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The seventh session of the ANAPRI Stakeholders Conference focused on demonstrating how systems thinking, strategic foresight, and practical policy tools can help countries design more coherent and future-ready interventions for meaningful impact. Facilitated by Mark Fynn, Regional Policy Officer, at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The discussion provided deep insights into the shifts required to transform Africa’s agrifood systems.
Corinna Hawkes from FAO Headquarters, in her presentation underscored that although many solutions already exist within agrifood systems, however, these efforts often operate in silos. Such fragmentation leads to disjointed decisions and unintended consequences across interconnected systems. Therefore, there is urgent need for a systems approach that embraces complexity, focuses on the relationships that drive change, and identifies strategic entry points that can trigger wider transformation. Corinna stressed that systems are ultimately shaped by people, and understanding their realities is essential.
Furthermore, Pedro Morais de Sousa from the FAO Headquarters presented insights from the Regional Strategic Foresight Report (RSFR) draft. He explained that strategic foresight brings together different areas of expertise and ministries to explore long-term dynamics and multiple future scenarios based on scientific evidence. The RSFR examines long-standing and emerging challenges shaping Sub-Saharan Africa. It also highlights growing concerns such as the increasing cost of healthy diets and the share of populations unable to afford them. Pedro noted that foresight provides a structured way to address complex political-economy constraints, helping countries understand necessary trade-offs and plan proactively for resilient agrifood systems.
ANAPRI Secretariat ED, Antony Chapoto further engaged the stakeholders through an interactive mentimeter challenge to gather feedback on the FAO report. The exercise revealed a mix of views; when asked to describe Africa’s agrifood future in one word, responses ranged from ‘opportunity’ and ‘promising’ to ‘fragile’ and ‘uncertain’. Participants identified governance and institutions as the leading drivers shaping the next 25 years, ranking them above climate change and others. In terms of future scenarios, stakeholders warned that a ‘Race to the Bottom’ is likely if current trends continue, attributing this to challenges like weak governance and vested interests. To steer towards a more sustainable future, the feedback emphasised the need to strengthen institutions, accelerate innovation, and for leaders to ‘walk the talk’ by mobilising investment and listening to evidence from bodies like ANAPRI.
The session transitioned into a robust panel discussion regarding the practical tools and instruments capable of translating systems thinking and foresight into tangible actions.
Opening the dialogue on resource allocation, Marco Sanchez from FAO highlighted that expenditure optimisation is a key tool for governments to apply systems thinking to the CAADP 2026–2035 agenda, helping policymakers balance multiple development objectives, maximise synergies, and manage trade-offs amid scarce public resources. He explained that evidence from the FAO Policy Optimisation Tool shows that strategically repurposing agrifood budgets can boost agrifood GDP and deliver much more positive outcomes.
In a related contribution, focusing on implementation tools, Cecilia Nardi from FAO emphasised the importance of policy tracking in strengthening foresight and systemic analysis. She noted that FAO’s policy tracking database and Country Policy Profiles help governments translate past policy actions into actionable insights and detect emerging trends. Connecting this to the role of research networks, she opined that ANAPRI is well positioned to strengthen national policy inputs and close data and analysis gaps.
Babafemi Oyewole from the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization (PAFO) noted that farmers’ engagement in agrifood systems is constrained by fragmentation, weak organisation, policy instability, and limited access to finance. He stressed that foresight and analytics can help overcome these challenges by improving risk assessment, guiding adaptive investments, and strengthening data-driven decision making. Likewise, emerging technologies, financial innovations, and regional initiatives such as AfCFTA and PAFO present new opportunities, but real progress will depend on co-creating policies and digital ecosystems with farmers at the centre to build a more inclusive, resilient, and profitable agrifood system.
Following this, Sylvere Sirikare from the Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture highlighted that embedding foresight and policy tools into national planning requires a step-by-step systems approach. In Rwanda, CAADP priorities are fully integrated into the national strategy, with over 400 indicators aligned and stakeholders engaged to ensure coordinated budgeting, implementation, and effective, system-driven action.
Dr. Tinashe Kapuya from ANAPRI emphasised that think tanks bridge foresight and policy reform by grounding analyses in national priorities, localising insights, and maintaining continuous engagement with governments. For impact, ANAPRI requires strong government-owned partnerships, sustained capacity building, and an institutionalised approach that embeds foresight and analytics within both ANAPRI centres and ministries.
Rounding off the discussion with a broader industry perspective, Sibusiso Nhlengethwa from AGRA shared that despite progress in areas like fertiliser use and mechanisation, Africa’s food systems remain fragmented, with weak institutional coordination, uneven investment, and persistent challenges such as malnutrition. Incorporation of digital tools, value addition, and more inclusive participation of women and youth are critical for transformation. To turn foresight insights into real reforms, AGRA’s advisory and convening power must be complemented by ANAPRI’s implementation capability and FAO’s technical tools, enabling a collective, country-driven effort to coordinate policies, strengthen institutions, and drive impactful food system change.
The key takeaway from this session’s discussions was that integrating systems thinking, foresight, and evidence-based tools into policy and planning is essential to building inclusive, resilient, and future-ready food systems across Africa.
Watch the recorded session here.