PiLAF participated alongside stakeholders from across Africa at the 12th Annual Stakeholders Conference of the Africa Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ANAPRI), held in Kigali, Rwanda, from November 3rd to 6th, 2025. The thematic focus of the conference is “Driving Africa’s Food Systems Transformation: Strategic Investments, Resilient Policies, and Global Partnerships”. This event, hosted by the Economic Policy Research Network (EPRN-Rwanda), brought together policymakers, government officials, researchers, academics, private sector representatives, development partners, donor agencies, youth leaders, and agripreneurs to discuss pathways for evidence-based policy formulation and strategic investments in Africa’s agricultural transformation.
The conference highlighted the continent’s foremost voices in development, engaging in discussions on Africa’s Food Systems Transformation: Strategic Investments, Resilient Policies, and Global Partnerships. As an active member of the ANAPRI network, PiLAF participated fully in this knowledge-sharing forum, represented by Prof. Adegbenga Adekoya, Mr. Iredele Ogunbayo, Dr. Benjamin Oyelami, and Ms. Peace Aburime, who actively contributed to the conference activities.
Pre-conference events on 3rd November included the Africa Agriculture Adaptation Atlas – User Adoption and Testing Project Learning Workshop, where Mr Iredele Ogunbayo and Ms Peace Aburime represented PiLAF. The session brought together the project’s funder, which is the Gates Foundation, the Atlas development team from Alliance Biodiversity & CIAT, project executors, which is the Sustainable Agricultural Foundation – Africa (SAF-A), and implementing organizations across Africa, including RCMRD, AGNES, ANAPRI, and ATI, to discuss experiences, challenges, and opportunities to enhance the Atlas for broader adoption.
The main conference, held from November 4th to 6th, featured high-level panel discussions involving distinguished individuals and influential voices from across Africa. Panelists emphasized the importance of enhancing policy coherence, fostering greater engagement with innovation and climate adaptation strategies, and establishing multistakeholder strategic partnerships as vital components for strengthening Africa’s food security. The conference concluded with a Partnership and Coalition Dialogue on Food Systems Transformation, featuring the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Bank, the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), Sustain Africa, Akademiya 2063, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and the African Fertilizer Industry Development Association (AFIDA). PiLAF’s active involvement underscored its dedication to evidence-based agricultural policy research and regional collaboration.
PiLAF extends its congratulations to the Executive Director of ANAPRI, Dr Anthony Chapoto, the entire ANAPRI board members, and the entire ANAPRI team for their concerted efforts in ensuring the success of the event and providing Africa Voices with a platform for transformative dialogues.