Projects

The “Enabling National Processes of Foresight for Food Systems Transformation (FoSTr) Programme”, which runs from June 2022 to June 2025, supports participatory foresight and scenario processes in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The programme is funded by the Netherlands, delivered through IFAD and implemented by the Foresight4Food network, with Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute (ECI) and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in leading positions.

The workshop was held from 13 – 17 November 2023 in Naivasha, Kenya to develop a cohort and network of young leaders who can apply the foresight for systems change approach in their own working context, to help bring about the transformative changes needed for equitable and sustainable food systems.

A foresight analysis focusing on the future of youth in Africa’s agri-food systems constituted a highly engaging series of foresight workshops and discussion sessions held in Mombasa in June 2023 with a group of 45 youth representatives and 12 agri-food systems experts from across Africa. These activities aimed to gain critical insights and perspectives on the potential opportunities and risks for dignified and fulfilling work for youth in the African agri-food systems.

This research project using Ghana and Uganda as pilot studies aims to builds on earlier foresight and scenario analyses in these countries. The first phase, with participants from across the Ugandan food sector, held successful seminars on systems approaches and various analyses in food systems. The second phase, which was held in July 2022 with African foresight experts, explored a participatory scenario process for the Ghanian food system. The project is being led by the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford (which hosts Foresight4Food), with funding from the Open Society Foundations, and strong partnerships with the University of Ghana and Makerere University in Uganda.

This Foresight4Food project explores the future of small-scale agriculture, and calls for a profound transformation of food systems in this sector. The project, which draws on the latest data, assesses the state of small-scale agriculture, proposes conceptual frameworks, highlights where more data is needed, and strongly calls for long-term food systems transformation to ensure the sustainability, profitability, and long-term success of small-scale agriculture in the future.