efforts by Unilever, fintech integrations by Mastercard, and GIZ’s initiatives focused on nutrition.
According to analysts, there is a trend shift to regenerative agriculture, and investments for soil health would be expected to deliver benefits in the region of $100 billion by 2030. Farmers on the ground narrate their journeys of adopting climate-smart practices, reducing losses by about 30%.
There are challenges – supply chain offsets and funding gaps; however, the mood is proactive. As one delegate noted, “We’re not just talking; we’re building coalitions for change.”
Case Study: Coriander Farming in Kenya
Specific success stories are presented within the broader discussions of the forum on sustainable scalable models. In Kenya’s semi-arid Machakos County, coriander farming is redefining lives. A crop that was previously looked down upon as something for the elite, coriander (dhainia) is slowly becoming a cash cow for smallholders such as Steve Mbondo and Shadrack Kakemu.
When his chickpeas also failed with 0.6 kg per square meter after planting over 50 acres, Mbondo transitioned to coriander from town clerk at 50 years old in 2019. Harvesting 300 bags, the crop matures in 60-75 days, allowing for two cycles per year in Yatta’s black cotton soils, yielding 280-1,500 kg per acre at Sh100-200 per kg.
By contract farming with Njoro Canning Factory and Unilever, there are assured markets instead of using exploitative brokers. This partnership, which is part of Unilever’s sustainability drive, not only empowers 2,000 smallholders but also creates jobs-harvesters are expected to earn Sh300 per day.
Others include women like Rose Wambua; a lecturer at the university, she joined when she realized it returns very well compared to maize or beans.
It equally fits within the themes of what AFSF said: climate resilience (coriander thrives in very dry areas), youth-involvement (Kakemu, an engineer-turned farmer), and value chain integration. That spices can power economic growth is exemplified as Kenya has been exporting black tea and herbal expansion has begun.
To visualize this transformation, here are images capturing coriander farming in action across Africa:
Such images capture the practice of coriander farming, from planting through to harvest: this crop proves to be potentially high value and low water in demand.
Possibilities and Challenges Ahead
Optimism has always been marred by challenges. Very few smallholders are funded by commercial banks-in fact only 4 percent of commercial bank lending goes to agriculture. Gains are washed out by climate shocks, such as droughts in the Horn of Africa; barriers to market access remain, making post-harvest losses at 30-40 percent.
But opportunities abound. The AfCFTA could increase intra-African trade up to 52 percent and bring market access for essential goods and spices. Digital tools, now adopted by 40 million farmers, hold promise for delivering efficiency gains. And with investments like the $1.5 billion secured by the African Development Bank, scalable models such as Kenya’s booming coriander sector can proliferate.
The Future Outlook
AFSF 2025’s closing will herald an era that would illuminate the possible actions for this pathway: investing in youth, innovations in technology, and sustainability. Indeed, commitment has been secured at the leadership level through the likes of Faye and Kagame; grassroots storytelling inspires such movement.
By 2030,Africa will even feed itself and surplus exports while providing millions of jobs. But it requires some sustained operation efforts-from forums like this to farms on the ground. By one youth who attended via a tweet,”We’re shaping the future of Africa’s food systems, one idea at a time.”
In Dakar, change seeds have sprouted and it is time to nurture them into fruit for all in Africa.
