The Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 annual summit will be a timely opportunity to convene diverse stakeholders, including world leaders, investors, academia, farmers’ organizations, and the private sector, to spotlight innovations, technologies, best practices, business models, policy delivery mechanisms, and investments to accelerate food systems transformation in Africa and beyond, with youth and women at the helm. Organized under the leadership of H.E. President Paul Kagame, the 2024 AFS Forum Summit, will be held under the theme “Innovate, Accelerate and Scale: Delivering food systems transformation in a digital and climate era”.

Monday, September 2nd, 2024

“Side Event: China’s role in Africa Food System Transformation” (13:45 – 14.45 (Kigali))

• James Warner, Research Fellow/Program Leader, Rwanda, IFPRI-Rwanda
• Clemens Breisinger, Senior Research Fellow/Program Leader, Kenya Strategy Support Program, IFPRI

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024

“Accountability Room: Financing Food Systems: Measuring Malabo and Unpacking New Tools for Food Systems – Sequence 2” (14:00 – 16:00 (Kigali))

• Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI; Managing Director, Systems Transformation, CGIAR

Wednesday, September 4th, 2024

High-level Ministerial Roundtable Advancing Food Systems and Climate Actions – Country Actions (10:30 – 13:30 (Kigali))

• Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI; Managing Director, Systems Transformation, CGIAR

Wednesday, September 6th, 2024

“First Ladies High level Panel: The State of Nutrition and Advancing Nutrition Outcomes and Empowering Women for Food Systems Transformation“ (10:00– 11:30 (Kigali))

• Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI; Managing Director, Systems Transformation, CGIAR

Click HERE, to view the full program.

Side Event | African Leadership on Healthy Diets

Monday, September 2nd, 2024 | 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm (Kigali)

This event will bring together leaders, stakeholders and experts across Africa’s agri-food systems to address critical issues such as healthy diets, food loss and waste, with a focus on collaborative approaches to transforming Africa’s food systems for improved nutrition. The discussions will draw on key findings and learnings from the National Planning Commission, Government of Malawi, IFPRI’s 2024 Global Food Policy Report, USAID, and the Feed the Future Food Systems for Nutrition Innovation Lab (FSN-IL) at Tufts University. 

The event will explore evidence-based strategies to increase the supply, affordability, and consumption of safe, healthy diets in Africa’s evolving agri-food systems. It will also highlight the importance of understanding and addressing food loss and waste to enhance nutrition outcomes and ensure sustainable food system transformation in the region.

Panel Discussion

• Namukolo Covic, Director General’s Representative to Ethiopia, CGIAR Ethiopia Country Convenor and CGIAR Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) ; Representing IFPRI

Side Event | Irrigation Policy and Investment post-Malabo

Watch the event live

Monday, September 2nd, 2024 | 9:45 am – 11:15 am (Kigali)

More and better irrigation development is essential to address increasing food insecurity and reduce negative impacts from climate extreme events on the African continent. However, irrigated area has not significantly increased in Africa since the 2014 Malabo Declaration. The post-Malabo agenda development and implementation provides an opportunity to revisit the role of irrigation, while bolstering the 2024 Nairobi Declaration for improved soil and water management. This event will kick off the “African Irrigation Policy Dialogue Series: Supporting food security, nutrition and climate resilience in the post-Malabo Agenda” with a broad series of partners, including AUC, AMCOW, IWMI, Akademiya2063, FAO, USAID, the AfDB, the World Bank and others. This kick-off event will identify key topics for discussion in the Irrigation Policy Dialogue Series and will discuss key areas for support on irrigation development.

Welcome address, program Introduction, and panel discussion

• James Warner, Research Fellow/Program Leader, Rwanda, IFPRI-Rwanda

Background presentation: Overview of Irrigation Policy Landscape in Africa

• Bedru Balana, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI-Nigeria

Side Event | Harmonising actions: How Africa’s food future can benefit people, climate, and biodiversity

Wednesday, September 4th, 2024 | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm (Kigali) | Park Inn by Radisson Kigali

Organized by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and CGIAR’s Nature Positive Solutions

Learning from Leading Countries

4:15- 4:45 pm: Keynote: The Food, Climate, Biodiversity Nexus

• Sedi Boukaka, Research Coordinator, IFPRI: Nature-Positive Solutions: Evidence on smallholder farmers and nature-positive production from Kenya baseline survey

4:45-5:55 pm: Panel Sessions

• Moderator: Sedi Boukaka, IFPRI

Side Event | Crafting Food System Investment Pathways

Thursday, September 5th, 2024 | 9:00 am – 10:00 am (Kigali) | KICC

Organized by IFPRI, AGRA, and International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

• John Ulimwengu, Senior Research Fellow, Development Strategies and Governance Unit, IFPRI