SHIWAKUTA recently participated in the First Pan-African Convening on the Future of Biodigital Technologies in Food and Agriculture, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 2 to 4 October 2025. Organized by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), AfriTAP, and the ETC Group, this historic gathering brought together over 130 participants from 33 African countries, including farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, women, youth, scientists, and policymakers – to defend Africa’s food sovereignty and biodiversity from extractive, corporate-driven digitalization.

The discussions underscored a clear message: technologies are not neutral. Behind promises of artificial intelligence and digital innovation lie growing threats, corporate capture of genetic data, ecological exploitation, and widening inequalities that endanger smallholder farmers, especially women and youth. Amid these challenges, African food movements, including SHIWAKUTA, reaffirmed their vision of community-based agroecology, data justice, and seed sovereignty as the foundations for a resilient and dignified agricultural future.

The convening called for stronger Pan-African solidarity and collective control over Africa’s data, seeds, and technologies, grounded in African knowledge systems and the values of Ubuntu. Participants urged governments, the African Union, and civil society to protect farmers’ privacy, safeguard genetic resources, and promote grassroots innovations that prioritize people and the planet over profit. The unifying message was firm: Africa must not serve as a testing ground for digital empires, but must shape its own sovereign and just bio digital pathway.

SHIWAKUTA stands in full solidarity with this Pan-African Declaration and is committed to domesticating its principles within Tanzania. Guided by food sovereignty and the rights of smallholder producers, SHIWAKUTA will translate the declaration’s vision into national advocacy, grassroots education, and policy dialogue that strengthen agroecology and protect farmers’ rights. Together with member associations and partners, SHIWAKUTA will champion people-centered digital governance and indigenous knowledge, ensuring that technology serves farmers and communities, not corporations.