Rising from a six-day Africa Food Systems (AFS) Forum 2025, held in Dakar, Senegal, under the theme: “Africa’s Youth: Leading Collaboration, Innovation and Implementation of Agri-Food Systems Transformation,”leaders in the continent have made a strong call to ensure that Africa’s food systems must evolve through innovation, investment, and inclusive leadership.
At the Centre International de Conférences Abdou Diouf (CICAD) and Diamniadio Expo Center, venues of the event, more than 6,000 participants from 113 countries and over 350 speakers gathered.
The forum brought together governments, private sector leaders, development partners, researchers and farmers in a shared effort to turn commitments into measurable progress.
Central themes from climate-smart agriculture and trade to youth-led innovation and women’s leadership reinforced that the continent holds both the solutions and the resolve to drive transformation.
The forum kicked off with the opening ceremony and Youth Town Hall, which was followed by the Presidential Summit.
The host President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye urged urgent action, noting that investing massively in modernisation, water management, local transformation and digitalisation is an urgent necessity in Africa.
While addressing young Africans directly, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, encouraged the youths to be resilient: “Find a purpose… try and fail but don’t fail to try.”
The opening day also featured thematic side events and master classes, with sessions on investment, soil health, displaced youth and women’s empowerment. The Investment Room also hosted networking between investors and agri-food entrepreneurs.
Governments and ministers took centre stage with high-level roundtables on trade, nutrition, climate-smart agriculture and energy-food systems integration, framed within the new CAADP strategy for 2026–2035.
Nigeria’s FAO-led sessions spotlighted youth-driven solutions, including the coffee value chain forum “Investing in Africa’s Coffee Value Chains through Youth and Innovation,” which highlighted the catalytic role of young entrepreneurs in driving agri-food transformation.
A major announcement came from Liberia, when their Agriculture Minister, Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah, unveiled a bold US$900m Legacy Investment Programme, targeting rice, maize, cassava, coffee and oil palm value chains to accelerate food security, job creation, and agro-industrial growth.
He explained: “The Legacy Investment Programme focuses on increasing productivity by providing the right inputs, infrastructure, technology, and services across agricultural value chains.”
In parallel, livestock system transformation and youth-led agritech forums bridged policy commitments with grassroots innovation, with partners such as AGRA, CGIAR and regional development banks emphasising how Africa’s youth and entrepreneurs are critical to translating ministerial strategies into scalable and investible action.
Meanwhile, during a special session on “Advancing the Momentum of the Implementation of the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Plan,” held on the margins of the AFS, the Africa Fertiliser Industry Development Association was officially launched on September 1, 2025.
The Association aims to unite Africa’s fertiliser sector, strengthening collaboration, advocacy, and investment across the continent. For smallholder farmers, who make up the backbone of Africa’s agriculture, this is a major milestone toward better access to quality fertilisers and sustainable soil management.
The forum noted that sol health matters is very paramount in the sense that it is the foundation of Africa’s food security, as more than 60 per cent of Africans depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, yet many farmers face declining soil fertility. Restoring soils and ensuring access to affordable fertilisers is key to boosting productivity, adapting to climate change, and feeding a rapidly growing population.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment at the AUC, H.E. Moses Vilakati, emphasised the urgency of tackling soil health challenges. Since taking office in March 2025, he has prioritised eight key areas to implement the Nairobi and Kampala Declarations.
“Our priorities include resuscitating the African Centre for Fertiliser Development, establishing Regional Fertilizer Blending Facilities, and advancing Soil Mapping to enable context-specific, evidence-based decision-making,” he said. His department has rolled out a 100-day plan that sets the stage for long-term action over the next four years.
“The event highlighted the power of multi-stakeholder partnerships in transforming agriculture. Governments, the private sector, youth, women, and technical experts all play critical roles in improving soil health. Inclusive participation ensures that vulnerable groups gain equitable access to resources, training, and decision-making roles—an essential element of Africa’s agricultural transformation.”
