Driving agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa through traNsdisciplinary Agroecology Living LabS (CANALLS)

The humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa hold much promise for enhancing food and nutritional security within and beyond Africa. With a rich variety of agroecological zones and diverse farming systems, they are home for a great part of the rural population and a large diversity of living organisms, offering vital ecosystem services and potential for sustainable development. Still, if we are to tap into this potential, we need to address the complex environmental, social and economic challenges they face, which in cases are exacerbated by conflict and high vulnerability. In this context, CANALLS aims to drive agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa via multi-actor transdisciplinary Agroecology Living Labs (ALLs). We start with 8 ALLs in DRC, Burundi, Cameroon and Rwanda, working alongside and enabling over 20,000 farmers and value chain actors to co-create and benefit from optimal combinations of agroecological practices focusing on crops that are vital for subsistence and economic development (cocoa, coffee, cassava, rice, maize). In parallel, we engage in solid multi-actor collaboration with rural communities, advisory services and governments to develop a holistic assessment framework and evaluate the socio-economic and environmental performance of the co-created practices (accounting for trade-offs and synergies). We use the comprehensive evidence generated to build capacity and share knowledge (practice abstracts, replication guidelines, policy recommendations) as well as to deliver fair, inclusive and sustainable business models along with services and tools for facilitating access to markets and enhancing demand for agroecological products. Our vision is to create a growing network of ALLs that leverages EU-AU cooperation to conduct transdisciplinary research, offer scientific support and drive coordinated action for delivering holistic solutions that help shape enabling conditions for agroecological transitions.