𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗔𝗙𝗦𝗙 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. Over five days in Kigali, I joined conversations on systems thinking, markets, farmer prosperity, leadership, and political commitment at the AFS Forum. Here are the five lessons I carried away. 𝟭. 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. Production, markets, nutrition, climate, finance, and policy influence one another. Acting on one part without understanding the others can create unintended consequences elsewhere. Hosted by the African Food Fellowship with Wageningen University & Research. 𝟮. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀. Farmers and agrifood SMEs need more than temporary project support. They need sustained access to markets, finance, technology and commercially meaningful partnerships. 𝟯. TIME 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. Success is not only about scale, visibility or technical sophistication. It is about whether farmers build profitable, resilient and dignified livelihoods. Roy Steiner of The Rockefeller Foundation centred the conversation on lasting farmer prosperity, while TIME’s Justin Worland examined the leadership and structural conditions affecting farmers. 𝟰. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁. It develops through listening, reflection, experimentation, and reconsidering our assumptions. FAO’s Corinna Hawkes reinforced the importance of investing in the people who must lead, coordinate and implement transformation. 𝟱. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱. The town hall with H.E. President Paul Kagame brought the discussion back to responsibility, agency, and implementation. Africa can build global partnerships, but its transformation must be driven by African institutions, African leadership, and decisions grounded in the continent’s realities. Together, these sessions reminded me that food systems thinking is not simply about recognising complexity. It is about making better choices and turning shared ambition into practical action. #AFSForum2026 #AfricanAgriculture #Leadership Dalitso Mbewe Liesa Bidali Chikondi Mbewe Larry Madowo

𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗶, 𝗥𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮, 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. Hosted by @TIME and presented by @AGRA_Africa, this invitation-only, high-level thought leadership and networking convening focused on the future of farmer prosperity in Africa. It brought together African and international leaders from agriculture, research, agribusiness, climate, philanthropy and development to mark 𝗔𝗚𝗥𝗔’𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆, reflect on two decades of progress and consider what must come next to deliver lasting prosperity for Africa’s farmers. Among those gathered were H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chair of the AGRA Board; Alice Ruhweza, President of AGRA; and Roy Steiner, Senior Vice President, Food Initiative, at The Rockefeller Foundation. Representing 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘, Senior Correspondent Justin Worland moderated a discussion featuring Dr Ismahane Elouafi, Executive MD of CGIAR, Elizabeth Wathuti H.S.C , O.G.W, Kingsley Moghalu, and Temiyeoluwa Alabi. Under the theme, 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳, the conversation raised a challenge that sits at the centre of Africa’s food systems agenda: Farmers can increase production and remain vulnerable when markets are unreliable, finance is inaccessible, climate information arrives too late, technology is disconnected from everyday decisions, or value is captured elsewhere in the system. 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. It requires us to understand and strengthen the connections between the farm, markets, finance, technology, climate, policy, and institutions. This is the argument I advance in my book, 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘈𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴. Africa’s agricultural challenges are connected. It also reflects the leadership thinking I continue to develop through the African Food Fellowship and The Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA): Leaders must see beyond individual projects, connect different actors, and turn shared ambition into practical action. Through @Shambapro , we are applying this thinking by helping farmers manage their farms as enterprises, build reliable records, and make better decisions in increasingly uncertain conditions. Africa’s next food chapter should not be judged only by tonnes produced, technologies launched, or capital committed. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀. Thank you to 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 and 𝗔𝗚𝗥𝗔 for convening this important conversation in Kigali during the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026. #FoodSystems #AFSForum2026 #AfricanAgriculture #Leadership

𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Yesterday at the Africa Food Systems Forum, Mukeshimana Odile reminded me what this kind of leadership requires. For several weeks, Odile had been asking how she could get a copy of my book. Yesterday, we finally met at the African Food Fellowship Cohort 5 graduation, where she purchased a copy. That moment meant far more than the book itself. It reflected the curiosity to keep learning, the humility to learn from fellow leaders, and the generosity to support another person’s contribution to food systems transformation. Odile is my younger sister, friend, and fellow food systems leader whose leadership journey I have watched over the last few years. After more than one attempt, she finally earned a coveted place in the highly competitive Cohort 4 of the African Food Fellowship. Her persistence demonstrated an important leadership quality - the ability to learn, adapt, and keep moving towards a purpose. Today, she works as a Field Coordinator in the Research Unit at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain. Her work connects research, practice, and policy from farm to fork, including helping professionals integrate Gender Equality and Social Inclusion into cold chain systems. Despite being part of Cohort 1, that does not mean learning flows only from earlier cohorts of AFF to those who joined later. 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗢𝗱𝗶𝗹𝗲. This is one of the strengths of the African Food Fellowship. It is more than a sequence of cohorts. It is a community where leaders bring different experiences, support one another, and continue learning across generations. Sometimes we mentor. Sometimes we get mentored. Often, we learn from one another. A key lesson is that food systems transformation needs leaders who remain curious, adaptive, inclusive, and collaborative. No individual, institution, cohort, or country has all the answers. Thank you, Odile, for your friendship, encouragement, and support. More importantly, thank you for reminding me that every food systems leader must remain a learner. That is the kind of leadership Africa’s food systems transformation needs. Whether you are an AFSF2026 delegate or a member of the public, visit the African Food Fellowship stand at the Africa Food Festival at the KCC Roundabout. The Festival is open to everyone and offers an opportunity to hear more stories of leaders from across Africa, learning from one another, and working together to transform Africa’s food systems. #AFSForum2026 #FoodSystems #AFSF2026 #Kigali #Rwanda #AfricaFoodFellowship #AdaptiveLeadership #Africa