This year’s World Food Day theme puts innovation at the centre of the effort to transform food systems.
Across Africa, young people are proving they can drive innovation.
But too often, the systems within which young entrepreneurs work can limit the scaling of innovation that goes to the core of addressing food systems challenges.
Over the years, we have seen recurring reports of food insecurity, hunger, food loss and malnutrition.
The recent State of the Global Food Security report points to this.
In 2025 alone, more than 300 million people in Africa faced hunger, while 56.6% experienced moderate or severe food insecurity.
Meanwhile, the African Union has attempted to address food systems challenges through the Maputo and Malabo Declarations.
But they fell short of their commitments.
Now, through the Kampala Declaration, African leaders have renewed their ambitions, setting a new course for agrifood systems transformation by 2035.
Renewed commitments alone will not deliver a different outcome.
Without a fundamental shift in how governments approach transformation, the Kampala Declaration risks becoming another set of promises that fail to translate into meaningful change.
The way forward is a new paradigm, one that positions young people as the main architects of the food system when it comes to policymaking, ecosystem shaping, and developing innovative ideas.
Here’s how:
Design policies with and by young people
As governments translate continental declarations into national strategies and investment plans, they must ensure these blueprints reflect the aspirations and realities of young agrifood leaders.
This requires going far beyond tokenistic consultations held after policies are already drafted.
Young entrepreneurs must have a seat at the table to co-create solutions, set priorities, and influence regulatory decisions that directly govern their businesses.
Young people understand the challenges that remain invisible to policymakers.
Embedding these frontline insights into policy design enables governments to anticipate hurdles early and construct far more responsive, realistic support systems.
If Africa expects youth to drive agricultural transformation, youth must be given direct agency in shaping the systems that determine whether they succeed.
Connect the systems that help young innovators succeed
A young entrepreneur can have a promising idea and still struggle to access finance.
A food business can develop a product but face difficulties navigating regulatory requirements.
Training can build new skills, yet without the right opportunities, those skills may never translate into a viable business or career.
These challenges are deeply interconnected.
A founder's trajectory depends on seamless alignment across regulatory bodies, financial institutions, research universities, and distribution channels.
When these entities operate in silos, young businesses fall through the gaps.
For instance, specialised incubator training or technical knowledge is of limited value if founders cannot secure export certifications or access commercial debt to fulfil international buyer orders.
Governments, development partners, and financial institutions must treat the entrepreneurial journey as a single, continuous pipeline.
That means explicitly assigning institutional ownership for each handoff, from initial incubation to regulatory compliance and commercial expansion.
Innovation may spark with an individual entrepreneur, but its ultimate survival depends on the strength and cohesion of the surrounding ecosystem.
Facilitate the cross-border movement of innovation and ideas
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Kampala CAADP framework set ambitious targets to triple intra-African agricultural trade.
However, regional integration must move beyond trading physical commodities to active exchange of knowledge, models and technologies.
While local adaptations will always be necessary for distinct micro-markets, structured knowledge-sharing prevents young founders from constantly having to reinvent the wheel.
Achieving this requires deliberate regional infrastructure: strengthening peer-to-peer youth networks, institutionalising cross-border mentorship, and funding research partnerships.
If we want agrifood innovations to scale continent-wide, we must establish clear pathways for proven ideas to travel as seamlessly as goods.
The defining question as nations implement the Kampala commitments is whether the next generation of young innovators will find institutions ready to receive the baton and support their journey, or be left to navigate the path alone.
The writer is the Collaborative Lead, Nkabom Collaborative, University of Ghana
