Supporting transformations to a more sustainable and equitable future: Insights from seeds of change in African food systems

The document analyzes 24 "Seed" initiatives across six African countries to understand how marginal, bottom-up projects can drive systemic transformation in food systems. It finds that while these initiatives effectively improve distributional equity—specifically through increased self-sufficiency for vulnerable groups and economic opportunities—they struggle to achieve procedural and recognitional equity. Major barriers include misaligned funding, poor public infrastructure, and restrictive socio-cultural dynamics. The report recommends that development partners move beyond direct financial aid to amplify networks, facilitate collaborations, and support the legal recognition of land ownership to foster deeper systemic change.

• The project identified 24 Seed initiatives across six African countries, finding that the majority focus on food production and harvesting (20 initiatives), while others address food distribution (4), food waste and loss (4), food consumption (3), ecosystem functioning (2), the institutional environment (1), and food processing (1).
• Seed initiatives primarily impact distributional equity, with 22 of the 24 assessed initiatives contributing to this dimension. In contrast, procedural equity (7 initiatives) and recognitional equity (9 initiatives) were less common, indicating a struggle to achieve holistic equity impacts.
• The most frequent positive outcomes of these initiatives are increased self-sufficiency for vulnerable groups and improved economic competitiveness. Common practical benefits provided include skills development and income security, particularly for women, children, and youth.
• Three primary barriers hinder the impact of Seed initiatives: misaligned funding (affecting 17 initiatives), community dynamics (12 initiatives), and poor or unreliable public infrastructure and services such as water, electricity, and roads (10 initiatives).
• Collaboration is identified as a critical strategy for overcoming barriers and is often the primary driver for the emergence of new Seed initiatives, which frequently form through partnerships between individuals or organizations.
• There is a significant gap in achieving systemic changes such as land ownership and legal recognition, as many Seeds focus on providing easily-generated benefits that have limited potential for deep systemic transformation.

APA

Global Resilience Partnership (2023). Supporting transformations to a more sustainable and equitable future: Insights from seeds of change in African food systems. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/seeds_guidance-note-jan2024-spreads.pdf

Chicago

Global Resilience Partnership. Supporting transformations to a more sustainable and equitable future: Insights from seeds of change in African food systems. 2023. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/seeds_guidance-note-jan2024-spreads.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Resilience Partnership |title=Supporting transformations to a more sustainable and equitable future: Insights from seeds of change in African food systems |date=December 2023 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/seeds_guidance-note-jan2024-spreads.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalresiliencepartnership2023supporting, author = {{Global Resilience Partnership}}, title = {{Supporting transformations to a more sustainable and equitable future: Insights from seeds of change in African food systems}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/seeds_guidance-note-jan2024-spreads.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }