TRANSFORMING AFRICA’S URBAN FOOD ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH STRENGTHENING LINKAGES BETWEEN FOOD SYSTEMS STAKEHOLDERS IN CITIES ACROSS EUROPE AND THE CONTINENT

Project Information

AfriFOOD-Links

Grant agreement ID: 101084322

DOI

10.3030/101084322

EC signature date 24 October 2022

Start date 1 December 2022

End date 30 November 2026

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 11 816 305,09

EU contribution

€ 11 816 305,09

Coordinated by

ICLEI-LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY-AFRICA
South Africa

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AfriFOOD-Links (TRANSFORMING AFRICA’S URBAN FOOD ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH STRENGTHENING LINKAGES BETWEEN FOOD SYSTEMS STAKEHOLDERS IN CITIES ACROSS EUROPE AND THE CONTINENT)

Reporting period: 2024-06-01 to 2025-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

AfriFOODlinks addresses food insecurity and environmental pressures by targeting urban food environments, where daily food choices are made and where availability, access, agency, utilisation and stability intersect. In the context of rapid urbanisation and climate stress in African cities, the project focuses on transforming how food environments function and evolve.
The project acts on three key drivers: infrastructure investment, social and cultural preferences, and business innovation. It aims to improve food and nutrition security while delivering climate and environmental benefits by promoting sustainable healthy diets, testing real-world socio-technical solutions, strengthening inclusive multi-actor governance, and supporting women- and youth-led agri-food businesses.
Through implementation in African Hub Cities and a structured learning network of African and European cities, AfriFOODlinks enables scalable urban food system transitions with continent-wide relevance.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

All 20 African and European cities were onboarded, including 5 Hub Cities and 15 Sharing Cities. Cities were organised into five thematic clusters to support structured peer learning, with city-to-city exchanges designed in RP1 and completed in RP2. A Network Cities Strategy was implemented, engaging 50 cities to date and exceeding the original target.
Significant progress was achieved across the four project objectives. Under Objective 1, embedded researchers were deployed across all cities and State of City Food System Reports were completed using a shared urban food systems lens, providing comparable analyses of urban food system dynamics. These were complemented by detailed case studies and ethnographic research on vulnerable groups in Hub Cities, resulting in city-scale food and nutrition reports. A Community of Practice and an integrated central knowledge hub were established and are actively used.
Under Objective 2, baseline food environment reports and proposals for real-world socio-technical experiments were completed for all Hub and Sharing Cities. Implementation commenced in RP2, with first results collected across intervention areas including school meals, food waste, markets, informal trade, salt reduction and food governance. Several experiments received external recognition, including at the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Awards 2025. The co-design and implementation processes generated valuable research insights and strengthened multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Under Objective 3, inclusive multi-actor governance was strengthened through food governance assessments, food dialogues and multi-stakeholder platforms in all cities. Action plans were discussed and approved, providing a foundation for policy development and institutional uptake.
Under Objective 4, incubation programmes for women- and youth-led agri-food businesses were launched in all Hub Cities. Circular economy food businesses were selected through a competitive process for scale-up Grants, financing models were co-developed and piloted, circularity coaching was delivered, and cross-city technical exchange supported the identification of scalable business and investment cases.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

AfriFOODlinks advances the state of the art by repositioning African cities and municipal actors as producers of urban food systems knowledge, rather than sites of theory application. By grounding theory generation in African urban contexts, the project challenges Global North–centric research models and strengthens the relevance of food systems research for rapidly urbanising regions.
The project delivers a novel integration of urban systems evidence (planning, infrastructure, governance, informality and service delivery) with food systems analysis, reframing food as a core urban system rather than a sub-sector of agriculture. Through grounded theory development, participatory action research and contextual adaptation of food environment concepts, AfriFOODlinks provides a practical pathway for integrating food environments into city planning and governance.
Beyond individual interventions, AfriFOODlinks establishes a continental portfolio of explicitly urban food system action points aligned with municipal mandates. This enables cities to implement and scale interventions through specific municipal departments, supported by peer-to-peer learning among technical officials. Governance innovation is further advanced by embedding food system action within municipal structures, testing cross-departmental coordination, and integrating youth actors directly into decision-making beyond consultative models.
Finally, AfriFOODlinks advances the state of the art through a values- and ethics-based research infrastructure tailored to co-produced, city-embedded research, strengthening trust, reciprocity and long-term collaboration across African and European research and innovation ecosystems.

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