FS Net- Africa (Food Systems Research Network for Africa)

The Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa) is a Global Challenges Research Fund project supported through a partnership between UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA).

Through the Horizons Institute’s What Comes After the SDGs? programme, FSNet- Africa research fellows were supported in bringing their research findings to a three-day stakeholder engagement dialogue: “Leave no one behind. Working together to end hunger in Africa”.

This dialogue created an opportunity for regional stakeholders to come together and identify opportunities for collaboration. They also used this as an opportunity to identify obstacles that need to be addressed in order to help create thriving and just African food systems.

The session led by the FSNet Fellows, titled Governing African Food Systems (Leave No-one Behind), focused on stakeholders and used case studies designed to build connections in an African context. 

Elizabeth Mkandawire, Project Co-Lead, said: “The FSNet-Africa project has inspired a new research culture that aims to reshape the way in which scientists work with food systems stakeholders. Our fellows are encouraged to engage with stakeholders throughout the entire research cycle. 

“Researchers collaborated with stakeholders at the inception phase, where stakeholders work with researchers to co-create the research problem. They work together to design and implement the research project and share research findings. In this way, FSNet-Africa hopes to increase the likelihood of the research being taken up into policy and practice.” 

“FSNet-Africa has had capacity building and networking at its heart.”

Claire Quinn, Project Co-Lead, said: “By providing training and leadership skills, creating networks between researchers on the African continent and the University of Leeds, and supporting early career researcher-led interdisciplinary research, I hope that we have positioned our fellows as future leaders in food systems research and that their work will contribute to and develop our thinking on how the African food system can be transformed to be more equitable and sustainable.”

Project Co-Leads

• Dr Elizabeth Mkandawire
• Claire Quinn 
• Frans Swanepoel

Further information about FSNet-Africa

FSNet-Africa is led by the University of Pretoria in partnership with the University of Leeds and the Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN). FSNet-Africa seeks to strengthen food systems research capabilities and translate evidence into implementable policy solutions and practical interventions supporting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for Africa. 

If you want to know more about this project, please email the Horizons Institute at horizons@leeds.ac.uk or visit FSNet-Africa.