Knowledge sharing to improve the sustainability of food systems in West Africa: Lessons learned from the Food Systems Caravan

Abstract

Knowledge sharing and co-creation for application offer pathways for the multidimensional challenges of food systems in West Africa which are to date still largely underexplored. They have the potential for the emergence of effective communities of practice to tackle some of the serious threats West African food systems face today, some of which are rooted in long-term exploitation by internal and external colonial and post-colonial powers. The Food Systems Caravan project (www.foodsystemscaravan.org) sought to break knowledge barriers among the different stakeholders and generations of West African food systems. The project brought together policy makers, researchers, farmers, extension officers, students, NGOs and other stakeholders in a series of events to promote learning, knowledge sharing and dialogue in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin and Nigeria for a shared understanding of the challenges and solutions to West Africa food systems.The experience of the Food Systems Caravan showed that participatory knowledge sharing methods empower local and national players, enhance cross-learning and activate stakeholder networks. The project explored and experimented with innovative multimedia and incentivising approaches to development work that could be replicable and used to activate change in a more effective way compared to traditional north-south development efforts.