For the majority of Africans, around 70%, their ecological, economic and social agenda is tied to agriculture. This dependence on agriculture means massive vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Dealing with the climate crisis is key to ensuring resilience, food sovereignty, justice and livelihoods for Africa.

Agroecology is increasingly considered as a positive way to respond to the productivity, nutritional, environmental, cultural and human rights crises that are exacerbated by climate change.

This regional conference on policy dialogue advances agroecology as the most relevant approach for agriculture resilience and reducing risks to farmers, in climate change policy at national and regional level.
Officials, leading experts and practitioners drawn from the African Union, regional economic commissions, NGOs, CSOs, small scale food producers, small businesses, academia, and UN bodies including FAO will take part in this conference.

The objectives are to:

• To inform policy on the significance of agroecology for food sovereignty and climate resilience and through joint formulation of specific recommendations to overcome major barriers to scaling of agroecology.
• To strengthen collaboration among key actors in Africa and national actors in Ethiopia for future joint policy action in support of the recommendations generated at this conference.

The conference will have keynote speakers. The first morning will be dedicated to plenary opening, keynote speeches and discussing agroecological practices. The second session, in the afternoon of the first day, will focus on research and science. The second day morning will focus on policy and institutional issues. In all of the sessions, good case studies will be presented to stimulate discussion. The afternoon will be allocated to wrapping up discussions as well as charting out the future, including issuing a declaration of future action/intentions. Facilitation technique will rely on a mix of approaches, including both conventional and innovative art-based methodologies.