The Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA)

Transforming Sub-Saharan Africa towards Inclusive and Climate Sensitive Food Sovereign Region: Building Back Better for Food Sovereignty

Dennis Kyalo and Charles Chilufya, S.J.

As part of its work to influence policies and to promote African solutions for food sovereignty Jesuit Justice Ecology Network of Africa (JENA), sought to understand the salient issues affecting Africa’s food sovereignty drawing from past interventions and lessons learnt to inform the way forward. JENA’s work cuts across Central Africa; North West Africa; West Africa; Eastern Africa; and Madagascar. JENA’s drive and conviction is from the increasing evidence of alarming levels of food in-sovereignty and other aspects of human life in the continent which are largely driven by disasters related to climate change. In addition, with the conviction that some Climate Smart Agriculture practices, while they have the potential to increase agricultural yields; some lead to increased use of chemical inputs that are detrimental to the environment including worsening climate change. As such, JENA champions farming/ production systems based on agroecological and indigenous approaches that sustain food sovereignty and the livelihoods of communities in Africa.