AKADEMIYA2063, in partnership with the AUC, is convening the 2023 ReSAKSS Conference to launch the 15th edition of the ATOR. The conference will take stock of progress under the Malabo agenda and promote dialogue on pathways toward a more comprehensive post-Malabo agenda that integrates more fully the priorities for successful food systems transformation in the context of a changing climate and global shocks. The goal remains to enhance the implementation of the CAADP/Malabo agenda and advance progress towards an agriculture-led, broad-based economic transformation across Africa. The hybrid event will take place on November 27-29 under the theme “African Food Systems Transformation and the Post-Malabo Agenda”.
The theme of the 2023 ATOR stems from the AU Common Position Paper in response to the September 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) and the need to incorporate its recommendations into the CAADP agenda. The CAADP, as reinforced in 2014 under the Malabo Declaration on agricultural growth and transformation with an expanded set of goals and targets to be achieved by 2025, aims to ensure wealth creation, food, and nutrition security, poverty alleviation, and resilience and sustainability. The momentum created by the UNFSS is therefore an opportunity to substantially improve on the implementation of the CAADP/Malabo agenda. Just as the Malabo Declaration was the opportunity to expand the original Maputo agenda beyond agriculture-led growth, requiring a scaling up of investment and the embrace of evidence-based planning and mutual accountability, this is the perfect time to explore opportunities to deepen the current agenda to address the future needs of effective food systems transformation. For instance, efforts to ensure climate-resilient food systems and agricultural value chains should go beyond climate smart agriculture to reflect broader ambitions in the area of climate mitigation and adaptation. Similarly, the focus on inclusivity and equity in the current agenda needs to be broadened beyond gender mainstreaming and empowerment of women and youth. It will also be important to address the health aspects of successful food systems transformation beyond food safety.
While it is widely agreed that building effective and resilient food systems will help Africa to achieve the Agenda 2063 and CAADP/Malabo goals and targets, it is yet to be seen how much knowledge, both in terms of volume and diversity, is being generated to provide the insights needed by decision-makers to choose the most fulfilling paths.
Generating a body of knowledge that addresses different facets of resilient food systems in more detail becomes critical. Such an undertaking would go a long way in facilitating and informing the policy choices and supporting the actions required to implement game-changing African solutions. In view of the above, this 15th edition of the ATOR offers an opportunity to generate a body of knowledge to support the food systems transformation efforts already set in motion across the continent.
The 2023 ReSAKSS Conference will bring together state and nonstate actors to deliberate on the key findings and policy recommendations of the ReSAKSS 2023 ATOR. A major contribution to the post-Malabo agenda, the report 1) assesses current food systems performance in Africa, 2) analyzes opportunities for transforming Africa’s food systems in relation to strategic themes including health, nutrition, food safety, gender, bioeconomy, climate adaptation, science and technology, and data needs, 3) discusses progress on core CAADP indicators and implementation processes, and 4) provides forward-looking recommendations to inform the post-Malabo agenda.