Esteemed Delegates,
Dear Pan-Africanists,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I bring you warm greetings from H.E. Mahmoud Ali, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. It is a pleasure and an honour to join you for this first Africa Continental Foresight Consultation for Resilient Agrifood Systems.

Allow me to begin by expressing our deep appreciation for your presence and for the rich exchanges that have already taken place. The range of institutions represented here, from Member States and Regional Economic Communities to specialised agencies, research organisations, farmer organisations, women’s and youth networks and development partners reflects a shared determination to strengthen preparedness, anticipatory governance and long-term resilience across Africa’s agrifood systems. Your commitment shows that this consultation is not a one-off meeting, but the start of a sustained continental process.

Yesterday, the Commission outlined how this consultation will help to map existing foresight capacities, co-design an integration framework and shape a Continental Community of Practice. Building on that foundation, I would like to focus my remarks on two questions: why foresight is a strategic policy priority for the African Union, and what directions should guide our collective work in the years ahead.

This inaugural consultation is a milestone for our Union. It marks the beginning of a more structured and regular continental engagement on foresight, which the African Union intends to institutionalise as a core feature of its resilience and planning systems. In a world of rapid climate shocks, geopolitical tensions, public health emergencies, volatile food and input prices and fast-moving technologies, foresight must become a standard instrument across the AU system. It should guide how we anticipate risks, recognise opportunities, direct investment and protect vulnerable populations.

This work directly advances the aspirations of Agenda 2063, The Africa We Want, which calls for modern, climate-resilient agriculture, stronger natural resource governance and evidence-based policymaking as foundations for inclusive and sustainable growth. It gives practical effect to the Kampala CAADP Declaration of January 2025 and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2035, which acknowledge that our agrifood systems are being reshaped by demographics, climate change, rapid urbanisation, shifting diets, technological disruption and deeper regional integration. Foresight is the tool that helps us understand the implications of these trends and design policies that remain relevant under uncertainty.

The consultation is equally important for delivering on our responsibilities under the Food Systems Resilience Programme (FSRP) Phase 3, which calls on the African Union Commission to strengthen the forecasting of shocks, reduce the time between early warning and response and improve institutional arrangements for preparedness across the continent. It is fully aligned with my own 100-Day Priorities, which emphasize AU leadership in resilience building, accelerated CAADP domestication and more timely, high-quality technical support to Member States and RECs. For those who do not know about my rolling 100 days priorities, they include soil health and fertilizer blending, seed systems and biodiversity, blue economy, and job creation for youth. I’d like to challenge you to work with my team to undertake foresight modeling for my 100 days plan as part of the outcomes of this meeting. This will help guide member states on the best policy models for their specific regions as they relate to the priority plan.

As you continue your deliberations, I would like to highlight five policy directions that, in my view, should shape the continental framework and roadmap for foresight in Africa’s agrifood systems:

1. Institutionalise foresight within AU, REC and national systems.
Foresight should be embedded in mandates, workplans and accountability frameworks, with clear responsibilities, predictable resources and regular reporting. This can include dedicated foresight units or networks, systematic horizon-scanning linked to planning and budgeting cycles and mechanisms to ensure that foresight products influence real policy choices and investment decisions.

2. Integrate foresight into CAADP, climate and food systems agendas.
Foresight must inform the next generation of CAADP investment plans, climate adaptation strategies, food systems pathways and trade and markets policies. Scenario analysis, stress testing and long-term risk assessments should help us decide where to prioritise public investment, how to design safety nets and resilience instruments and how best to support farmers, pastoralists, fishers and agri-entrepreneurs in a changing risk landscape.

3. Strengthen data, analytics and capacities across the continent.
High-quality foresight depends on timely data, robust analytical tools and skilled practitioners. We need shared continental platforms that bring together climate information, market intelligence, conflict and fragility indicators, nutrition trends and technological developments. We should expand training and peer learning so that officials, researchers and civil society actors across Member States and RECs can apply foresight methods confidently and consistently.

4. Elevate community, youth and gender-responsive perspectives.
Our foresight architecture must value indigenous and community-based knowledge systems. Farmer field schools, pastoralist networks, youth innovation hubs, women’s producer groups and community resilience committees often detect anomalies and emerging risks earlier than formal systems. These perspectives are essential for context-specific, people-centred policy responses and must be integrated into the frameworks you are developing.

5. Link foresight to concrete financing and accountability mechanisms.
Foresight exercises have real value only when they lead to action. We must therefore connect foresight outputs to financing decisions, including domestic budgets, regional funding mechanisms and partner support. At the same time, we should establish simple accountability mechanisms that track how foresight has informed policies, investments and emergency responses and that help us learn what works.
From your discussions yesterday, it is clear that Africa already has many promising tools and systems: integrated risk monitoring platforms, digital advisory services, predictive analytics and shock-responsive financing mechanisms. Our task now is to consolidate this knowledge, identify what has worked and scale and adapt successful models in ways that respect regional diversity while promoting continental coherence.

You have also highlighted the importance of indigenous and community-based early warning systems. For the African Union Commission, these knowledge systems are a central pillar of the foresight ecosystem we are building together. We look to this consultation for guidance on how best to anchor these systems in AU and REC frameworks, including through partnerships with farmer organisations, civil society and traditional authorities.

This consultation is therefore a critical opportunity to define a clear, actionable roadmap that strengthens forecasting capacities at all levels, shortens the time between early warning and response, embeds foresight into AU, REC and national planning and budgeting processes and supports harmonised yet flexible approaches through a vibrant Continental Community of Practice. I urge you to be ambitious and forward-looking in finalising this roadmap. The recommendations you produce will shape how Africa anticipates and manages shocks, invests in agrifood systems and safeguards the livelihoods and nutrition of our people in the years ahead.

With these remarks, and with renewed appreciation for the work you have already accomplished since yesterday, I am pleased to declare the Africa Continental Foresight Consultations for Resilient Agrifood Systems officially open.

I wish you productive deliberations and look forward to the outcomes that will guide our collective efforts toward resilient agrifood systems across our continent.

Asante sana.