The Food Safety for Africa (FS4Africa) consortium successfully conducted its General Assembly, held virtually from February 3rd to 5th, 2026.
Project partners, European Commission representatives, and External Advisory Board members gathered to strategically define actions to achieve FS4Africa’s long-term impact on food safety interventions across the African continent. The discussions included a briefing on the project’s progress to date and highlighted the critical dimension of gender inclusion in research.
Day 1 of the online meeting opened with remarks from IITA Senior Management, delivered by Dr. Arega Alene. Following this, the assembly received critical guidance from the European Commission, including remarks from the Project Officer of the European Research Executive Agency (REA), Dr. Arianna Pasa, and the Policy Officer of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), Dr. Hans-Joerg Lutzeyer, who provided insights on policy alignment and opportunities for advancing the consortium’s progress in future phases. Dr. Titilayo Falade, FS4Africa Project Coordinator and IITA Scientist, provided a comprehensive project update, setting the stage for the work package discussions that followed on Day 2 (February 4th, 2026). The day concluded with a specialized seminar on gender inclusion in research given by Dr. Faustina Obeng Adomaa (IITA), emphasizing the project’s commitment to integrating gender dimensions across all activities.
Day 2 was dedicated to updates, results, technical advancements, and strategic foresight in science, policy, and scaling directions of the work conducted by the consortium partners. Insights were provided by FSTS, Ubuntoo B.V., WUR, RFF, and IITA in their roles as leaders of each Work Package (WP1–WP7).
A session of high importance on sustainable food production from an ethical standpoint was presented by an external expert, Prof. Ilja Pavone. Furthermore, a deliberation on the sustainability roadmap of the project’s “products” was held, including the Knowledge Platform, the Food Safety Operators’ Network, and the WFSD Symposium. The day concluded with strategic feedback from the External Advisory Board (EAB), which focused on priorities for the roadmap and enhanced networking with other EU-funded projects.
The final day (Day 3) focused on practical application and management. Dr. Dorra Fiani, President of the Knowledge Economy Foundation, conducted a hands-on training session for the Food Safety Operators’ Network, a vital tool for connecting food safety stakeholders.
The assembly also reflected on the expansion of its network, with more Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Letters of Intent (LoIs) to be signed, and on further deepening the established ones with concrete actions for exploiting them.The assembly also reflected on the expansion of its network, with more Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Letters of Intent (LoIs) to be signed, and on further deepening the established ones with concrete actions for exploiting them.
The FS4Africa consortium is now moving into a phase of intensified dissemination of its outputs, including the core digital platforms, to ensure a lasting impact on food safety in Africa.
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