Strengthening Sustainable Agricultural Solutions for Halting Deforestation in Africa

A Community of Practice under the UN-REDD Academy

Context

Forests are central to Africa’s climate resilience, biodiversity, and food security. Yet, the continent has recorded the highest rate of net forest loss globally over the past decade — largely driven by agricultural expansion. Between 2010 and 2020, Africa lost 4.4 million hectares of forest annually, with cropland expansion accounting for 77% of total forest loss (FAO, 2022).

In Africa, 97% of agriculture-linked deforestation is attributed to small-scale farming, underscoring the need to strengthen sustainable production systems that safeguard livelihoods while protecting forest ecosystems. Achieving this balance calls for practical solutions that integrate agriculture, forestry, and land governance within national climate and development goals.

Amid emerging opportunities from global forest and commodity commitments — such as the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use and the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) — African governments, producers, and stakeholders are being called to innovate and collaborate for deforestation-free value chains.

About the Event

To accelerate these solutions, FAO, the UN-REDD Programme, and the African Forest Forum (AFF), in collaboration with the Japan-funded BiG-CHANCE Project, are convening a three-day Community of Practice (CoP) focused on Strengthening Sustainable Agricultural Solutions for Halting Deforestation in Africa.

Hosted virtually via the UN-REDD Academy (Howspace platform), the CoP will feature expert presentations, country experiences, interactive discussions, and co-creation sessions that collectively advance knowledge exchange and joint action toward deforestation-free and sustainable land-use systems in Africa.

The discussions will revolve around six key themes from the Solutions Tree framework:

1. Strengthening land governance
2. Scaling sustainable agricultural production models
3. Promoting responsible trade and consumption
4. Creating incentives for sustainable practices
5. Enhancing data availability and use
6. Improving rural livelihoods and equity

Objectives

• Showcase and enable sharing of existing solutions and country experiences addressing agriculture-linked deforestation in the region and lessons learnt on connection with REDD+ strategies and/or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
• Facilitate regional multistakeholder dialogue and learning exchanges on effective approaches to reduce deforestation through sustainable commodities
• Raise awareness of governments, experts, and practitioners with existing tools and initiatives that support efforts to reduce agriculture linked deforestation and that prompt enhanced synergies across the sectors
• Foster regional cooperation, South-South exchange and peer-learning to advance commodities production decoupled from deforestation (or deforestation-free as per private sector language) agricultural practices in Africa.
• Facilitate collective identification and prioritization of themes of common interest for continued joint learning and action.

Expected Outcomes

• Gain insights into effective policy interventions, institutional arrangements, and strategies currently being implemented in African countries to halt deforestation, including key lessons learnt on linking sustainable commodities with REDD+ strategies and NDCs ;
• Strengthened regional peer learning, collaboration, and capacity to develop and implement deforestation-free policies and practices;
• Increased awareness and deeper understandings of key tools and initiatives that enable multiple solutions necessary to address these challenges effectively;
• Support and expand networks of multistakeholder professionals committed to sustained dialogue and collaboration in promoting deforestation-free and sustainable land use across Africa.
• Develop a short list of priority themes and an initial work plan / roadmap for the community of practice to pursue in subsequent sessions.

Target audience / Participants

The CoP is targeted at policy makers, technical experts, practitioners, and private sector actors from various African countries involved in agriculture, forestry, land management, and climate initiatives.

How to Participate

If you are new to the platform:

1. Click the registration link:  Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Solutions | REDD+ Academy
2. Enter your email to receive a login link.
3. Complete the registration form.
4. Under “Would you like to join a Community of Practice?” select African Forest Forum
5. You’ll be redirected to the UN-REDD Academy Welcome Page.
6. In response to the question, “Would you like to join a Community of Practice?” select the fourth option: African Forest Forum
7. You will be re-directed to the UN-REDD Academy ‘Welcome page’
8. Navigate to Communities of Practice → African Forest Forum → Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Solutions.
9. To participate in the CoP, go to the menu bar and click on > Communities of Practice > African Forest Forum> Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Solutions
10. A short tutorial video will guide you through the platform.

    Day 1 – 27 Oct Time (Nairobi UTC+3:00) Session theme Presentation title/Agenda item Speaker 11:00-11:05 (05')   0. Kick-off and scene setting session Opening FAO / facilitator 11:05-11:10 (05')   Introducing the Howspace platform and Community of Practice Methodology and Ways of Working  AFF / Daphine UNEP / Michael 11:10-11:20 (10') Opening remark Prof. Labode Popoola, Executive Secretary, AFF 11:20-11:30 (10')   Opening remark & Scene setting presentation: Global progress towards strengthening agriculture- forestry linkages Ms Serena Fortuna, Team Leader and Senior Forestry Officer, Halting Deforestation, Degradation, and Emissions Team, FAO Forestry Division 11:30-11:40 (10')   Transforming agrifood systems to halt deforestation: Key Systemic shifts to address agriculture-linked deforestation using the Solutions-tree framework and introduction of the agenda Ms Naoko Takahashi, Forestry Officer, Forestry Division, FAO 11:40-11:55 (15') 1. Improving rural livelihoods and promoting equity and inclusion Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) : Supporting  Forest and Farm Producers Organizations (FFPO) for building climate resilient and reduced deforestation future Mr Jhony Zapata Senior Forestry Officer, Forestry Division, FAO     11:55-12:10  (15')   Collective actions at the FFPO/association level to halt deforestation (15 min) Mr Richard Masandika / Mr Damian Sulumo - Tanzania  MVIWAARUSHA 12:10-12:30 (20')   Discussion and Q&A (20min)   12:30-12:40 (10') Coffee break 12:40-12:55 (15')     2. Scaling sustainable agricultural production models Agroecology, a transformative pathway towards sustainable agrifood systems Mr. Pierre Ferrand, Agricultural Officer, Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP), FAO 12:55-13:05 (10') Methodological advances in fostering agroecological transitions towards sustainable agriculture and food systems facilitated by agroforestry practices in Nigeria Mr. Soren Moller, Agroecology and Food Systems Specialist,  Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP), FAO   13:05-13:20 (15')   Agroforestry models tailored to key value chains in the context of Cocoa in Cote d’Ivoire  - (FAO - PROMIRE) (15 min) Mr Zana Ouattara (PROMIRE, FAO/Cote d’Ivoire)     13:20-13:40 (20')   Discussion and Q&A (20min) Facilitator 13:40-14:00 (20')   Closing Closing of Day 1 & Kahoot or mentimeter with questions from the day learning FAO PM Chat function open on the Howspace to have an open discussion among participants Day 2 – 28 Oct 11:00-11:10 Opening Opening of Day 2 FAO 11:10-11:25 (15') 3.  Increasing consumption and trade of responsibly produced agricultural commodities Improving sustainable market access through supporting due diligence across value chains Ms Florence Bernard, Forestry Officer, Forestry Division, FAO 11:25-11:35 (10') Enabling policy and institutional environment for sustainable production systems and preparedness for deforestation-related market-based instruments Ms Francesca Felicani, Forestry Officer, Forestry Division, FAO 11:35-11:50 (15')   Elevating political ambition of deforestation-free production in the climate agenda in Cote d'Ivoire and Ethiopia UNDP 11:50-12:10 (30') Discussion and Q&A (30 min) Facilitator 12:10-12:25 Coffee Break 12:25-12:40 (15') 4. Enhancing  availability and use of data Towards a Digital Public Infrastructure  for transparent supply chains data (15 min) Mr Remi Dannunzio, Forestry Officer, Forestry Division, FAO 12:40-13:00 (20') Kenya’s experience in developing/strengthening digital traceability systems for deforestation-free commodities Mr George Watene,  Program Manager, Kenya Coffee Platform 13:00-13:30 Discussion and Q&A (30 min) Facilitator 13:30-14:00 Closing Closing of Day 2 & Kahoot or mentimeter with questions from the day learning FAO PM Chat function open on the Howspace to have an open discussion among participants Day 3 – 29 Oct 11:00-11:10 Opening Opening of Day 3   11:10-11:30 (20') 5. Creating incentives to keep forests intact Deforestation-free finance initiatives: Fostering financial incentives to halt deforestation Ms Pei Chi, Senior Research Associate, Global Canopy     11:30-11:50 (20')   Public Prive Partnerships: Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI)   Ms Stephanie Kadio, Country Director for IDH Côte d’Ivoire 11:50-12:20 (30') Discussion and Q&A (30 min) Facilitator 12:20-12:35 Coffee Break 12:35-12:50 (15') 6. Strengthening land governance REDD+ as a catalyst for sustainable and integrated land governance and cross-sectoral collaboration Mr Thomas Yaw Gyambrah, Manager of the Climate Change Directorate, Ghana Forestry Commission 12:50-13:05 (15')   Power of multi-stakeholder processes to enhance collaboration and scale: Africa Sustainable Commodities Initiative Ms Abraham Baffoe Executive Director, Global and Africa, Proforest 13:05-13:35 (30') Discussion and Q&A (30min) Facilitator 13:35-14:05  (30’) Next steps Co-creating our Community of Practice: Identifying priorities and next steps – paving the way to the regional exchange Mr Dennis Genesse, Halting Deforestation Specialist, FAO 14:05-14:25 (20’) Conclusion Conclusions/Wrap up  UN-REDD AFF initiative future plans and closing remarks Final Kahoot/mentimeter FAO UNEP& AFF PM Chat function open on the Howspace to have an open discussion among participants

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