KIGALI, May 12, 2026 — AKADEMIYA2063, Shamba Centre for Food & Climate (Shamba Centre), and the African Food Systems Parliamentary Network (AFSPaN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a collaborative framework to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and broader food systems transformation agendas. Under this agreement, the partners will leverage scientific evidence to strengthen legislative oversight, improve policy coherence, and support more effective decision-making on public investment and development priorities.
A central pillar of the partnership is the development, hosting, and deployment of the African Repository for Parliamentary Action (ARPA), a dedicated policy hub designed to provide African parliamentarians with accessible, policy-relevant knowledge products to support evidence-based decision-making and accelerate agrifood systems transformation across the continent.
“This partnership comes at a pivotal moment as Africa enters the third phase of CAADP implementation under the Kampala Declaration. With six commitments to deliver over the next decade, strengthening the bridge between scientific evidence and parliamentary decision-making is not optional; it is essential,” said Dr. Debisi Araba,Managing Director of AKADEMIYA2063. “Through ARPA, developed with Shamba Centre and AFSPaN, we are placing agrifood systems transformation firmly on the policy agenda. More importantly, we are equipping parliamentarians with the evidence they need to develop legislation and provide executive oversight that makes agrifood systems work for all value chain actors across Africa.”
Positioned as a leading knowledge hub to facilitate access to evidence for legislators across Africa, ARPA will translate complex policy frameworks, analysis, and research on agrifood systems into concise, accessible formats tailored to parliamentarians and other key stakeholders, including members of the CAADP Non-State Actor Group. The initiative seeks to leverage AFSPaN members' legislative mandate to build a direct, sustained link between knowledge institutions and policymakers, translating evidence into legislation, aligning budgets, and strengthening parliamentary oversight.
“AFSPaN was a seed I planted in 2021 to address a critical gap, ensuring that parliamentarians are placed at the center of Africa’s food systems transformation. Launched in 2023, it has since grown into a continental platform bringing together current and prominent former legislators from across Africa, under the chairmanship of Hon. Godfred Jasaw (MP, Ghana). In 2025, for the first time in CAADP’s history, we secured the recognition of parliamentarians as key actors in delivering the CAADP agenda,”noted Hon. Neema Lugangira, Founder and Vice Chair, AFSPaN. “This partnership with AKADEMIYA2063 and Shamba Centre is a decisive step forward. It equips African legislators with the evidence and tools to strengthen enabling policy and regulatory frameworks, promote healthy diets and food safety, drive policy coherence, unlock investment, advance continental trade, reduce food import dependency, and ultimately deliver on the ambitions of Agenda 2063.”
Under the MoU framework, the partners will combine their expertise to advance food systems priorities. This will include analytical work, structured thematic immersions, and policy dialogues to strengthen parliamentarians’ engagement and foster peer exchange across countries.
“Delivering on the Kampala Declaration will depend on the ability to align policies, investments, and institutional incentives with evidence on what works,” said Ms. Carin Smaller, Executive Director at the Shamba Centre. “Through ARPA, this partnership between AKADEMIYA2063, the Shamba Centre, and AFSPaN supports more informed parliamentary decision-making, ensuring that policies, budgets, and investments are grounded in evidence and deliver long-term, sustainable impact.”
The agreement also establishes a framework for developing, hosting, and maintaining a digital library of resources to serve as a one-stop shop for knowledge storage and dissemination and to ensure continuous access to policy intelligence for legislators. The partners will convene high-level policy dialogues among legislators and key stakeholders to facilitate peer-to-peer learning on emerging and time-sensitive issues and will undertake joint fundraising to support research, analysis, capacity building, and outreach activities.
About AKADEMIYA2063
AKADEMIYA2063 is a pan-African non-profit research organization with headquarters in Kigali, Rwanda, and a regional office in Dakar, Senegal. Inspired by the ambitions of the African Union's Agenda 2063 and grounded in the recognition of the central importance of strong, knowledge- and evidence-based systems, the vision of AKADEMIYA2063 is an Africa with the expertise we need for the Africa we want. This expertise must be responsive to the continent's needs for data and analysis to ensure high-quality policy design and execution. AKADEMIYA2063's overall mission is to create, across Africa, state-of-the-art technical capacities to support the efforts by the Member States of the African Union to achieve the key goals of Agenda 2063 – transforming national economies to boost economic growth and prosperity. For more information, visit www.akademiya2063.org.
About Shamba Centre
The Shamba Centre for Food & Climate is an international non-profit organization working to end hunger sustainably. It focuses on identifying and removing the barriers that prevent change by promoting interconnected solutions to complex problems. The Centre supports governments and partners by generating and translating evidence into practical solutions that inform decision-making and help shape more effective policies and investments. Its work also seeks to transform donor finance, mobilize private capital, and promote fair and efficient markets. The Shamba Centre also plays a key role in coordinating the Zero Hunger Coalition, a multi-stakeholder platform supporting countries in advancing their priorities and accelerating progress towards ending hunger. For more information, visit: https://www.shambacentre.org.
About AFSPaN
The African Food Systems Parliamentary Network (AFSPaN) is a pan-African, legislator-led platform bringing together current and prominent former parliamentarians committed to advancing agrifood systems transformation across the continent. The initiative was conceived in 2021 and officially launched in 2023 in response to the need to strengthen parliamentary engagement in the implementation of Africa’s agricultural and food systems priorities. AFSPaN works to strengthen parliamentary leadership in legislation, budgeting, and oversight, ensuring effective implementation of continental and regional commitments. In doing so, it supports alignment between national policies and key frameworks, including the CAADP, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and Agenda 2063. By positioning parliamentarians at the center of implementation, AFSPaN plays a critical role in translating commitments into coherent legislation, accountable public investment, and measurable outcomes for Africa’s food systems and economies. For more information, visit: https://www.zerohungercoalition.org/en/supporting-parliamentarians.