Africa cannot be seen merely in terms of poverty and conflict, nor as the new Eldorado promised by the development of an urban middle class.
For the UNESCO Chair in World Food Systems, the many different Africas are proud of their food sovereignty and their capacity to invent the food systems of tomorrow, in terms of business models, products and food cultures. Innovation is everywhere: among small-scale producers, new SMEs and street food outlets. The ways in which the agrifood sector is organized are inspiring responses to the demographic, economic, climate and health challenges facing the continent.
What are the main current issues facing agriculture and food? What are the foreseeable impacts of climate change? How are African cuisines passed down? How can they spread beyond the continent?
It is these questions that the speakers at the Chair's 14th Annual Symposium, to be held on 7 February at Institut Agro, will be attempting to answer:
Nicolas Bricas, food socioeconomist at CIRAD, holder of the UNESCO Chair;
Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, African Union special envoy for food systems, former Prime Minister the Republic of Niger;
Guéladio Cissé, environmental epidemiologist at the Swiss Scientific Research Centre in Ivory Coast;
Urban food systems require radical and ambitious change. The goal of AfriFOODlinks is to initiate this transition in a creative manner by addressing the systemic causes of food insecurity and the environmental impact of food systems. The project aims to promote change in more than 65 countries throughout the world.