What to Expect as CGIAR Heads to AFS Forum 2026
19 August 2026, Africa: When leaders from across the continent gather in Kigali for the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026, the central question will not be whether Africa has the ideas and innovations needed to transform its food systems. It will be how we turn more of what already works into lasting impact for millions of people.
Taking place from 31 August to 4 September under the theme “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience,” the Forum comes at a pivotal moment. African countries are beginning to implement the new Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Strategy and Action Plan for 2026–2035, while confronting intensifying climate impacts, conflict, economic pressures and declining development assistance.
For CGIAR’s Scaling for Impact Program, this makes AFSF an especially important space to connect science with the institutions, finance and partnerships capable of delivering it at scale.
Throughout the Forum, CGIAR will emphasize four connected priorities: investing in people, not only production; enabling African partners to lead transformation with evidence; using science to de-risk investment and accelerate delivery; and ensuring that African partners help shape CGIAR’s future.
Scaling for Impact brings these priorities together. Our focus is on the “missing middle” between proven innovation and widespread impact: the policies, finance, markets, partnerships and delivery systems that determine whether a successful innovation moves beyond a pilot and becomes part of a country’s development pathway.
CGIAR will have a strong, collective presence at AFSF 2026, with all its Research Centers and many of its Science Programs represented through plenaries, side events, policy dialogues, showcases and activities at the CGIAR booth. CGIAR’s Scaling for Impact Program is helping to lead and coordinate this presence, connecting contributions from across the organization around a shared message: Africa already has many of the innovations it needs, and the priority now is to connect them with country demand, finance, partnerships and delivery systems. Explore CGIAR’s growing AFSF 2026 program.
Connecting capital, science and partners
We are particularly excited about the CGIAR side event, “CGIAR Scaling in Food Systems: Capital, Science, Partners – Connecting Scientific Innovation to Development Finance at Scale,” on Thursday, 3 September, from 08:00 to 09:30.
The leadership dialogue will bring together governments, international financial institutions, CGIAR and strategic partners to examine how scientific innovation can better inform major investment decisions—and how those investments can support country-led implementation.
The conversation will draw practical lessons from partnerships including Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), the African Development Bank–CGIAR Clearinghouse Facility and the Islamic Development Bank–CGIAR partnership.
These experiences show that scaling is not simply about finding additional funding for isolated technologies. It requires a shared architecture through which governments can define their priorities; scientific organizations can identify, validate and bundle relevant innovations; and financing institutions can embed evidence and technical expertise within investment design and implementation.
The opportunity is also bigger than agricultural productivity. Scaling complementary innovations creates demand for African seed companies, mechanization providers, digital advisory services, aggregators, processors and logistics businesses. Done well, scaling can become an engine for enterprise and jobs—particularly for ambitious young Africans building the services and businesses that tomorrow’s food systems will require.
Seeing how TAAT connects science to investment
The conversation will continue at the CGIAR booth on Thursday afternoon, where the TAAT showcase, “Scaling What Works,” will run from 13:00 to 17:00.
The showcase will offer a closer look at how science, finance and country priorities can be connected in practice—from innovation catalogues and stronger seed systems to the design and delivery of large-scale investments.
Through the TAAT Clearinghouse, CGIAR is already helping connect approximately US$1.5 billion in African Development Bank-backed investments in Nigeria, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with proven technologies, scientific expertise and technical support. In 2026 alone, innovations supported through this partnership are expected to reach 3.4 million farmers.
Visitors to the booth will be able to explore what sits behind those figures: how innovations are selected and adapted, how complementary solutions can be bundled, and how sustained technical support helps countries move from investment plans to effective delivery.
Together, the morning dialogue and afternoon showcase will connect the strategic and the practical. One will ask how institutions can work differently; the other will demonstrate what that collaboration can look like on the ground.
That is what we are most excited about at AFSF 2026: moving the conversation beyond promising ideas and individual projects towards the partnerships and systems needed to scale what works.
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