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By Jackson Okata
Nairobi, Kenya– Africa’s response to climate shocks must go beyond protecting agricultural production and strengthen every link that connects food from farms to people.
This is according to experts who spoke at a high-level side event convened by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT during the 17th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) in Nairobi.
The session, “Beyond the Farm: Drought, Heat and Food Supply Chain Disruption – Building Resilient Agrifood Systems for Nutrition Security in Africa,” brought together policymakers, researchers, development partners, funders, private-sector actors and representatives of producers and traders.
The discussion examined how drought, extreme heat, and water shortages can disrupt not only production but also storage, transport, processing, food safety, markets, and diets.
When climate shocks move through the food system
Participants highlighted that a shock beginning on a farm can quickly become a wider food-security challenge. Water shortages can constrain processing and markets, extreme temperatures can accelerate food losses and safety risks, and disruptions in transport and storage can push pressure through to food availability, affordability and nutritional quality.
The discussion also placed people at the centre of resilience. Women, informal traders and lower-income households can be particularly exposed when food systems are disrupted. Yet, they are also essential sources of knowledge about how markets function, where vulnerabilities emerge and which responses are practical.
Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Managing Director for Africa at the Alliance, said that resilience cannot end at the farm gate.
“If food cannot be safely stored, moved, sold and accessed when climate shocks hit, then production gains alone will not protect families. Africa’s strength lies in connecting science, policy, local experience and investment so that food systems continue to work for people, especially those most exposed.”
During the meeting, experts identified four key priorities for building more resilient food supply chains, including strengthening early warning systems, anticipatory action, and preparedness to address climate- and water-related risks before they disrupt storage, transport, processing, and markets.
They also called for resilience measures that actively involve women, informal traders, producer organisations, and local communities as key actors in finding solutions, and for increased investment and partnerships to scale up proven and promising resilience initiatives beyond pilot projects.
At the same time, they called for translating evidence into concrete action by implementing the Kampala CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2035 and related national agrifood investment priorities.
Climate shocks move through the whole food system
A climate shock that begins on a farm can quickly become a broader food and nutrition challenge. Water shortages can constrain processing and market operations, extreme heat can accelerate food losses and food-safety risks, and disruptions in storage and transport can affect availability, affordability and dietary quality.
Justin Mabeya Machini, Senior Research Associate, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, emphasised the importance of looking beyond production. Resilience also depends on functioning markets, aggregation systems, processors and buyers, access to information, reliable infrastructure and value chains that can translate nutritious crops into better incomes and better diets.
“Resilience cannot stop at production. Farmers may succeed in growing nutritious crops, but if food cannot be stored, transported, processed and sold safely, those gains will not fully reach families. We need to strengthen the whole chain, from the farm to the market and ultimately to the consumer, so that climate shocks do not become nutrition crises,” he said.
Dr Henri Rueff, Director, Climate Action and Principal Scientist, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, warned that climate risk travels through the food system and called for the turning of evidence into measures that can be financed, scaled and built into the plans that shape Africa’s agrifood systems.”
“A drought may begin as a production shock, but it can quickly become a storage, transport, market, food-safety and nutrition challenge,” said Dr Rueff.
The session featured contributions from the Government of Kenya, FAO, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, the US Embassy in Nairobi, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, AGRA and Alliance researchers, alongside other food-system stakeholders.
The event’s recommendations will feed into a concise outcome summary intended to support wider policy and partnership discussions, including efforts to translate continental commitments into practical measures for resilient, inclusive and nutrition-sensitive agrifood systems.
