The 6th World Congress on Agroforestry, held from 20–24 October 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda, gathered over 700 participants from more than 60 countries under the theme “Agroforestry for People, Planet and Profit.”
Hosted by CIFOR-ICRAF in partnership with the government of Rwanda, the event became a powerful platform to reaffirm the role of trees in addressing climate change, restoring degraded lands, and strengthening rural livelihoods.
For Africa—and Zimbabwe in particular—the Congress was more than a global dialogue.
It was a continental moment of reflection on how communities, researchers, and policymakers can align their efforts to make agroforestry the cornerstone of sustainable development.
Delegates shared a unifying message: the landscapes of tomorrow will be shaped by the choices we make today—about what we plant, protect, and promote.
The Kigali Congress underscored agroforestry’s evolution from a niche conservation tool into a central pillar of climate-smart development and inclusive green growth.
Over five days, participants exchanged cutting-edge knowledge on how trees on farms and in landscapes strengthen ecosystems, enhance food security, and drive local economies.
A major outcome was the renewed commitment to scale up landscape restoration through farmer-led tree planting.
Rwanda’s Transforming Eastern Province through Adaptation (TREPA) project—restoring over 60 000 hectares of degraded land—stood out as a continental benchmark.
By integrating fruit, fodder, and timber species on farms, the project has transformed livelihoods while improving soil health and water retention.
Delegates praised TREPA’s model of local ownership, gender equity, and community governance as a replicable pathway for other African nations.
The Congress also showcased innovations in green enterprise and circular economies.
CIFOR-ICRAF introduced digital tools connecting farmers to carbon markets and sustainable value chains.
Smallholder cooperatives from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania displayed success stories in beekeeping, fruit drying, herbal processing, and bamboo crafts—illustrating that agroforestry is also an engine for entrepreneurship.
Women and youth entrepreneurs, in particular, highlighted how value-added tree products can generate reliable incomes while restoring biodiversity.
A parallel session on policy and climate finance called for governments to mainstream agroforestry into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
Participants emphasized the need for fiscal incentives, inclusive land tenure, and regional research partnerships to unlock agroforestry’s potential.
The overarching consensus was that agroforestry is not just an ecological intervention—it is an economic and social investment in Africa’s future.
Running alongside the Congress was the Youth Summit on Biodiversity Action Corner, a dynamic forum where young Africans, yours truly included, showcased their leadership in ecological innovation and community action.
The summit captured the spirit of a generation determined to restore what has been lost and to re-imagine what can still be saved.
Special mention to the Global Landscape Forum, Africa Wildlife Foundation, Leitoro and Mariah for putting this together!
Youth delegates presented initiatives ranging from community tree nurseries and seed banks to digital biodiversity mapping, restoration podcasts, and environmental art campaigns.
In one session, young Rwandan entrepreneurs unveiled mobile apps that track tree survival rates, while others shared stories of turning local waste streams into organic fertilizer and eco-charcoal briquettes.
What stood out most was the sense of purpose.
These young leaders are not waiting to inherit the planet—they are already shaping it.
Their projects demonstrated that biodiversity protection can coexist with enterprise, creativity, and innovation.
Many of the showcased ventures linked agroforestry with beekeeping, herbal processing, eco-tourism, and renewable energy, turning restoration into opportunity.
Speakers at the Youth Summit urged African governments and private investors to open access to green finance, land, and mentorship for youth-led biodiversity enterprises.
They emphasised that the success of agroforestry will depend on intergenerational collaboration—where experience meets youthful imagination.
As one participant declared, “The trees we plant today must grow with our dreams.”
The Biodiversity Action Corner was not a side event—it was a declaration.
It showed that sustainability in Africa will be youth-driven, powered by technology, rooted in culture, and measured by biodiversity gain.
The summit’s outcomes will feed into a Youth Roadmap for Biodiversity and Agroforestry Action, to be launched before COP30 in Belem, Brazil.
The lessons from Kigali resonate strongly across Zimbabwe’s landscapes. The Congress demonstrated that agroforestry, clean energy, and biodiversity restoration are not separate agendas—they are interdependent pillars of a thriving rural economy.
Projects such as Emerald Climate Hub’s biogas and clean cookstove initiative show how waste-to-energy systems can complement tree planting by reducing deforestation and producing nutrient-rich organic slurry for fields.
In Gokwe, beekeeping and agroforestry integration can mirror the Congress’s emphasis on pollinator-friendly landscapes that sustain both livelihoods and ecosystems.
Meanwhile, urban agriculture and digital food accelerator efforts in Harare can embody and scale Kigali’s call to re-green cities and empower youth innovators to blend farming, composting, and small-scale renewable systems.
At the policy level, Zimbabwe can build on these lessons by aligning its National Development Strategy (NDS1) and Climate Change Policy with continental frameworks such as the AFR100 and the Great Green Wall Initiative.
This alignment would open access to restoration finance and promote stronger community-based governance.
The Rwandan example showed that when policies, local action, and science work in harmony, landscape restoration becomes unstoppable.
Ultimately, the congress reinforced that restoring land is about more than planting trees—it’s about planting opportunity, dignity, and hope.
For Zimbabwe, the challenge and the promise lie in turning these insights into daily practice: mobilizing women, youth, and rural innovators to regenerate land, biodiversity, and livelihoods together.
The 6th World Congress on Agroforestry reminded Africa that the future of restoration will not be written in policy documents alone—it will be cultivated in fields, forests, and community gardens.
The spirit of Kigali calls on all of us to move from dialogue to delivery, from commitments to community action.
For Zimbabwe, the transformation is already underway.
Through local champions, cooperatives, and organizations such as Emerald Climate Hub, a new generation of leaders is re-imagining how people and the planet can thrive together.
From biogas systems to beehive corridors and Harare’s green innovation hubs, each initiative forms part of a broader continental story of resilience and regeneration.
The message from Kigali is simple but profound: every tree matters, every youth matters, and every act of restoration counts.
If agroforestry is the art of harmonizing life between people and nature, then the next chapter belongs to those who plant not only for profit, but for posterity.
As the journey from Kigali continues, Africa’s hope lies in communities who dare to believe that healing the land also heals the people.
The legacy of this Congress is clear—the future of Africa’s landscapes will be shaped not just by what we know, but by how courageously we act.
*Mafa writes in his capacity as the Global Landscapes Forum Zimbabwe Chapter coordinator and Programs Assistant at Emerald Climate Hub.
These weekly articles are coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge, an independent consultant, managing consultant of Zawale Consultants (Private) Limited, past president of the Zimbabwe Economics Society and past president of the Chartered Governance and Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe . Email – kadenge.zes@gmail.com or Mobile No. +263 772 382 852