Advocates for sustainable food systems in Africa have launched a program aimed at empowering consumers to demand more appropriate food policies by 2026. The initiative, known as the “Transforming the African Food System to Sustainability (TAFS)” project, focuses on promoting healthy and culturally appropriate food choices, with an emphasis on indigenous food varieties and production techniques.
Led by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), the “My Food is African” project seeks to enhance food sustainability on the continent and safeguard Africa from foreign control of the global food system.
Charles Mulozi Olweny, Advocacy, and Campaigns Coordinator, highlighted that Africa’s reliance on food imports is due to the abandonment of indigenous production practices by populations, coupled with the lack of proactive policies from governments. AFSA General Coordinator, Million Belay, emphasized the inconsistency and conflicts within national food policies across the 27 African countries studied.
Belay welcomed the prioritization of food systems in the upcoming CAADP (2025 Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme), which traditionally focused on value chains and productivity enhancement. CAADP, aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, aims to combat hunger, reduce poverty, and foster economic growth through agriculture-led development.
Over the past three years, AFSA has been working to empower African citizens in shaping a cohesive and purposeful African Food Policy, informed by national policy analyses and dialogues conducted between 2020 and 2022.
Josephine Akia, Country Manager of Pellum Uganda, stressed the importance of promoting indigenous and traditionally prepared foods over processed fast foods, particularly among Ugandans, including elites, urban dwellers, and youth populations. In collaboration with the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), AFSA launched the “Mobilizing for an African Food Policy (MAFP)-My Food is Africa” project in 2022.
Looking ahead, AFSA aims to expand its transformative efforts to additional communities through the financing of another three-year project by SIDA. Titled “Transforming the African Food System to Sustainability (TAFS) – My Food is African,” this initiative will address challenges in the African food system while promoting agroecology, policy advocacy, and stakeholder engagement.
