AFSA paves way for an African Food Systems Policy

The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) in partnership with the Movement for Ecological Learning and Community Action (MELCA) organized a three-day regional conference and policy dialogue to advance the case for agroecology as the most relevant approach for agriculture resilience and reducing risks to farmers, in climate change policy at national and regional level. Photo: AFSA

Approximately 170 representatives from civil society organisations, smallholder farmers, government, research institutions, funders and the media drawn from 27 countries gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 05 to 07 November 2019 to participate in a strategy and planning conference on Agroecology and Climate Change and developing a road map for an African Food Systems Policy.

The three-day conference organised by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) in partnership with the Movement for Ecological Learning and Community Action (MELCA) was aimed at highlighting agroecological practices to address climate change, enhance soil fertility, increase productivity, and ensure nutrition and health; exploring policy spaces related to agricultural resilience to climate change and identifying principles and guidelines for an effective process for scaling up Agroecology for resilience to climate change.

Speaking at the conference, the General Secretary for AFSA, Million Belay (PhD) said Africa needs to develop a Food Systems Policy that brings together many policies that affect the production, processing, marketing and consumption of food as well as the transition process for a sustainable food system that responds to the climate emergency.

Current policies that fall under the African Food System have conflicting objectives. The contradictions undermine Africa’s food system and this calls for harmonization of these policies.

“We need transitions but we need Governments for transition to happen”, said Million.

Million said AFSA will engage in two processes aimed at developing Africa’s Food System in a participatory way. Discussions at regional and national levels will be held and a four year process is envisaged. The African Food System Policy will be developed under the Africa Union so that it gains support from all Member States.

AFSA is an alliance comprising of 37 regional networks working in 50 of the 55 countries in Africa. It is the biggest social movement in Africa reaching approximately 400 million farmers on the African continent and PELUM Association is a member of AFSA.