Leaders gather in Kigali for the African Food Systems Forum

AI-summarized · Neutrality-checked

Government, business, and civil society leaders convened in Kigali, Rwanda, for the African Food Systems Forum to address the resilience of food systems amid rising geopolitical instability and climate-related weather extremes. Co-authored by representatives from Sierra Leone and Norway, the forum emphasized a 'whole of government' approach to overcome food insecurity caused by high prices for food, fuel, and fertilizers. Sierra Leone highlighted its 'Feed Salone' program, which increased the national agriculture budget from 2% to 8% and raised rice self-sufficiency from 68% in 2023 to 73% in 2025. The discussions focused on creating bankable investments and bridging the financing gap for small and mid-sized enterprises, which currently receive less than one percent of bank lending in Sierra Leone.

Consequences

The focus on converting partner commitments into financed programs and developing risk-mitigation tools like Weather Index Insurance and grain reserves is intended to attract private capital to agriculture. By standardizing these systemic resilience measures, the forum aims to reduce the impact of uncontrollable climate shocks on smallholder livelihoods.

Sources

Know where. Know why.