South–South Collaboration: Building Resilient Food Systems for the Most Vulnerable

Opinion Piece By Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT

At the recent Africa Food Systems Summit (AFS) in Dakar, I was struck by a profound mix of urgency and possibility. Urgency, because by nearly every measure, climate change, land degradation, malnutrition, and rural poverty are intensifying. And possibility, because it is remarkable to see such strong momentum around a single idea, that solutions must be co-created, shared and scaled across borders if we are to build food systems that are resilient and serve all.

The summit was a pivotal opportunity to see Africa not merely through the lens of its challenges, but as a wellspring of innovation and resilience, and one that ICRISAT has helped shape and scale for over fifty years.

The discussions and side events consistently reinforced a central message that South–South collaboration is no longer a choice but a necessity for transforming food systems.

Too often, the Global South is portrayed as a region in need of solutions from elsewhere. In reality, some of the world’s most transformative agricultural innovations have been born here.

The world’s first biofortified pearl millet, released by the Government of Niger for commercial cultivation, is improving nutrition where iron deficiency has long been a silent crisis.

The world’s first early-maturing groundnut varieties, developed by ICRISAT, are helping farmers in drought-prone regions achieve reliable harvests within shorter growing seasons.

And from frontier science in watershed management from the South are now shaping the way the world thinks about resilience. ​ These are but a few of many examples.

And they are ultimately blueprints of resilience, waiting to be adapted and scaled across regions.

The task before us is to create the linkages and platforms that allow these breakthroughs to travel across borders quickly and effectively.

This is where the ICRISAT Centre of Excellence for South–South Cooperation in Agriculture (ISSCA) plays a vital role.

Established to serve as a hub for knowledge exchange, ISSCA is creating pathways to connect governments, research institutions, the private sector, and farmer organizations across the Global South. It is about building bridges between the enablers of food systems.

By facilitating this exchange, ISSCA ensures that the breakthroughs of one country can benefit farmers across continents who face similar challenges.

But dialogue alone will not suffice.

If we are serious about achieving the food and nutrition security aspirations of African nations, greater investments must flow into collaboration including the platforms, networks, and institutions that enable us to learn from each other and act together.

Equally, we must ensure that proven technologies are scaled to reach more farmers and boost productivity at the frontlines of food systems.

Programs such as TAAT (Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation) have already demonstrated what is possible when innovations are taken to scale, proving that real impact comes when science is matched with investment and political will.

This is precisely why the United Nations International Day for South–South Cooperation on 12 September matters. ​

Not so much as a symbolic event, but as a chance for ISSCA and partners to shape the future of agriculture in the Global South.

On this day, ISSCA will convene a wide range of stakeholders not only to reflect on what is working, but also to identify where gaps remain and where targeted investments are needed to accelerate replication and expansion across the Global South.

It will be a meeting to recommit.

By bringing together policymakers, scientists, development partners, and farmer representatives, we will identify the most promising solutions that can be scaled across borders, whether it is climate-smart seed systems, digital innovations for extension, or inclusive finance models for smallholders.

The Africa Food Systems Summit reminds us that we cannot afford to work in silos, nor can we wait for solutions to arrive from elsewhere.

The expertise, the innovations, and the resilience we need already exist within the Global South.

What we must now do is connect them through purposeful collaboration, shared investments, and a commitment to collective progress.

As we look ahead, we must see South–South cooperation for what it truly is, and that is a strategy for shared progress through strong partnership.

ICRISAT stands ready, through ISSCA and beyond, to continue enabling these partnerships.

The journey is long, but if we walk it together, the aspirations of billions across the drylands and beyond can and will be fulfilled.

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