English 
French Chapter 2 – Towards Resilient, Sustainable, Transformed African Food Systems: Conceptual Framework
Key Messages
1
Creating and ensuring sustainability – the capacity to preserve and grow welfare for both current and future generations – is a critical objective of economic development policy. Sustainable agrifood systems are needed to sustainably improve Africans’ welfare. 2
In the two decades since 2000, most African countries have become more resilient enjoying almost 20 years of uninterrupted and sustained economic growth and improvements in material well-being. This progress was interrupted by the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, which highlighted the need for increased resilience in African development strategies. 3
Resilience and stability are needed in all system domains, economic, social, and environmental, to respond to the growing shocks and stressors that African countries are facing. Developing resilience involves ex ante (preventative and mitigation) investments and ex post (coping) programs. 4
State capacity is an important component of developing resilience and sustainability. Weak government effectiveness hinders countries’ capacity to develop resilient and sustainable food systems. Progress toward achieving sustainable and resilient food systems will co- evolve with the development of state capacity.