AFRICAN FORUM FOR AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY SERVICES

Their core work

AFAAS is a pan-African NGO based in Kampala, Uganda, that strengthens agricultural advisory and extension services across the continent. They connect farming communities with research-based knowledge, build capacity among farmer organizations, and promote sustainable rural livelihoods. In H2020 projects, they serve as the African institutional bridge — bringing field-level understanding of smallholder farming systems, herder-farmer dynamics, and rural value chains to EU-Africa research partnerships.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

AFAAS began with high-level strategic work on Africa-EU food security partnerships (PROIntensAfrica, 2015-2017), a coordination support action with a modest budget. From 2020 onward, their involvement shifted to hands-on, technically specific projects — integrated farming systems in the Sahel and bio-based technologies for rural income diversification. The trajectory shows a clear move from policy dialogue toward applied, field-level implementation of sustainable agriculture and bioeconomy solutions.

AFAAS is moving toward circular bioeconomy and climate-resilient farming systems, making them increasingly relevant for projects linking African agriculture with green technology transfer.

How they like to work

AFAAS operates exclusively as a participant, never as a coordinator — consistent with their role as a continental network organization that plugs into larger consortia rather than leading them. With 63 unique partners across 27 countries in just 3 projects, they join large, diverse consortia (averaging 20+ partners per project). This makes them a connector node: they bring pan-African reach and farmer-level access that few European institutions can offer independently.

Despite only 3 projects, AFAAS has collaborated with 63 different partners across 27 countries, reflecting the large multi-continental consortia typical of Africa-EU research programs. Their network spans both European research institutions and African agricultural organizations.

What sets them apart

AFAAS is one of the few pan-African NGOs active in H2020, offering something most European partners cannot: direct access to agricultural advisory networks across sub-Saharan Africa. For any consortium working on food security, bioeconomy, or climate adaptation in African contexts, AFAAS provides the institutional infrastructure to reach farming communities at scale. Their growing involvement in bio-based technologies (BIO4AFRICA) positions them uniquely at the intersection of African agriculture and European green technology.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BIO4AFRICA
  Largest grant (EUR 196,625) and most technically ambitious — combines biochar, biorefineries, and circular business models for rural African communities.
• SustainSAHEL
  Tackles the critical Sahel food crisis through integrated crop-shrub-livestock systems and herder-farmer cooperation — highly relevant to climate adaptation.