Kutsaga Research’s Post

🚨 A Powerful Theory of Change 🚨 In their book “Power and Progress”, Nobel Prize winners Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson outline a fascinating theory of how meaningful change happens. This theory is not just academic—it's something we’re witnessing in action with one of our incredible grantees: the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA). 🌍🌱 Here's how AFSA is putting this theory into practice: Step 1: Change the Narrative.  AFSA is challenging the status quo, particularly the Gates Foundation’s model of commercialized, high-input, monocrop agriculture. In its place, AFSA promotes agroecology—an approach that supports small-scale, sustainable farming practices, improving both soil health and the nutrition of families. Progress is slow, but a growing number of African governments are beginning to take notice. Step 2: Build a Community.   AFSA is not going it alone. They’re uniting 43 member networks, some with over 200 groups each, across 50 countries in Africa—reaching an estimated 200 million people. These networks work together on everything from food security to agroecological techniques, creating a powerful, collaborative force for change. Step 3: Develop Solutions. Real solutions don’t come from the top down—they come from those who are living the reality. In a recent gathering in Addis Ababa, over 200 young activists working on food systems from across Africa shared innovative techniques they’re already using to transform their communities. This reminds us of an important truth: When we seek to create change, we often start with solutions. But the real shift begins with a change in narrative. Changing how we think about a problem is the first—and hardest—step to sustainable, lasting progress. The work AFSA is doing exemplifies how, through collective effort, grassroots innovation, and a fresh narrative, we can challenge old systems and build something better for future generations. 👩🏽🌾👨🏾🌾💡 #FoodSovereignty #Agroecology #SustainableAgriculture #Africa #ChangeMakers #Innovation #CommunityBuilding #SystemsChange #PowerAndProgress

*FREE TO DOWNLOAD* ⚠️ New book alert! Just last month, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa published a collection of uplifting stories of youth-driven innovations. These stories help illustrate how #agroecology provides #sustainable solutions to transform Africa’s food systems. “Globally, agroecology is gaining momentum as a viable solution to these challenges. Case studies from across Africa demonstrate the potential of agroecology to transform the African food system to sustainability, ensuring stable and optimal productivity of healthy food while increasing income for farmers and providing employment for women and youth,” writes Dr. Million Belay, AFSA General Coordinator. From agroecological entrepreneurship to innovative farming practices, these stories of success are a powerful testament to the resilience and creativity of Africa’s young leaders. Get your copy of the book here: https://lnkd.in/e8uPesxe

I finally found my tribe! Even though the Summit of the Future was discussing the gaps that must be closed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals #SDGs, we saw very little on the rural areas, their people and livelihoods particularly of farmers. This is despite that fact that 8️⃣ 0️⃣ per cent of the people who live in multidimensional poverty are in the rural areas.    Thankfully, the Agricultural Transitions Lab for African Solutions (ATLAS) and the Paris Peace Forum organized a session to discuss the importance of financing for African Agriculture. This is perhaps the only place that discussed rural issues at #UNGA. Compellingly, the discussion looked at the rural dimension of development from a continental perspective which painted a truly stark picture. For instance, taking a continental lens reveals that 50% of the world’s poor people are in the rural areas in Africa.   As such, investing in Africa’s agriculture was identified as the surest way to address the #SDGs shortfalls: 🔹 A dollar invested in African agriculture is the best dollar invested towards achieving #SDGs. 🔹 30-60% of the #SDGs gaps can be solved by investment in African agriculture.   Despite this understanding, agriculture investments have been a declining priority since the 80s. The discussion issued a loud wake-up call to all of us involved in this issues make every effort to reverse this trend ensuring the investments are made along the entire agricultural value chain right from inputs as stated by Leonardus Vergütz of OCP Group all the way through to value added processing as called for by Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli of The ONE Campaign.   As the busy week came to a close, I am delighted there was some focus on this critical issue that I believe should be front and center of our efforts to accelerate progress towards the #SDGs. I look forward to continue engaging on this topic as we all work to unlock the necessary investments.

🌍 A New Dawn for African Agriculture: The Kampala Declaration Paves the Way for Sustainable Growth! As nations unite to transform agri-food systems from 2026 to 2035, the Kampala Declaration marks a significant leap towards food security and economic prosperity across Africa. With the adoption of the Kampala Declaration at the Extraordinary African Union Summit, Africa embarks on a bold journey to revolutionize agri-food systems and drive sustainable economic growth from 2026 to 2035! Are we ready to seize this historic opportunity for transformation? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/db3--CFp #KampalaDeclaration #AfricanAgriculture #AgriFoodSystems #SustainableGrowth #FoodSecurity

Currently underway in Kampala: The African Union Commission is hosting the Extraordinary Summit on the Post Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) from 9th to 11th January 2025, in Kampala Uganda. This Summit is one of the defining events on food systems happening on the continent this year. It has two main aims: 1.⁠ ⁠Endorse the draft Kampala CAADP Declaration. The draft declaration provides a vision for transforming Africa’s Agrifood Systems from 2026 to 2035. 2.⁠ ⁠Endorse Ten-Year CAADP Strategy and Action Plan: 2026-2035. This plan provides details on how to achieve the goals and targets in the draft Kampala CAADP Declaration. This key event is crucial for the continent as we collectively work towards building resilient agri-food systems. Get more details here: https://buff.ly/3C3PMuv AGRA Wasafiri Joost Guijt Alex Rees Claudia Piacenza Brenda Mareri Anysie Ishimwe Alfred Bizoza

Agriculture and food systems in Africa obtained renewed commitments last week when the heads of state and delegates from across the continent dialogued and endorsed a new 10 years Declaration and Strategic Plan for the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). This is the leading framework championed by the African Union. It comes at a time when #agriculture is increasingly a science of ideologies, farmers vulnerable, markets getting competitive and food and seed getting more commoditised. We must therefore seek critical paths that fulfill #nature and #people values. Values we hope to establish more through #research and inculcate through #training and capacity development as Mind-Nature Institute !

Delighted to speak on the AFSIC - Investing in Africa panel on Africa’s agriculture revolution. I posed the notion, “what revolution?” The fact is that Africa’s agriculture productivity remains the lowest in the world, despite 60% of the population reliant on agriculture for their livelihoods, a population which will reach 2bn by 2040 and a region highly susceptible to climate change and volatility. The reality is hunger and poverty which is increasing. The potential, however, is huge, ample water (with sufficient water infrastructure, currently lacking), great soils, a wide range of climates suitable for every agriculture enterprise possible, an educated hard working and entrepreneurial young population, and a vast local market at import parity for many value chains. There are of course many success stories, SMEs like those supported by our Agri Frontier Growth Hub incredible entrepreneurs achieving great things and proving the potential is there for Africa to become a world leader in agriculture innovation and productivity. But even these incredible companies are constrained and struggle to grow due to lack of affordable growth capital, the missing middle is very real. We are currently fund raising for our Agri Frontier Growth FUND, to help address this funding gap - significantly more capital is needed to really achieve an agriculture revolution. Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network (SAFIN) Argidius Foundation Vitol Foundation Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs ICFA - International Climate Finance Accelerator AGRA

Food security in African countries needs to be driven by quality affordable technology that is easy to adopt to increase crop production by small farmers. this is the only solution to solve this problem of food security in Africa. and it is so easy to solve!!

Exciting News! We are thrilled to announce the launch of #AGRA 3.0, a groundbreaking partnership project between #Extension #Africa and #AGRA This initiative brings together industry leaders and experts to delve deep into the digitization of agricultural knowledge for rural farmers in Africa, paving the way for innovative solutions to key challenges in agriculture. A major highlight of the launch is our focus on the Africa Agribusiness Academy (#AFREXA)—an empowering platform shaping the future of agribusiness in Africa. Together, we aim to set the stage for impactful discussions on other pressing issues in the agricultural sector. We are committed to driving change and fostering sustainable growth in African agriculture. Stay tuned for updates as we embark on this transformative journey! 🌱 #AGRA3 #ExtensionAfrica #DigitalAgriculture #AgribusinessInnovation #SustainableAgriculture AGRA AGRA Kaduna Consortium African Development Bank Group Heifer Nigeria Heifer International Mercy Corps AgriFin Mercy Corps Feed the Future Feed the Future, Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity USAID Mastercard Foundation

The Power of Dreams: Our Journey to Transforming Rural Farming in Africa 🌟 It is true that #Innovation springs from unwavering #focus and a relentless pursuit of every possible solution to create more value. In our journey exploring ways to make #extension services more reliable and sustainable, we discovered a crucial insight: after training field #agents, they often rely on manuals, fliers, and other templates to communicate with #farmers. While well-intentioned, this approach has significant drawbacks, especially as we aim to massively scale #climatesmart innovations: 1️⃣ High agent/farmer acquisition costs due to printing of manuals, mobilizing, and feeding agents and resource personnels. 2️⃣ Communication gap as agents sometimes struggle to recall trainings during delivery, leading to possible misinformation. 3️⃣ Content inconsistency from various delivery institutions, which can confuse farmers. Recognizing these challenges, we created the Africa Agribusiness Extension Academy, a #groundbreaking hybrid learning platform, with exclusive programmes and courses designed to equip professional extension agents with the skills they need to transform rural farming in Africa. This partnership is a strategic step towards our goal of a more efficient agribusiness extension system, and we eagerly look forward to #collaborating with #partners to ensure quality delivery of innovations to #ruralfarmers in #Africa. Let's dream, innovate, and transform together! 🌱 #Innovation #Agribusiness #RuralDevelopment #SustainableFarming #ClimateSmartAgriculture #ProfessionalDevelopment #AfricaAgribusinessExtensionAcademy