Safeguarding the seeds of our future
Africa stands at the forefront of global efforts to conserve and harness the diversity of crops essential for food security and climate resilience. As climate change intensifies, the region’s rich plant genetic resources — from traditional farmers’ varieties to wild relatives — are vital for building resilient, productive and sustainable agrifood systems.
The Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, presents a global assessment of progress from 2011 to 2022, drawing on data from 128 countries and 17 regional and international centres.
The Regional Launch of the report for Africa, hosted by FAO in collaboration with the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), will convene policymakers, researchers, and development partners to examine the findings, discuss policy implications, and define priorities for action across the continent.
Why this matters
The report highlights both progress made and persistent gaps in how nations conserve and utilise their plant genetic resources. Its findings serve as an urgent call to action — to strengthen policies, build institutional capacity and harness crop diversity for climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agriculture in Africa.
Objectives
- Present the key findings of the report in Africa and discuss their implications for the continent.
- Facilitate high-level dialogue on regional priorities for policy and strategy development, related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. This will take place during a dedicated high-level segment, engaging senior policymakers and institutional leaders.
- Showcase successful initiatives and lessons learnt from stakeholders working on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture conservation and use across Africa through a technical session that will explore achievements, challenges and perspectives for future action.
- Strengthen regional collaboration and knowledge exchange among stakeholders by bringing together representatives from governments, research institutions and partner organisations.
Array ( [0] => Africa/Nairobi )