English 
French Chapter 7 – Knowledge and Capacity Development for Resilient Agri-Food Systems in Africa
Key Messages
1
With few exceptions, knowledge and institutional capacity development investments in Africa since the 1980s have focused on short-term programmatic objectives, designed and driven by external funders and spread thinly across multiple organizations in multiple countries. For the most part, the levels of investment barely go beyond meeting the immediate organizational or programmatic needs of the supported African institutions and the associated development partners. 2
Food systems function according to the capacities of the individuals, organizations, and institutions engaging in them. Resilience is not just about setting up systems to anticipate shocks – it requires sufficient capacity in government ministries and agencies to respond effectively to shocks and stressors, which in turn depends on policies in place to improve nations’ education systems and the capacities of their institutions. 3
African countries should team together and lobby to ensure that Africa’s interests are represented in global food system governance and decision-making, importantly through expansion of the G20 to G21 with Africa as the 21st member. 4
International development partners are encouraged to integrate inclusive, demand-driven, and adaptive agricultural research prioritization and technology development in their programs.