The African continent is at a defining crossroads: how to feed a growing population, sustain rural livelihoods, and preserve the forests that anchor its ecological and economic balance. From 27–29 October 2025, FAO, the African Forest Forum (AFF), and UNEP convened more than 330 participants from across 25 African countries — 42 percent women — for a Community of Practice (CoP) webinar focused on "strengthening sustainable agricultural solutions for halting deforestation in Africa".
Held on the Howspace platform, the three-day virtual exchange served as living laboratory of ideas, experiences, and solutions to advance a deforestation-free agricultural future — reinforcing peer learning and joint priority-setting around four shared priority areas:
- Strengthening sustainable, forest positive value chains for market-based regulations including through enhanced due diligence and digital traceability systems;
- Enhancing sustainable finance and private sector engagement;
- Strengthening cross-sectoral policy coordination and integrated landscape approach; and
- Developing and enhancing regional principles and approach for localized, context-specific solutions.
Participants emphasized the need to scale up such actions in a participatory manner, blending regional knowledge and principles with practical tools to ensure that agriculture-and-forest initiatives generate tangible, cross-sectoral and mutually beneficial socio-economic outcomes for local communities, while keeping smallholders and governments firmly in the driving seat.
Community action matters — and it's already underway
Africa loses about 4.4 million hectares of forest every year with 97 percent of agriculture-linked deforestation associated in the context of small-scale farming. This reflects the predominance of small-scale producers in the region's agricultural landscape and means that effective solutions lie in supporting smallholders, addressing structural constraints and strengthening their capacity to transition to sustainable land-use practices. Faced with changing global market requirements—such as the EU Deforestation Regulation—and the growing need for climate-resilient food systems, countries require more than technical tools. They need a trusted space to collaborate, learn, and co-create solutions.
As Prof. Labode Popoola, Executive Secretary of AFF, noted: "Feeding people and protecting forests are not opposing goals—balancing ecology and economics is the only path to sustainable development".
The CoP brought together policymakers, researchers, producer organizations, NGOs, and private-sector actors, sharing how to transform knowledge into action. Over 38 percent of reported impacts involved on-the-ground restoration and tree planting, including over 40,000 indigenous trees planted in Uganda. Trials in Cameroon tested optimal tree densities in cocoa landscapes, while Côte d'Ivoire expanded agroforestry models through PROMIRE project. Almost half of participants (45 percent) reported that they are already integrating some of these lessons into ongoing work. As one participant affirmed: "We are already planning to incorporate agroforestry and due-diligence systems into our community projects".
Finance as an engine of inclusion and empowerment
Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs) demonstrated their powerful role as change agents. "Through the FFF, over 380 FFPOs and 762,000 people have strengthened sustainable livelihoods and restored over half a million hectares by linking inclusive governance, climate-smart enterprises, and access to finance", highlighted Jhony Zapata, Senior Forestry Officer at FAO.
Forty-three percent of participant reflections emphasized that community engagement and ownership are key for success. As one farmer leader shared, "Community ownership and participation are the backbone of restoration."
Innovative finance models — particularly strategically mixing both public and private finance — can make forest protection economically viable. Public-private investment and blended finance are beginning to unlock capital for forest-positive production as can be observed in the Cocoa and Forest Initiative implemented by IDH in Côte d'Ivoire. The Cocoa and Forests Initiative in Côte d'Ivoire demonstrates how public-private partnership accelerates sustainable cocoa systems. REDD+ are also continuing to be a catalyst as well — "REDD+ offers us a chance to grow essential commodities like cocoa without sacrificing the forests we rely on", emphasized Thomas Yaw Gyambrah, Manager of the Climate Change Directorate, Ghana Forestry Commission. The financial community increasingly sees deforestation as a risk to address for long-term sustainability. Pei Chi Wong, Senior Research Associate at Global Canopy stressed that though "Deforestation poses financial and reputational risks to financial institutions... yet it is a solvable crisis".
Data and digital traceability systems deliver opportunities
As demand for transparency rises, digital tools are becoming essential infrastructure for transparency, accountability, and market access, helping smallholders access premium markets. Open Foris Ground and WHISP allow producers to map plot-level data and feed into national systems. "A digital public infrastructure is the only way to provide a global solution to a global issue and allow the most vulnerable to access premium markets sustainably", stressed Rémi d'Annunzio, FAO Forestry Officer. Kenya's success with coffee traceability demonstrates how such tools can boost competitiveness for smallholders.
Integrated governance and regional principles
"No single actor can achieve a deforestation-free future alone", stated Abraham Baffoe, Executive Director, Proforest Africa. Through the Africa Sustainable Commodities Initiative (ASCI), African countries are coordinating regional principles and leading their own localized solutions across the continent. Country experiences reaffirmed that local ownership is the heartbeat of sustainability. The CoP reinforced the importance of peer learning, expanding South–South learning, and co-developing tools for traceable supply chains. The CoP called for scaling such participatory approaches, blending traditional knowledge with modern tools to ensure that forest conservation efforts translate into tangible socio-economic benefits for local people.
Looking ahead
The CoP aims to evolve beyond a single event into a regional knowledge ecosystem. Upcoming efforts focused on:
- Scale digital transparency;
- Strengthen local and regional networks; and
- Align finance with forest-positive action.
As Serena Fortuna, FAO Senior Forestry Officer, noted: "Africa's future depends on producing food without depleting its forests. This Community of Practice is helping turn that vision into collective action".