Agroecological Territories and Integrated Landscape Approaches to Advancing Food Systems Transitions in Africa

This briefing by the African Food Systems Transformation Collective explores the use of 'agroecological territories' and integrated landscape approaches to transition African food systems toward sustainability. It argues for a holistic framework that connects agricultural practices, biodiversity conservation, and embedded food systems to address systemic environmental degradation and food insecurity.

• The briefing defines 'agroecological territories' as specific locations where transitions toward sustainable food systems occur, structured around three domains: adapting agricultural practices (moving from conventional to sustainable methods), conserving biodiversity and natural resources (governing on-farm and off-farm biodiversity), and developing embedded food systems (integrating farm and non-farm activities to support local economies).
• Conventional agricultural methods in Africa, characterized by synthetic fertilizers, toxic pesticides, and land-use changes, are primary drivers of soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change. These are compounded by extractivist economic activities and poor natural resource management beyond the farm level.
• Integrated approaches—including agroecology, agroforestry, integrated landscape management (ILA), and territorial markets—have demonstrated positive impacts on food security, yield, climate resilience, soil health, and social cohesion. Specifically, Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGSs) for organic certification have expanded to 22 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Significant hurdles impede the transition to agroecological systems, including a lack of financial resources for smallholders, the loss of indigenous knowledge due to agricultural modernization, and policy frameworks that prioritize export-oriented conventional agriculture over local food systems.
• The document recommends that philanthropic and donor funding shift from isolated poverty-reduction projects to catalytic, territorial-scale initiatives. Priority areas include supporting territorial markets (such as municipal and farmer-led fresh produce markets), investing in low-technology storage and transport, and funding participatory action-oriented research.
• Effective food system transition requires the 'domestication' of international and continental agreements into domestic policies, alongside the devolution of agroecological principles to the landscape level through the support of local and national governments.

APA

Greenberg, S., Sardeshpande, M., Elujulo, O., Drimie, S., Adeyemi, O., & Mabhaudhi, T. (2025). Agroecological Territories and Integrated Landscape Approaches to Advancing Food Systems Transitions in Africa. African Climate Foundation. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/801023_G-Ecosystems-and-territorial-approaches-WEB-2.pdf

Chicago

Greenberg, Stephen, Mallika Sardeshpande, Opeyemi Elujulo, Scott Drimie, Opeyemi Adeyemi, and Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi. Agroecological Territories and Integrated Landscape Approaches to Advancing Food Systems Transitions in Africa. African Climate Foundation, 2025. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/801023_G-Ecosystems-and-territorial-approaches-WEB-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{greenberg2025agroecological, author = {Greenberg, Stephen and Sardeshpande, Mallika and Elujulo, Opeyemi and Drimie, Scott and Adeyemi, Opeyemi and Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwa}, title = {{Agroecological Territories and Integrated Landscape Approaches to Advancing Food Systems Transitions in Africa}}, institution = {African Climate Foundation}, year = {2025}, url = {https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/801023_G-Ecosystems-and-territorial-approaches-WEB-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }