Apply Now: AFSA Seeks Food Heritage Researchers, Offers $1,000

The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) has opened applications for its African Food Baskets Country Researchers initiative.

It is seeking 10 researchers to document the continent’s diverse food traditions and indigenous knowledge.

The initiative will select one Country Researcher from each of 10 participating countries to record foods, dishes, beverages, recipes, food sources, menus, stories, proverbs and other cultural knowledge linked to food heritage.

The project is being implemented under the TAFS Project, funded by Sida, and contributes to AFSA’s My Food Is African campaign. Its broader goal is to preserve African food knowledge and develop a continental resource that can support research, education, advocacy, communication and policy engagement.

What Will Selected Researchers Do?

Researchers will work directly with communities and local knowledge holders to document their country’s food basket using AFSA’s African Food Baskets KoboToolbox Toolkit.

Their responsibilities will include:

• Participating in online training on the research toolkit.
• Developing a country-level workplan and identifying communities or food territories.
• Engaging local knowledge holders and obtaining informed consent.
• Conducting field research and collecting information through KoboToolbox.
• Photographing and documenting foods, dishes and food environments.
• Validating findings with participating communities.
• Submitting a complete country data package.
• Preparing a brief report highlighting key findings, food varieties considered at risk and recommendations.

The assignment is expected to run for approximately one month following the training, although fieldwork may be organised around local seasons, market days and community availability.

$1,000 Facilitation Available

Each of the 10 selected researchers will receive US$1,000 as facilitation for the assignment.

According to the published opportunity details, the payment will be made after AFSA accepts the completed country data package. The amount is intended to cover the researcher’s time as well as local travel, communication and community engagement expenses.

Who Can Apply?

The opportunity is open to qualified African researchers who are nationals of, or resident and actively working in, the country they wish to document.

Applicants should ideally have experience in areas such as food systems, agriculture, agroecology, nutrition, anthropology, sociology, development studies, environmental studies, cultural heritage or related fields.

Practical experience in qualitative fieldwork, community interviews or participatory documentation is also required. Applicants should be able to work in English, French or Portuguese and communicate with communities in the relevant local language or arrange reliable interpretation.

Applicants will also need access to a smartphone, tablet or computer and should be willing to learn KoboToolbox. Experience with mobile data-collection platforms is an advantage.

Women researchers, young researchers and those working directly with indigenous peoples, pastoralists, fisherfolk and forest communities are particularly encouraged to apply.

Application Requirements

Interested applicants are required to submit the following in a single email:

1. A CV of no more than two pages, including at least two referees.
2. A country concept note of up to three pages explaining the communities or food territories to be covered, why they were selected, the knowledge holders to be engaged, the consent process and fieldwork plan.
3. One example of previous relevant work, such as a research report, article, thesis chapter or documentation project.
4. The name of an AFSA member organisation with which the applicant is affiliated, where applicable.

Applications can be submitted in English, French or Portuguese.

How to Apply

Applicants should send their completed application to afsa@afsafrica.org with the subject line:

“African Food Baskets Researcher: [Country]”

The application deadline is September 6, 2026. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Interested researchers are advised to review the full Terms of Reference (TOR) before submitting their applications.

Opportunity: African Food Baskets Country Researchers 2026
Organisation: Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA)
Number of Researchers: 10
Facilitation: US$1,000 per selected researcher
Coverage: 10 African countries
Languages: English, French or Portuguese
Application Deadline: September 6, 2026
Application Email: afsa@afsafrica.org