APNI Joins SAM Consortium: Guiding Pathways to Agricultural Sustainability in Africa
APNI involvement in the SAM Consortium will guide the development of key indicators of agricultural sustainability within the target countries of Kenya and Tanzania.
The Sustainable Agriculture Matrix (SAM) Consortium represents a highly interdisciplinary team of experts presently operating in national and sub-country-scale initiatives tasked with describing how best to define appropriate pathways towards sustainable agriculture (SA). Establishing SA benchmarks and regularly tracking progress remains critical to ensuring countries can make informed decisions and be accountable to their UN commitments towards SA.
“SAM aims to serve as a platform to engage conversations among stakeholders involved in agriculture and to forge positive changes towards sustainability while avoiding unintended consequences” – Sustainable Agriculture Matrix
The path to agricultural sustainability will differ by region, but the current consensus recognizes that national sustainability efforts should focus on food production systems that provide “economic profitability and social welfare without sacrificing environmental quality.” The consortium’s work will build upon established indicators within its Sustainable Agriculture Matrix, which uses a uniquely illustrative approach to measuring environmental, economic, and social dimensions to food production at national scales.
Under the support granted through the Belmont Forum’s “pathways to sustainability” initiative, APNI will lead the development and analysis of project case studies that will examine knowledge gaps and advance the SAM indicators within the target countries of Kenya and Tanzania. The APNI Team, led by Thomas Oberthür, Director of Business & Partnerships; Shamie Zingore, Director of Research; and James Mutegi, Senior Program Manager, is collaborating with partner organizations in the US, Austria, Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa under this consortium.
The SAM consortium will provide clarity on the expected trade-offs and synergies among agriculture-related SDGs and contribute to the scientific discussion and national policy and help guide sustainable agricultural pathway development. Planned output include illustrative SAM report cards and an interactive platform to highlight priority areas for national-level improvement of agricultural sustainability.
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Related Links
APNI Project Website: https://www.apni.net/project/SAM-SH-01
Sustainable Agriculture Matrix: http://research.al.umces.edu/sam/
Belmont Forum: https://www.belmontforum.org
About APNI
APNI (https://apni.net) is a not-for-profit research and development organization headquartered in Benguérir, Morocco. Its continental vision is prosperous African farmers sustainably managing crop nutrition to provide consumers with a secure supply of nutritious foods at a reasonable price.
APNI Contributors: Gavin Sulewski, Editor; Dr. Thomas Oberthür, Director of Business and Partnerships
