The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity (ZAAB) and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS) hosted a meeting from 26thto 28th November in Lusaka, Zambia. 44 men and women from 10 African countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Senegal, Eswatini and Uganda) participated in the meeting. The overarching aim was to develop a common strategy for changing the prevailing narrative around seed in Africa, to one that recognizes smallholder farmers, their indigenous knowledge and their seed systems that are the fundamental basis of Africa’s food system.
Theory of Change
The meeting adopted a Theory of Change approach to developing an advocacy strategy. This recognises that processes of change are complex and unpredictable. A theory of change makes the links between what you are doing and the change you want to see.
The participants focused on the vital elements of FMSS (desired state), what mechanisms are needed to realise FMSS (what needs to be in place in terms of systems, institutions, other resources) and the strategic advocacy entry points (opportunities for stakeholders to engage office bearers).
The vision of the joint strategy was defined as: Culturally vibrant farmer managed seed systems supported in policy and practice to advance agroecology and gender justice.
Meeting participants then developed outcomes they wish to see from their joint work and their related outputs and outcomes.
The strategy is available to download here
