
This week, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and the Ministry of Planning and Development collaborated to organise the Thousand African Youth Summit on Food Systems and Agroecology 2024, which brought together young Africans from 50 countries for a discussion.
Over 2,000 young leaders virtually attended the three-day workshop, which brought together 250 youth, with the aim of exploring agroecological solutions and spearheading Africa’s response to the climate crisis.

“The Thousand African Youth Summit is not just an event; it is a movement that empowers African youth to develop and share solutions for building climate-resilient food systems,” said Dr. Million Belay, General Coordinator of AFSA, in reference to the summit’s crucial timing. Young leaders have the chance to assume a leading role in determining the direction of our food and climate future.
The Ministry of Planning and Development’s Fitsum Assefa urged the young people to seize the opportunities that are present. Youth have the power to improve our societies and create sustainable livelihoods through entrepreneurship, community-based projects, and agriculture.
“How can we, as youth, establish opportunities that benefit our communities in a lasting way? How can we make sure that our means of subsistence will not only sustain us in the present but also feed us in the future, promoting the wellbeing of our continent?”
He went on to say that young people must be aware of their resources. Even though they might not have a large infrastructure or funding, where the transformation starts, they have imagination, vigour, and resolve.

Joyce Brown, AFSA Youth Platform Coordinator at the Summit said that the youth must design an agriculture future that is healthy, ecologically and economically just, and that is free of exploitation.
Participants agreed that the urgency of climate change is a global reality, and Africa with its vulnerability to extreme weather events, is acutely feeling its impacts and youth, as the future generation, have a pivotal role to play in driving sustainable solutions and fostering climate resilience. And they said that climate action requires not just awareness but also comprehensive training and empowerment.