The Africa Food Systems (AFS) Forum Annual Summit has become one of the continent’s leading platforms for dialogue and collaboration on agriculture and food security.
Each year, the event brings together government actors, development partners, researchers, and private sector stakeholders to define solutions for sustainable and resilient food systems, build partnerships, and identify strategies to enhance food security and soil health in the face of climate change, population growth, and market challenges.
Held this year in Dakar, Senegal, on August 31-September 5 with the theme “Africa’s Youth: Leading Collaboration, Innovation, and the Implementation of Agri-Food Systems Transformation,” the event drew thousands of like-minded individuals and many organizations, including the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and its programs, which actively contributed to the summit’s goals.
To meet growing needs, Africa will have to increase its agricultural production by 45%. That is why this forum is crucial: it brings together all stakeholders—governments, the private sector, civil society, and farmers—to work together to achieve this goal.
Henk van Duijn
Throughout the summit, IFDC’s two exhibition booths – for the Soil Values program and the Toward Sustainable Clusters in Agribusiness through Learning in Entrepreneurship (2SCALE) program – invited conversations with policymakers and partners. For example, Ghana’s Minister of Agriculture, the Honorable Eric Opoku, visited to discuss with IFDC President and CEO Henk van Duijn how Soil Values is addressing soil fertility challenges in Ghana, one of the program’s key strategic countries, through solutions such as advancing sustainable soil management for smallholder farmers.
IFDC’s exhibitions also hosted Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, the Honorable Abubakar Kyari, and Niger’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Colonel Elhadj Ousmane Mahaman. Meetings with IFDC’s senior management and the Soil Values team focused on opportunities for collaboration to strengthen soil management at national and regional levels.
In addition to IFDC’s exhibition discussions, leaders represented its programs in other summit events. Soil Values convened a side event entitled “From the Ground Up: Scaling Soil Health Solutions for Planet and People” that showcased the program’s innovative strategy for restoring degraded land and strengthening food security in West Africa. Drawing on experiences from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and northern Nigeria, session leaders underscored a collaborative model that can deliver tangible results.
Session speakers included representatives from governments, regional organizations, and development partners, such as Her Excellency Carmen Hagenaars, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Senegal; Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Founder and Chairwoman of the Connect For Impact Advisory Group (C4Impact); Alain Sy Traoré, Director of Agriculture and Rural Development at ECOWAS; as well as van Duijn, among others.
Van Duijn highlighted the urgency of agricultural transformation, stating, “To meet growing needs, Africa will have to increase its agricultural production by 45%. That is why this forum is crucial: it brings together all stakeholders—governments, the private sector, civil society, and farmers—to work together to achieve this goal.”
Van Duijn also stressed IFDC’s focus on sustainability: “If we want to increase agricultural production with less available land, improving soil fertility is indispensable, and soil health is at the core of IFDC’s expertise.”
Dr. Kalibata invited all parties to collaborate for a safer future, declaring, “Our health depends on the health of our soil.” In this spirit of collaboration, the event featured a signing ceremony formalizing cooperation between the Soil Values program and the World Bank-funded Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, aimed at expanding joint action on soil fertility and land restoration.
In addition to the Soil Values event, IFDC contributed to two 2SCALE side events. First, in keeping with the summit’s theme, “Scaling Inclusive Finance for Youth-Led Agribusinesses” explored innovative strategies to expand access to finance for young entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector, drawing attention to the role of financial inclusion in empowering youth and driving sustainable food systems. Second, in “ Shaping Africa’s Inclusive Agribusiness Through Public-Private Partnerships for a Resilient Future,” speakers indicated that public-private partnerships (PPPs) are key drivers of agribusiness transformation and inclusive market development across Africa.
At this PPP event, 2SCALE Director Marina Diboma noted that for long-term agricultural sustainability, working together is imperative: “Securing the transformation of our food systems for a resilient future is the responsibility of each and every one of us. To achieve this common goal, governments must create the right environment for business, because successful public-private partnerships are built by people and through collaboration.”
Beyond its own side events, IFDC participated in several other sessions that reiterated the emphasis on collaboration in advancing soil health and sustainable agriculture. In partnership with Welthungerhilfe (WHH), IFDC co-organized “Scaling Soil Health and Sustainable Production in Fragile Settings: Realizing the Three Rio Conventions,” which highlighted integrated approaches linking climate action, biodiversity, and sustainable land management.
Through the Coalition of Implementors for Fertilizers and Soil Health (CIFSH), IFDC also joined the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) session “Advancing the Momentum of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan,” which focused on translating the commitments of the Nairobi Declaration into concrete actions and mobilizing coalitions to support implementation.
This session notably featured one such concrete action with the official launch of the Africa Fertilizer Industry Development Association (AFIDA). As a proud partner through its Soil Values program, IFDC supports AFIDA in bringing together stakeholders from across the fertilizer value chain to foster collaboration and innovation across Africa, building resilient markets, promoting responsible fertilizer use and production, and driving initiatives that improve soil health and agricultural productivity.
The AFS Forum Annual Summit once again served as an important platform this year for governments, development partners, researchers, and the private sector to align shared priorities for resilient and sustainable food systems.
Through a combination of side events, policy dialogues, and high-level meetings, IFDC helped link local innovations with regional and global commitments. These engagements reinforced the view that addressing soil fertility and land restoration is essential not only for food security but also for broader goals in climate action, biodiversity, and economic development.
By the summit’s conclusion, IFDC had reaffirmed its role as a partner and convener in efforts to turn commitments into practice, supporting African countries as they work toward healthier soils and more productive, resilient, and sustainable food systems
