AFSF 2025: Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) – CGIAR Partnership for Impact
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) convened a high-level session at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) 2025 in Dakar, Senegal on 2 September 2025, under the theme “IsDB–CGIAR Supporting Food System Transformations: Accelerating Impact through Innovation and Partnership.” The session showcased how science-driven solutions, co-financing, and government partnerships are reshaping Africa’s food systems and accelerating the continent’s journey toward resilience and sustainability.
The event was organized in close collaboration with CGIAR centers including the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Potato Center (CIP), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Africa Rice Center (Africa Rice), and the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF). Together, the centers demonstrated how innovation, research and multi-stakeholder collaboration can transform food systems at scale.
To set the tone, the Ministry of Agriculture of Senegal represented by Dr Boubacar Drame, Technical Advisor, opened with a welcome address that underscored the urgency of building resilient and inclusive food systems. This was followed by a presentation from IsDB, which highlighted the program design, their vision for the continent, and the centrality of CGIAR technologies and expertise in transforming the food security landscape.
Adding a regional perspective, the Government of Uganda represented by Ms Assumpta Tibamwenda, Technical Advisor also shared lessons from the Local Economic Growth Support (LEGS) Program. This flagship initiative illustrated how strategic partnerships can spur community-based economic transformation, linking national policy with grassroots action.
To guide the discussions, leading voices stepped in as moderators. Dr Namukolo Covic, ILRI Director General’s Representative to Ethiopia, led the conversation on transforming value chains, while Dr Stanford Blade, Deputy Director General–Research and Innovation, ICRISAT, steered audience interventions and framed opportunities for scaling science-based solutions through partnerships. Bringing together representatives from research institutions, multilateral development banks, governments, and the private sector, showing how investment, innovation, and trade can unlock opportunities in key value chains such as millet, sorghum, potato, and livestock. Inputs from the stakeholders ensured that the dialogue moved seamlessly from lessons learned to pathways for action.
Throughout the session, panelists:
- Highlighted climate-smart innovations and resilient food system models
- Fostered dialogue to mobilize co-financing from multilateral partners
- Engaged member-state governments to align programs with national priorities
- Strengthened partnerships for scaling value-chain approaches
- Discussed the impacts on food security and regional trade and
- Promoted youth employment in agrifood systems.
The momentum culminated in a Thought Leaders’ Dialogue with the Director General, ICRISAT Dr Himanshu Pathak and Dr Simone Heck, Director General, CIP and Dr Siboniso Moyo, Deputy Director General Partnerships & Impact at ILRI reflecting on the transformative power of partnerships like IsDB–CGIAR in accelerating food system transformation.
As the session drew to a close, the expected outcomes emerged clearly: strengthened commitments from governments and financiers to support food system transformation, broader awareness of successful innovation models, and renewed momentum for youth engagement in agribusiness.
Call to Action: The session invited governments, investors, innovators, and young people to come together to scale proven solutions and accelerate Africa’s journey toward resilient, inclusive, and sustainable food systems.
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Martin Muluka