The Africa Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ANAPRI) is working to transform the African continent’s agriculture sector through capacity building, research development, and the fostering of collaboration.
ANAPRI “was born out of the need to share knowledge, share data, and also to be able to learn lessons from the different institutions that are involved in policy research in Africa,” Antony Chapoto, ANAPRI’s Executive Director, tells Food Tank.
The organization unites 16 agricultural policy research institutions in 15 countries, with the aim of producing high-quality evidence that can guide and inform policy decisions in support of long-term food security, environmental sustainability, and economic growth.
Chapoto says that it’s common for advice and guidance shaping Africa’s agriculture sector to come from other regions. But, he says, “it doesn’t mean we don’t have good evidence coming from Africa.” That’s why ANAPRI is prioritizing localization. “We need our countries to embrace local institutions, help them build capacity, help them build sustainability.”
“It’s common knowledge that climate change is real, and we have been witnessing it in Africa,” Chapoto says. He points to the increasing frequency of droughts, floods, and dramatic temperature fluctuations, which affect farmers and their agricultural yields.
Chapoto policymakers understand the need for change, but he says it is important to identify practices that work for farmers for their implementation to be effective. “We have to be much more innovative because the solutions that work in other developed nations won’t work in most parts of Africa because of the nature of the farming systems,” he argues.
Building resilience for the future also requires ANAPRI and their member institutes to plan strategically for future generations. Africa’s youth population, already the largest in the world, is expected to double to 1.56 billion by 2050, the World Economic Forum reports. And Chapoto wants to make sure that young people see exciting opportunities in food and agriculture systems.
“Often when we say ‘agriculture sector,’ people tend to look at primary production, but the agriculture sector is a chain,” Chapoto tells Food Tank. “We need to see exactly where the opportunities lie for these youth.
Retaining local talent requires incentives that encourage young people to stay within Africa instead of leaving to pursue careers abroad, Chapoto says. This not only includes well-paying jobs, but also the integration of tools and technologies that improve existing systems. “We are still trying to find the right mix of policies that will encourage our youth to stay in the continent.”
Listen to the full conversation with Antony Chapoto on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about the challenges that farmers are facing as a result of soil degradation, policies and programs that can promote diversified farming systems, and the high price of staple crops despite their abundance.
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Photo courtesy of Ali Mkumbwa, Unsplash
