Highlights:

Agrobiodiversity is essential for the development of resilient and productive agri-food systems, yet it is rapidly declining due to unsustainable practices. This knowledge brief seeks to understand the current state of knowledge and initiatives that support agrobiodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa, while providing ideas on how to increase biodiversity in agri-food systems.

Agrobiodiversity can make agri-food systems more efficient and resilient, and contribute to healthier, diversified and seasonally (and culturally) appropriate diets. To prevent further loss, there is a need for stronger partnerships and collaborations to fill knowledge and innovation gaps, aiming for agrobiodiversity to be embedded in food systems and leveraged as a tool for transformation.

Increasing agrobiodiversity in agri-food systems can make them more ecologically and economically efficient and resilient and can contribute to the development of healthier, diversified and seasonally (and culturally) appropriate diets, states the HLPE (2019). This paper, zooming in – as much as possible – on the context of sub-Saharan Africa, has aimed to provide ideas for partnership development and collaboration to address a selection of research and innovation gaps with the specific aim to increase biodiversity in agri-food systems.