The 2022 Global Food Policy Report, IFPRI’s flagship report, highlights the urgency of accelerating innovation, reforming policies, resetting market incentives, and increasing financing for sustainable food systems transformation. It sets forth a broad range of policy options for accelerated action by policymakers as well as international forums for policy and investment decision-making.

Eleven thematic chapters look at how policies can support the development and adoption of “disruptive” technologies by creating an enabling environment for climate change–related financing, innovation uptake, and integrated governance of natural resources. The chapters also examine the impacts of climate change and related policies on the most vulnerable, considering how to promote healthy, sustainable diets and increase benefits for all from food systems.  Six regional chapters discuss the diverse impacts of climate change in different parts of the world and identify potential responses that can be taken up in the short and medium term in national and regional food systems.

In the Malawi launch event we will welcome Rui Benfica, one of the report’s co-authors, who will start by giving an overview of the main findings and recommendations of the global report. He will then focus on two chapters that are particularly relevant to the Malawi context. Chapter 2 of the report notes that agricultural support policies transfer around US$620 billion per year to the farm sector worldwide and discusses how this massive public support could be repurposed to create more resilient and sustainable food systems. Chapter 4 discusses how increased investments in agricultural research and development can help transform agri-food systems towards achieving social, economic, nutritional, and environmental goals. These global perspectives will provide the background to initiate a discussion on how these issues play out in Malawi.

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Welcome Remarks

• Joachim De Weerdt, Senior Research Fellow, Malawi Country Program Leader, IFPRI

Presentation of IFPRI’s 2022 Global Food Policy Report

• Johan Swinnen, Global Director, CGIAR Systems Transformation Science Group & Director General, IFPRI
• Rui Benfica, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Panel Discussion on policy implications for Malawi

• William Chadza, Executive Director, MwAPATA institute
• Grace Kumchulesi, Director of Development Planning, National Planning Commission (NPC)
• Wilkson Makumba, Director Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS), Ministry of Agriculture
• Samson Katengeza, Director of Research and Outreach, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)’s Africa Regional Office is organizing the Africa discussion of its flagship report, the 2022 Global Food Policy Report (2022 GFPR) on Climate Change & Food Systems, which will be held on June 1^st at 12:30-2.00 PM GMT.

Join us at the virtual Africa discussion that will feature a high-level panel to discuss the report's key findings and implications for Africa and its regions. Speakers will speak to the key climate change related challenges facing food systems on the Continent and examine policy options and investments which can be adopted now to address these challenges. The event will provide a comprehensive understanding of how climate change is likely to affect the availability, access, and utilization of food in different regions across the world. The findings will also help find ways to mitigate these effects through adaptation policies and investments.

On the report:

IFPRI’s 2022 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) highlights the urgency of accelerating innovation, reforming policies, resetting market incentives, and increasing financing for sustainable food systems transformation. It sets forth a broad range of policy options for accelerated action by policymakers as well as international forums for policy and investment decision-making.

Eleven thematic chapters look at how policies can support the development and adoption of “disruptive” technologies by creating an enabling environment for climate change–related financing, innovation uptake, and integrated governance of natural resources. The chapters also examine the impacts of climate change and related policies on the most vulnerable, considering how to promote healthy, sustainable diets and increase benefits for all from food systems. Six regional chapters discuss the diverse impacts of climate change in different parts of the world and identify potential responses that can be taken up in the short and medium term in national and regional food systems.

Find the agenda here.

Irrigation has contributed to increased food production, lower food prices, higher rural employment, and overall agricultural and economic growth. It has been a key component of agricultural intensification and transformation in Asia and has the potential to take on the same role in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, despite some evidence that large scale irrigation schemes are less inclusive, sustainable, profitable, and environmentally friendly, investment in large-scale irrigation has increased following the 2007/09 Food Price Crisis and is expected to further grow as climate change impacts make rainfed agriculture less and less viable and food self-sufficiency strategies grow in importance. Similarly, despite criticism that small-scale irrigation is not scaling nor climate resilient without subsidies and the lack of an enabling environment, such as improved market access, there are ongoing projects.

Regardless of size, the future of irrigation cannot repeat the past: Climate change, rapidly growing non-irrigation demands on water resources, the Ukraine crisis, and the need for much-improved environmental sustainability demand that the environmental footprint of irrigation is reduced. At the same time, irrigated areas and development will need to grow—to allow farmers to navigate highly uncertain climate realities and ensure food production growth, including of costlier, nutrient-dense crops. The irrigation of the future will also need to be more knowledge intensive and should provide better incentive structures that support the world’s key water stewards—farmers. Mutual accountability, inclusivity (such as by ensuring that women farmers benefit equally through proactive policies), and transparency related to irrigation policy are also critical themes that may influence the success of irrigation schemes.

Given the recent confluence of several crises—Climate extreme events, Covid-19, and Conflicts and wars—a policy seminar co-organized by USAID and the International Food Policy Research Institute will discuss the role of policy and size of irrigation in supporting the poorest food producers and consumers in these challenging times. Specific areas of focus, in line with the US Government’s Global Food Security Strategy and Global Water Strategy, include the sector’s role in: 1) promoting inclusive, sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, 2) building resilience among vulnerable populations and households; 3) strengthening food security and nutrition; 4) protecting freshwater resources; and 5) developing supporting institutions.

This seminar is part of AGRILINKS mechanization and irrigation month.

Irrigation’s role in promoting inclusive, sustainable agriculture-led economic growth

• H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, President, Arab Water Council
• Claudia Ringler, Deputy Director of Environment and Production Technology Division, IFPRI

Policy Panel

• Robert Bertram, Chief Scientist, Bureau for Resilience and Food Security (RFS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), invited
• Keith Fuglie, Economist, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-ERS
• Ashwin Pandya, Secretary General, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)
• Kristin Penn, MCC Niger Resident Country Director, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), invited

Irrigation’s contribution to climate resilience, improved nutrition, and conflict mitigation

• Elizabeth Bryan, Senior Scientist, IFPRI
• Nicole Lefore, Director, Irrigation Innovation Laboratory for Small-Scale Irrigation, University of Texas A&M
• Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, Senior Researcher, Agricultural Water Management, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
• Peter McCornick, Executive Director, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, University of Nebraska

Policy Panel

• H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, President, Arab Water Council
• Barry Boubacar, Chair, Global Water Partnership West Africa (Senegal), invited
• Biniam Iyob, Senior Policy Advisor, Bureau for Resilience and Food Security (RFS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Wais Kabir, Former Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)

Moderator

• Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Strategic and communications leader in food policy and agriculture development

On Tuesday, May 17^th, 2022, on the ILRI Campus in Nairobi, Kenya, the National Policies and Strategies for Food, Land and Water Systems Transformation (NPS) Initiative will hold its launch event. NPS is a new One CGIAR initiative that has been co-created with national and international partners with the main objectives of building policy coherence, responding to crises, and integrating policy tools at national and subnational levels in six countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The initiative is expected to make substantial, research-based contributions to improve food and water security, nutrition and livelihoods; reduce poverty and support job creation, gender equality and social inclusion; and find solutions for climate change adaptation.

The inception event will introduce the NPS initiative and bring together key partners and stakeholders from Kenya and other One CGIAR initiatives to:

• Deepen partnerships at national and subnational levels, including with public sector, non-government, international organizations, and think tanks;
• Kick-off a new coherence-building mechanism across policy-focused One CGIAR initiatives working in Kenya;
• Advance planning for the development of rapid crisis response tools and the generation of demand-driven evidence;
• Start building a Community of Policy Practice (CoPP) in partnership with other initiatives, experts, and external policy partners; and
• Deepen the integration and user-friendliness of policy support tools that strengthen country-level policy analysis.

Agenda available here.

The African Natural Resources Centre, in collaboration with the Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department, will host a webinar on 10 May 2022 to present the findings of a study on "The Future of Marine Fisheries in the African Blue Economy: Challenges and Opportunities".

The concept of the blue economy has developed in recent years for the comprehensive and sustainable management of marine and coastal areas and their natural resources. One of its fundamental principles is a holistic approach to all sectors of activity, preserving the quality of ecosystem goods and services in the long term. Marine fisheries are a crucial sector in this blue economy, both in terms of employment and contribution to national economies and food security.

The study carried out by the African Natural Resources Centre analyses the challenges that this sector will have to face by 2050 in meeting the demand of a growing population while facing the impacts of climate change. It identifies ways to ensure the sustainability of marine fisheries within the framework of a blue economy that emphasizes the services provided by healthy ecosystems.

The webinar will bring together policymakers, regional management authorities, representatives of regional economic communities, the private sector and development partners active in fisheries management and the blue economy.

Key speakers:

Prof. Pierre Failler is the Director of the Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth, UK. He holds the UNESCO Chair in Ocean Governance. He has coordinated complex research projects with multidisciplinary teams for more than 25 years in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Pacific coastal countries, in collaboration with national research institutions and universities and policy bodies. He recently coordinated the Blue Economy Strategy for the African Union, the Regional Action Plan for the Blue Economy of the Indian Ocean Commission, the Blue Economy Strategy of the Intergovernmental Authority for development (IGAD) and the Blue Economy Strategy for Seychelles, Guinea and Madagascar. He has authored and co-authored about 150 journal articles, book chapters and research reports. He is also a scientific evaluator for several research councils in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia.

Dr Hashali Hamukuaya holds a PhD degree in marine fisheries from University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa (2000). He holds a MSc degree in Marine Environmental Sciences from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, State University of New York(link is external), Stony Brook. Recently, Dr Hamukuaya has led or been involved in several high-level consultancies on ocean governance and aquatic environmental management on behalf of regional and international entities, including the Benguela Current Convention, AU-IBAR, African Development Bank, European Union and the UNDP. From 2008 to 2018, Dr Hamukuaya served as the Executive Secretary of the Benguela Current Convention(link is external) and between 2005 and 2008 held a similar position at South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation(link is external) (SEAFO). For over a decade, he served in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Namibia. Dr Hamukuaya has authored and edited a wide range of scholarly articles.

Professor Rashid Sumaila is a University Killam Professor and Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Ocean and Fisheries Economics at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia. Dr. Sumaila holds a Ph.D. (Economics; University of Bergen) and a B.Sc. (Ahmadu Bello University). Sumaila has won several prestigious awards, including the 2021 SSHRC Impact Award. He was inducted into the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada in 2019. He is an International Scientific Advisory Board Member, Stockholm Resilience Centre and Chair of the International Scientific Advisory Board of the World Bank Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience. He serves on several journal editorial boards, including those of Science Advances, Environmental & Resource Economics, and Marine Policy. Sumaila has spoken publicly at the UN Rio+20, the WTO, the White House, the Canadian Parliament, the African Union, St James Palace, and the British House of Lords.

Dr Ndiaga Gueye is currently Senior Fisheries and Aquaculture Officer at the FAO Regional Office for Africa in Accra, a position he has held for the past 6 years. In this capacity, he is the Secretary of the Committee on Fisheries for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) and the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture for Africa (CIFAA). He started his professional career in 1984 in Senegal, which he left at the end of 2004, when he was National Director of Fisheries, to join the Fisheries Department at FAO headquarters. He held the position of Secretary of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) until June 2009 when he was appointed to the DRC as FAO Representative. He began his current position at the end of 2015.

Dr. Mohamed Seisay has a PhD in Fisheries Science from the University of Wales (UK). Dr. Seisay has over three decades of experience in fisheries management in Africa and specializes in fisheries resources evaluation, forecasting methodology, Policy and Governance. He worked at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources in Sierra Leone and has extensive field experience in Africa. He is currently Fisheries Management Expert at the African Union InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources, where he provides technical support and coordinates implementation of the policy framework and reform strategy for fisheries and aquaculture in Africa. He also facilitates implementation of the Africa Blue Economy Strategy.

Mr. Seraphin Dedi is the Executive Secretary of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC). A natural resource management engineer, Mr. Dedi has 25 years of experience in fisheries management, participatory governance and negotiation of fisheries agreements. He is a key regional coordinator, supporting member states to engage with international processes, including the Global Record of fishing vessels, the Cape Town Agreement, and the Port State Measures Agreement. He has led in the preparation of policy documents in fisheries, such as the 10 years FCWC Strategic Action Plans and contributed to the World Bank 2019 report on Climate Change and Marine Fisheries in Africa. Mr. Dedi initiated and is facilitating the West Africa Task Force as a dedicated mechanism to combat IUU fishing and protect biodiversity in fisheries in West Africa.

Dr Eshete Dejen is a Program Manager for Sustainable Environment and Coordinator of Blue Economy, Agriculture and Environment Division of IGAD, Djibouti. He holds a PhD from Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands. He published more than 50 scientific papers and book chapters. He received several awards for his contribution to the sustainable management of Lake Tana. From March 2009 to February 2014 he served as fisheries technical officer at FAO Subregional office for East Africa and provided technical backstopping for East African countries. He also contributed to the IGAD regional fisheries and aquaculture strategy (2016-2020) and Regional Blue Economy strategy (2021-2025).

Le Programme d'accélération de l'adaptation en Afrique organise un webinaire intitulé : « Technologies numériques intelligentes face au climat pour l'agriculture et la sécurité alimentaire (CSDAT) : Nouvelles frontières pour le système alimentaire » le mardi 12 avril 2022, de 9h à 10h30 (GMT).

Le Programme d'accélération de l'adaptation en Afrique vise à mobiliser 25 milliards de dollars pour stimuler l'adaptation sur le continent africain afin de renforcer la sécurité alimentaire d'au moins 10 millions de personnes, soutenir un million de jeunes à renforcer leurs compétences entrepreneuriales et de création d'emplois, et intégrer la résilience climatique dans environ 7 milliards de dollars d'infrastructures.

Le webinaire offrira au personnel de la Banque l'occasion d'en savoir plus sur les efforts déployés dans le cadre du pilier « Technologies numériques intelligentes face au climat pour l'agriculture et la sécurité alimentaire » du Programme d'accélération de l'adaptation en Afrique qui vise à élargir l'accès aux solutions d'adaptation intelligentes face au climat grâce aux technologies numériques, aux services agricoles et financiers associés basés sur les données pour au moins 30 millions d'agriculteurs en Afrique. Il vise également à soutenir l'agriculture et assurer la sécurité alimentaire dans 26 pays.

La session permettra également de :

• Discuter des opportunités et des voies du potentiel de transformation de l'agriculture numérique pour nourrir le monde et permettre aux populations de se maintenir en meilleure santé, aux économies de mieux se porter et de mieux protéger la planète.
• Rassembler des exemples et l'application actuelle des TIC, des solutions et technologies d'adaptation numérique intelligente sur le climat traitant de l'adaptation à des systèmes plus larges et à des échelles régionales.
• Mettre en évidence les projets et études en Afrique sur la faisabilité et l'efficacité de l'évaluation des options d'adaptation multisectorielles pour la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition dans le cadre du Programme d'accélération de l'adaptation en Afrique.
• Présenter la « Mission 1 pour 200 » - une facilité de financement pour l'alimentation et la nutrition en Afrique, visant à aider les agriculteurs africains à s'adapter au changement climatique.

Parmi les conférenciers figurent :

• Dr Kevin Kariuki, vice-président chargé de l’Électricité, de l’Énergie, du Climat et de la Croissance verte, Banque africaine de développement : Remarques introductives
• Dr Beth Dunford, vice-présidente chargée de l’Agriculture, du Développement humain et social : Remarques d'ouverture

Aperçu, contexte et justification du Programme d'accélération de l'adaptation en Afrique :

• Prof. Anthony Nyong, directeur régional pour l'Afrique du Centre mondial sur l'adaptation.

Intervenants :

• Laouali Garba, responsable, Recherche, Production et Durabilité agricoles, Banque africaine de développement.
• James Kinyangi, coordonnateur, Fonds spécial ClimDev, Banque africaine de développement.
• Olukemi Dolly Afun-ogidan, responsable principal de l'agro-industrie, Banque africaine de développement.
• Oluyede Ajayi, responsable du Programme Afrique, sécurité alimentaire et bien-être rural, Centre mondial sur l'adaptation.

• Fleur Wouterse, chercheuse principale, économie du changement climatique, Centre mondial sur l'adaptation.
• Claude Migisha, chargé de Programme alimentation et agriculture numériques, Centre mondiale sur l’adaptation.

Nous vous encourageons à soumettre vos questions sur cette session d'ici au lundi 11 avril 2022, via Sli.do ici.

Des services d'interprétation seront disponibles en anglais et en français.

This policy seminar will explore what we know—and do not know—about how high global agricultural commodity prices and country-specific factors affect retail prices at the national level. Special attention will be given to countries suffering from acute food insecurity and those with a high dependence on imports.

As the second event in IFPRI’s seminar series on high food and fertilizer prices, this seminar will examine how global commodity prices are transmitted at the national level and what other country-specific aspects influence retail prices. Program speakers will address key considerations for highly food-insecure and import-dependent countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Short presentations will focus on Yemen, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Guatemala.

Opening Remarks

• Johan Swinnen, Global Director, CGIAR Systems Transformation Science Group & Director General, IFPRI

How increasing food prices impact Middle East and North Africa countries

• Aly Abousabaa, Regional Director, Central and West Asia and North Africa, CGIAR, Director General, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

How global agricultural commodity prices impact national food retail prices

• Rob Vos, Division Director, Markets, Trade and Institutions, IFPRI

A Special Look at Rwanda

• Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze, Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal resources, Republic of Rwanda

Ethiopia

• Zerihun Getachew Kelbore, Economist, Macroeconomics Trade and Investment Global Practice, World Bank

Egypt

• Sikandra Kurdi, Research Fellow, IFPRI

Moderator

• Charlotte Hebebrand, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI

Presenter: Dr. Samuel Benin, Deputy Division Director, IFPRI AFR

Abstract
This paper assesses the nature of agricultural transformation taking place in different parts of Africa and analyzes policy drivers of the transformation using data from the CAADP Biennial Review (BR) on 46 indicators from 2014 to 2018. First, a typology of agriculture transformation in different groups of countries is developed by analyzing the initial values and trends in three indicators—share of agriculture in total employment, share of agriculture in gross domestic product, and agriculture labor productivity. The typology, in addition to a conceptual framework that is developed for measuring the relative effect of a policy on an outcome, provides the basis for analyzing the policy drivers of agriculture transformation. The 46 BR indicators are classified into policies (13 indicators), intermediate results (23 indicators), and outcomes (10 indicators), and then econometric methods are used to measure the association between the policy indicators and the intermediate results and outcomes, which include agriculture intensification (e.g., access to finance and extension, fertilizer use, and irrigation development), agriculture growth, agriculture trade, food security, nutrition, and poverty. Different fixed-effects regression methods and model specifications of the explanatory variables are used to assess sensitivity of the results to different assumptions of the data and the relationship between the policies and intermediate and outcome indicators. The trends in the indicators are different. For example, access to finance and extension have risen over time; fertilizer use, irrigation development, agriculture growth, and adult undernourishment have fallen over time; and child nutrition and poverty have remained stagnant over time. Different policy indicators are significantly associated with different indicators of agriculture intensification, agriculture growth, and outcomes. Also, there are differences in the results across the agriculture transformation groups. Major policy drivers of agriculture transformation in the different groups are identified. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Bio
Dr. Samuel Benin: Sam is a graduate of University of Ghana, Legon (BS, 1988), University of Massachusetts, Amherst (MS, 1993) and University of California, Davis (PhD, 1998), with specialty in econometrics, natural resource economics and development economics. Sam's research interests focus on policy, institutional and technology strategies for agricultural and rural development.

The conference will present the importance and the main achievements of 10 years of collaboration between FAO and the European Union in supporting countries in the production of actionable, timely and reliable food security and nutrition data to guide policies and interventions.

After more than a decade of decline, the number of people in the world affected by hunger began to rise slowly in 2014 and took a sharper upturn in 2020 under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is clear that the world is not on track to reach the global targets for food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture set up by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda has also brought to the world attention the fact that food insecurity is a problem encompassing more than hunger. While it is evident that in this area policy makers need better information, the data gap is still substantial in many countries, particularly in low-income countries. Data on food security are sparse and sporadic, and often generated with tools that – before the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) – always preferred practical feasibility to reliability.

The conference will address the crucial role of actionable, timely and disaggregated reliable data in guiding policies and interventions aimed at promoting food security. The presenters will describe the main achievements of the FAO-EU partnership in improving food security measurement methods and empowering countries in data collection, analysis and use. The conference will stress the main challenges in the production of good quality food security indicators and the issues still to be addressed to improve food security monitoring at country, regional and global level.

Speakers

Willem Oltholf

Deputy Head of Unit, INTPA F3-Sustainable Agri-Food systems and Fisheries

Maximo Torero Cullen

FAO Chief Economist

José Rosero Moncayo

FAO Director Statistics Division

Carlo Cafiero

FAO Food Security and Nutrition Statistics team leader

The ARFSD is an annual multi-stakeholder platform organized jointly by the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) and the Host Government in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and other entities of the United Nations System. It brings together Ministers, senior officials, experts and practitioners from UN member States, private sector, civil society, academia and UN organisations. Accordingly, the 2022 Forum will be organized jointly by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Government of the Republic of Rwanda in collaboration with partners outlined above.

The ARFSD like all the other regional forums on sustainable development is mandated by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The regional forum is one of the three mechanisms mandated to follow-up, review and catalyse actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by UN member States in September 2015.

The other mechanisms are the Voluntary National Reviews and the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) at the global level. 

Unique to Africa, the ARFSD undertakes integrated follow-up and review of the SDGs and goals of the African Union Agenda 2063. This is because for Africa, the two Agenda provide a synergistic framework for achieving inclusive and people-centred sustainable development in the region.

The ARFSD also provides a platform for peer learning including on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and Voluntary Local Review (VLRs) by subnational entities.

The Forum adopts two main outcomes:

• Summary and key messages: This is Africa’s collective input to the HLPF on all the deliberations of the Forum. This outcome document consists of Africa’s priorities and policy recommendation to accelerate implementation of the two Agendas.
• Declaration of the Forum: This takes the name of the host city and presents an African collective position on specific issues of importance for the Bureau and the Chair of the Bureau, following the deliberations of the participants of the ARFSD.

A concise synthesis of these outcomes is presented to HLPF by the Chair of the Bureau of the ARFSD. In this case Rwanda will present Africa’s position at the high-level segment of the 2022 HLPF to be held in New York, from Tuesday, 5 July, to Thursday, 7 July and Monday, 11 July to Friday, 15 July, and Monday, 18 July 2022.

Seven sessions of the Regional Forum have been held to date. Currently, the Republic of Congo is the chair of the 5-member Bureau  of the of the seventh session of the Regional Forum, held in Brazzaville, Congo in in March 2021.

The Eighth Session of Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-8) to be held in 2022.

Notwithstanding the progress in the implementation of the two agendas, available assessments show that countries are off track to achieve the SDGs and goals of Agenda 2063 within the set time frame. COVID-19 has further undermined progress to achieve the SDGs and goals of Agenda 2063.The decade 2021 to 2030 (dubbed the Decade of Action and Delivery on Sustainable Development) presents an opportunity and a window of hope to dramatically speed up the pace and expand the scale of implementation to deliver the regional and global goals alongside recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Previous session of the Regional Forum and meeting of HLPF and SDGs Summit helped to spotlight several areas in which ambitious and transformative actions taken will drive up progress across multiple goals. 

ARFSD-7 (2021) adopted key recommendations in the form of key messages and the Brazzaville Declaration with the view to accelerating implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 .  These outcomes were presented to the 2021 meeting of the HLPF held in New York, in July 2021. The HLPF undertakes global level review and follow-up on the implementation of the 2030 agenda and adopts a ministerial declaration to inform actions to accelerate implementation across the globe.

PROVISIONAL AGENDA EN