A&FS Newsletter - Feb. 2026 (last issue)
The newsletter of the SDC Agriculture & Food Systems Network provides you with the latest news on projects, publications and events related to food systems and submitted by network members. It also informs about A&FS Network activities and portrays network members.
Editorial
Dear readers, AFS members and friends,
We hope the past few weeks offered you some space to rest and recharge. At the same time, events around the world have continued to unfold and shape our work. We wish you much strength and courage as we navigate the year ahead. Hope, determination, and collaboration shall guide us forward !
On our side, we have taken time to reflect on the AFS network’s structure and activities, and are pleased to share with you a few updates for 2026, along with some selected highlights from 2025 :
HOT NEWS :
- We will be discontinuing the Newsletters effective immediately. This will therefore be the last newsletter from us, as we move our communication channel onto a new platform:
- We have created a new MS Teams channel dedicated to the AFS Network and its members, enabling more timely updates, discussions, and interactions. If you wish to remain a member of the network, don’t forget to SIGN UP asap ! More details can be found below.
- We have also provided some new updates to our network’s website, aiming to streamline in a more visible manner some of our priorities (see Themes & Resources) and a restructured Knowledge Hub, which will be regularly populated with new learning material and guidelines. Stay tuned for more!
Looking back: we share here below a selection of past news items which gathered the most appetite, as inspirational successes looking ahead.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, our very diverse and experienced members from around the world, for your continuing faithful participation, be it by sharing news, sharing your experiences, taking part in one or the other event organised year-round. We remain committed to provide an engaging space to allow each and every one of us to grow, to collaborate and to strive ultimately for more sustainable, resilient, healthy and inclusive food systems globally!
For questions or suggestions, feel free to contact us at : deza.afsnw@eda.admin.ch.
Your AFS focal point,
Stephanie Piers de Raveschoot
A more personal note:
This will also be the last newsletter you will receive from me, Charline, as I am finishing my academic internship at the end of the month. It has been a real pleasure to get to know you and your work through our events and webinars, as well as by reading your contributions and exchanging emails. I am very grateful for all the learning gathered along the way on agriculture and food systems, and I fully intend to remain part of the AFS network.
The recurring question I get is: “What’s next?” I am happy to share that I will continue working with the team for the next six months as Programme Manager in the Health and Food section at SDC. And for those who then ask, “and after that?”: I don’t know yet. Feel free to send suggestions, or ask me again by the end of the summer.
Best wishes for 2026,
Charline Pasche.
News
Join our new exchange platform on MS Teams
AFS network members will now be able to share and exchange on MS Teams. The previous Closed User Group (CUG) and the quarterly newsletters will be discontinued.
From 2025 to 2026: retrospective and planning
If you were occasionally too busy in 2025 to follow everything that was happening within the network, this article offers a (non-exhaustive) overview of last year’s key moments: network activities, global gatherings, and selected inspirational and learning content. And because we know time is limited, it also looks ahead to some of the activities and events we are looking forward to in 2026.
2025 Network Activities: when did we meet?
Overview of last year’s AFS network key moments: network activities, global gatherings, and selected inspirational and learning content.
2026 Highlights: what’s coming up?
Activities and events of the AFS Network to look forward to in 2026.
Most Read Articles in 2025
Grounding AI in Practice: Learning from Extension
GenAI promises many benefits in agriculture. But is it living up to the hype? What can AI systems learn from decades of person-to-person agricultural extension? We talk about extension’s obvious (and less obvious) limitations, what it gets right, and what AI can learn. We conclude that grounding AI in real-world extension practices is the only way to build tools that farmers will use, and trust. The piece is part of the AI for and with Food Systems Research Initiative blog series. The initiative brings together researchers and practitioners across CGIAR and its partners to explore how AI can be designed, governed, and applied responsibly in food systems research and innovation.
Hesat2030: Delivering Results in 2025
Hesat2030 seeks to end hunger while also addressing malnutrition, inequity and climate change. It is charting a course for policymakers and donor agencies to make high-impact decisions and investments driven by data. To this aim, they offer evidence-based research, new tools and collective action.
Revitalizing Pomegranate Production in North Macedonia
The region of Valandovo in North Macedonia stands out as a prime location for cultivating pomegranates, olives, and persimmons, thanks to its unique climate and fertile soil conditions. The area benefits from a plentiful water supply from nearby rivers and irrigation systems, ensuring consistent hydration for the crops. These natural advantages, combined with the expertise of local farmers, have made Valandovo a key area for pomegranate cultivation in North Macedonia.
Editorial selection
Beyond Hunger: People-Centered Food Systems
Food security is more than producing enough food. Many countries face systemic barriers that limit access to land, resources, and services, resulting in unequal food access despite sufficient supply. The People-Centered Food Systems (PCFSy) Project addresses these challenges by helping governments and communities integrate human rights principles into food systems.
Promoting production and consumption of traditional grains
Market and Systems Access Project (MASAP) is being implemented in Zambia and Zimbabwe with funding from the SDC. Good Seed and Food Festivals are one of the interventions being implemented by the project to promote inclusivity and resilience in seed and food systems. The focus crops are sorghum, millet, cowpeas and groundnuts. The festivals create a platform for smallholder farmers and buyers and processors to exchange information on supply and demand of neglected grains. Increased consumption of neglected grains will stimulate increased production and consumption which will in turn enhance household food security, nutrition and dietary diversity. Production of such crops is beneficial to the environment and helps smallholder farmers to cope with the challenges wrought by climate change.
Public lecture series on agroecology
The World Food System Center at ETH Zurich has announced its 2025 Public Lecture Series on Agroecology and the Transition to Sustainable Food Systems, with experts sharing their insights from the fields of science, policy, and food system transformation. While the first lecture happened yesterday, you can still join the next two via the zoom link, or catch up on all previous lectures on their Youtube Playlist.