Naivasha, November 2023 – Foresight is a key tool that stakeholders in a system can jointly use to better understand future risks and opportunities and accelerate adaptation and learning to be more resilient. This sets the context for the ‘Facilitating Foresight for Agri-Food Systems Change in Africa – A Leaders Capacity Development Workshop’ held in Naivasha, Kenya from 13 – 17 November 2023, in collaboration with Foresight4Food, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the African Food Fellowship Programme (AFF), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with support from the Mastercard Foundation.
The workshop largely focused on transforming agri-food systems but was also relevant to those working on wider development issues to develop a cohort and network of leaders who can apply foresight in their own working context, to help bring about transformative change for equity and sustainability in Africa.
During the five days of the workshop, the participants discussed the Kenyan horticultural sector with groups visiting four different sites where each group talked to farmers, processors, and exporters, brainstormed the future scenarios for the local Naivasha horticulture sector and discussed how various food systems actors would survive and thrive in each scenario.
The participants also looked at the implications across different futures, and what would be a potentially shared vision for the Naivasha food system.
The workshop left the participants inspired to apply the foresight approach back in their own work environment. Owing to the enthusiasm of the participation, the Foresight4Food team plans another workshop in Kenya in the year 2024.