Nutrition, Health and Urban Food Systems
This sub-theme expands the discussion from agricultural production to food systems outcomes, focusing on how African agrifood systems can foster healthier diets, safer foods, and more sustainable food environments for the rapidly growing rural and urban populations. It welcomes contributions on food and nutrition security, food safety, dietary diversity, post-harvest management, food processing, school feeding, biofortification, food loss and waste, urban and peri-urban agriculture, cold chains, food distribution, informal food markets, consumer behaviour, and the connections between agriculture, nutrition, public health, and social protection.
The sub-theme highlights a growing recognition across continental frameworks that Africa’s food challenge is not only to produce more but also to ensure that food systems support better nutrition, health, affordability, and resilience. For FARA, this opens an important space to link agricultural research and innovation with tangible societal outcomes, including child nutrition, access to healthy food, employment in food enterprises, and stronger local food economies. It also fosters deeper collaboration among actors who do not always engage in the same policy and technical areas, such as agriculture, health, urban governance, education, and private food-sector players.
This sub-theme is especially relevant to nutrition experts, public health actors, food processors, urban planners, local authorities, researchers, market actors, civil society organisations, youth enterprises, and development partners. It aligns with CAADP’s food and nutrition priorities, supports Agenda 2063’s goal of healthy and productive populations, and advances SDGs related to hunger, health, sustainable cities, and responsible consumption. It provides a robust platform for side events that connect production, processing, distribution, regulation, and consumption in a rapidly urbanising Africa.
