Engaging African Agribusiness Leaders in Landscape Approaches

Challenge Details

Fewer than 8% of African integrated landscape initiatives have private sector participation. How can we increase their capacity for engagement in landscape management?

Increasingly global food and beverage businesses and their supply chains are operating in an environment of immense risk, from local unrest, population pressure, and water scarcity to, to climate change. With these risks however, also come important opportunities for companies that are well positioned to manage this complexity. Turning risk into opportunity is no easy task; it requires new operational models, new tools, and strategic partnerships.

Nowhere else on earth is this picture more clear than on the African continent

The World Economic Forum projects that between 2008 and 2020 combined potential revenues from the production of consumer products, natural resources, agriculture and infrastructure in Africa will exceed USD 2.6 trillion, or a sustained compound annual growth rate of four percent. With up to 70% of Africa’s rural population in many countries employed by agriculture, the sector will also play a critical role in poverty reduction and combating hunger. To achieve this, however, a new development model for agricultural green growth is needed.

Model is new to business, but already supported by civil society and government

While the landscape approach has been championed for many years by institutions, principally from the natural resource sectors, it is quickly beginning to move into the private sector lexicon as businesses attempt to tackle complex risks within their sourcing and production areas.

Here you can find an overview of cases from front-running companies who have applied the landscape approach in their African operations, a summary of the approach’s basic principles, a selection of cutting-edge tools, and an explanation of core integrated practices and their relevance to business operations. We encourage you to explore the material in-depth and to analyze the value of a landscape approach within your own operations, investments and planning processes.

Network Events

Royal Senchi Hotel, Akosombo, Ghana October 9, 2015 - October 10, 2015

Pan-African Business and Biodiversity Forum

Natural capital (biodiversity and ecosystems is at the center of all environmental and business operations around the world. This forum is designed to initiate a constructive dialogue concerning the value of natural capital and inclusive sustainable development in African countries.

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Related Publication

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Landscape Experiences

Naivasha, Kenya • Lake Naivasha and surrounding environs, central Kenya

The Naivasha Landscape consists mainly of the Lake Naivasha watershed or catchment basin, which supports a highly vibrant intensive irrigation-based agriculture for cut flowers, livestock and dairy farming, geothermal power production, fishery and tourism industry.

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Useful Resources

1

TerrAfrica Sustainable Land and Water Management Knowledge Platform

The TerrAfrica program has produced guidelines for best practices in sustainable land man­agement (SLM), with an aim to disseminate these promising practices and create a framework for invest­ment in SLM in Sub-Saharan Africa.

2

Initiative for Sustainable Landscapes

In six resource vulnerable landscapes ISLA will convene relevant stakeholders, explicitly including companies sourcing from and having positive and negative impacts in the area, and facilitate discussions about potential scenarios, recognizing costs and benefits for each stakeholder.

3

New Generation Plantations (NGP)

NGP aspires to an ideal form of plantations that contribute positively to people and nature. We promote well managed, designed, inclusive and profitable plantations by sharing knowledge and experience.