The First Africa Food Security Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 20-21 August 2013. Convened by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), other UN agencies, governments and other stakeholders, the Conference was basically aimed to explore possible solutions to get Africa out of food insecurity, focusing on ecological based approaches.  

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)has produced a briefing note of the conference which is the main source of this news report. According to the note, over 700 participants from 54 countries attended the conference, including representatives of governments, civil society and intergovernmental organizations.

Severe droughts experienced in the Sahel in 2012 and in the Horn of Africa in 2011, coupled with the increasing trend of the African population (expected to reach about 23% of the global population by 2015) and the ever changing dietary preferences are putting significant strain on climate change and food production. This necessitates the urgent need for new measures and approaches to build food systems resilient to the changing climate.

Ecological - based adaptation (EbA) – is one such approach identified and discussed in the conference. That could help to build efficient food systems and resilient livelihoods, and ultimately achieve global food security in a changing climate. The IISD note described EbA as an approach that provides flexible, cost effective and broadly applicable for building robust food systems on fewer inputs and for reducing the impacts of climate change. Practices such as agro-forestry, buffer strips, on-site water conservation and use of native species have demonstrated that ecological based approaches can provide the right framework for catalysing large scale transformative change.

The main outcome of the conference according the IISD briefing note was a “Conference Declaration on Ecosystem-based Approaches for Food Security and Climate Change Adaptation,” which among other things recognizes ecosystem-based adaptation approaches as the first step towards building resilient food systems and adapting to climate change in Africa. 

This IISD note has clearly summarizes the presentations made and the discussions held during the conference.

According to the note, on Tuesday morning 20 August, in plenary, Richard Munang, Africa Regional Climate Change Coordinator, UNEP Regional Officer for Africa (ROA), welcomed participants to the conference. Munang stressed the relevance of ecosystem – based approaches to bring sustainable solutions to food security while adopting climate change. He noted the Key objectives of the workshop include: to aggregate lessons shared into common solutions for food security and climate change adaptation; to share information on targeted ecological actions that provide opportunities for addressing perennial food insecurity in Sub Saharan Africa; and to identify key challenges hindering the scaling-up of ecosystem based adaptation practices and how these can be overcome.  

In the opening session of the conference other key figures has also delivered their presentations. Mounkaila Goumandakoye, Regional Director, UNEP ROA, emphasized that Africa needs new food production models. 

Modibo Traore, FAO Representative to the African Union and to the UN Economic Commission for Africa, highlighted the interaction between agriculture and climate change and the work of the Committee of World Food Security (CFS) on that issue. 

Tony Simons, Director General, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) give his presentation on food Security and climate change in Africa. Simons in his presentation highlighted, inter alia: the human security aspect of food security; the relationship between land degradation and child mortality; and the need for major investments and innovation to make farming systems more resilient. 

In the opening session,eight case studieshave presented from successful ecosystem-based country projects that had improved food security, climate change adaptation and ecosystem productivity in different ecosystems. 

Maize demonstrations and banana management and vegetable irrigation in Uganda; and a fish and crab farming and mangrove reforestation projects in Mozambique are among the eight cases presented. 

Patrick Muzinduki, Kabarole Research and Resource Centre, presented the case of Uganda. He said climate adaption was about looking at how local farmers could adapt to climatic changes while ensuring food production, and outlined how the projects had improved farmer purchasing power. 

Manuel Menomussanga, Environment Ministry of Mozambique, presented on a fish and crab farming and mangrove reforestation project in Mozambique that he said had introduced a new mindset about climate change adaptation among community members and had the potential to be replicated and up-scaled. 

The following sections summarize the key issues addressed at each discussion session, as presented in plenary, and the plenary discussions that ensued with Sara J. Scherr, President, Eco Agriculture Partners, acting as moderator. 

SESSION 1: UP-SCALING ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACHES FOR FOOD SECURITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

This session was moderated by Alex Awiti, Director, East African Institute of Aga Khan University. According to the briefing note, this session summarizes and had focused on: possible approaches to scaling up ecosystem-based approaches; barriers to scaling up; and mechanisms to unlock those barriers. The moderator highlighted, inter alia, the need to: consider both social and ecological systems to define elements of each that could be brought up to scale; define what scaling up means; create new incentives for ecosystem-based approaches to counter existing incentives for large-scale industrial models; find mechanisms to support a socially-acceptable paradigm shift in food production; and ensure government implementation of climate-smart production policies and markets for sustainable products. 

SESSION 2: MAXIMIZING POLICY FRAMEWORKS TO INTEGRATE ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACHES FOR FOOD SECURITY AND ADAPTATION

The session was moderated by Tewolde Egziabher, Director General, Ethiopia’s Environmental Protection Agency. In plenary, session rapporteur Ake Mamo, Ethiopia private sector, said the session’s discussion had focused on: how to integrate EbA approaches into existing national and regional food security policy frameworks; and shortcomings of current food security policies and frameworks. She said issues addressed included the need to ensure that food security policies are cross-sectoral and to monitor and evaluate policy measures and procure sufficient resources to implement them. 

SESSION 3: FUNDING MECHANISMS FOR ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACHES FOR FOOD SECURITY AND ADAPTATION

Session moderator Emmanuel Dlamini, Chair, Africa Group of Negotiators summarized the discussions held by the group. He highlighted among the topics addressed, inter alia: the issue of new and additional resources to support ecosystem-based approaches; the need to mobilize private and development bank funding, which involved consideration of rates, profit, timelines and marketable products; and the need for public funds to support adaptation through national budgets and to look at agriculture as a business to ensure that farmers generate income that enables them to meet their basic needs. He outlined key challenges discussed, and the discussion has emphasized the central role of farmers in transforming the prevailing agricultural model among others. 

SESSION 4: THE SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE ON ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACHES USED ACROSS AFRICA

Munang moderated the session. In plenary, session rapporteur Fred Kizito, International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), outlined key topics discussed during the session, including the need to: link local and farmer knowledge to science, saying that farmers could be considered scientists; address ecosystem services at the watershed level; produce ecosystem-based models adapted to local conditions; share country successes and failures and communicate them as accessible scientific outputs; consider policy and social issues in addition to bio-physical aspects; train young people and make agriculture a viable business; conduct further research on the use of GM organisms in food production; and mainstream ecosystem-based approaches into education curriculum. 

PRESENTATION FROM DISCUSSION SESSIONS 

On Wednesday morning, 21 August, Munang highlighted key messages from Tuesday’s discussion, including the need to: involve communities in EbA project design; adopt a regional approach to coordinate EbA efforts; financially support grassroots farmers’ organizations; and ensure the EbA projects go beyond their lifespan. 

Right after that, according to the IISD, there was in plenary, Sandra Freitas, Climate Analytics, presented key findings of the World Bank’s 2013 “Turn Down the Heat” report, which she said examined the likely impact of global warming scenarios of 2 degree Celsius and 4 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels in Africa and other regions.

Towards the end of the conference on Wednesday 21 August afternoon The ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES was convened in plenary to discuss in harnessing EbA, with Tom James, Programme Editor, African High-Growth Markets, The Economist, acting as moderator. 

Finally on Wednesday afternoon the conference come to an end with PRESENTATION OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REACHED AND ADOPTION OF CONFERENCE DECLARATION. 

The full copy of the briefing note published by IISD (25th August, 2013) can be downloaded here