African Food Baskets Country Researchers: Applications Open for 10 Researchers | USD 1,000 Facilitation
The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is inviting applications from qualified African researchers for the first phase of the African Food Baskets Initiative. The initiative offers an opportunity for researchers across 10 selected African countries to document local food heritage, traditional knowledge and food systems while contributing to a continent-wide resource for research, advocacy, education and policy engagement.
Ten Country Researchers will be selected, with one researcher assigned to each participating country. This is a short-term assignment designed for researchers with experience in qualitative fieldwork, community engagement, food systems, cultural documentation or related areas.
African Food Baskets Country Researcher Opportunity
The project aims to preserve and promote Africa’s diverse food knowledge by documenting foods, dishes, beverages, recipes, food sources, menus, stories, proverbs and cultural meanings associated with local communities.
The initiative forms part of the TAFS Project, funded by Sida, and contributes to AFSA’s My Food Is African campaign.
Researchers will work directly with communities and knowledge holders to ensure that local food traditions are accurately documented and that community consent and ownership are respected throughout the process.
Opportunity Details
- Position: African Food Baskets Country Researcher
- Number of Researchers: 10
- Location: Country-specific across 10 selected African countries
- Contract: Short-term assignment
- Facilitation: USD 1,000
- Application Deadline: 6 September 2026
- Call Opens: 24 August 2026
- Selection Notification: 11 September 2026
- Online Training: 17 September 2026
- Fieldwork and Submission Deadline: 16 October 2026
- Continental Review Session: 5 November 2026
- Dissemination Workshop: 25 November 2026
What Will the Selected Researchers Do?
Country Researchers will participate in online training covering the African Food Baskets KoboToolbox Toolkit before beginning fieldwork.
Their responsibilities will include developing a country workplan identifying communities or food territories, knowledge holders and a proposed fieldwork schedule.
Researchers will also:
- Engage communities and obtain informed consent.
- Collect information using KoboToolbox.
- Document foods, dishes and beverages.
- Record recipes and preparation methods.
- Document food sources and menus.
- Capture food-related stories, proverbs and cultural meanings.
- Photograph foods, dishes and food environments.
- Validate findings with participating communities.
- Complete data quality and validation requirements.
- Submit a complete country data package.
- Prepare a narrative report of no more than eight pages.
- Participate in a continental review session with other researchers.
Expected Research Outputs
Each researcher will be expected to develop a comprehensive country food basket containing a range of documented materials.
The minimum expected outputs include one to three community or food territory profiles, 30 to 50 food, dish and beverage records, and at least 10 recipe and preparation records.
Researchers will also document:
- At least 3 daily menu examples.
- At least 3 seasonal or festive menus.
- At least 10 food stories, proverbs or cultural meanings.
- Foods considered at risk of disappearing.
- At least 3 good photographs for each priority food or dish.
- Relevant recipe books and other sources.
- At least 10 visual basket design elements.
- At least one community validation record for each community or food territory.
This makes the opportunity particularly suitable for researchers interested in African food systems, agriculture, nutrition, cultural heritage, anthropology and community-based research.
Who Can Apply?
Applicants should be nationals or residents who are actively working in the country they intend to document.
Candidates should preferably have an academic or professional background in areas such as:
- Food systems
- Agriculture
- Agroecology
- Nutrition
- Anthropology
- Sociology
- Development studies
- Environmental studies
- Cultural heritage
- Related research disciplines
Applicants should also have practical experience conducting qualitative research, community interviews or participatory documentation.
The ability to communicate in English, French or Portuguese, together with the main local language of the communities being studied, is important. Applicants who do not speak the relevant local language should have access to reliable interpretation.
Experience with KoboToolbox or similar mobile data collection platforms is an advantage.
Applicants should also have access to a smartphone, tablet or computer and be able to take clear, well-composed photographs. Researchers must be available for the full assignment period.
Women researchers, young researchers and researchers working directly with indigenous peoples, pastoralists, fisherfolk and forest communities are particularly encouraged to apply.
How Applicants Will Be Selected
Applications will be assessed using several criteria.
Relevant research and fieldwork experience will account for 30%, while the quality and feasibility of the proposed country approach will account for 25%.
Knowledge of local food systems, food cultures and languages will account for 20%, existing connections with communities, AFSA members or local networks will account for 15%, and digital, data collection and photographic skills will account for 10%.
AFSA will also consider regional, linguistic and gender balance when selecting the ten researchers.
USD 1,000 Facilitation
Each selected researcher will receive USD 1,000 in facilitation for the assignment.
The payment will be made after AFSA accepts the completed country data package. The facilitation is intended to cover the researcher’s time, local travel, communication and community engagement expenses.
Applicants should note that AFSA describes this payment as facilitation for a collaborative documentation process rather than a commercial consultancy fee.
Important Ethics and Community Consent Requirements
Community participation and informed consent are central to the project.
Researchers must obtain informed consent before collecting information, recipes, stories, photographs or personal details. Communities and individual knowledge holders have the right to determine whether their contributions can be published, published under certain conditions, used internally or withheld.
Local food names must be recorded accurately as provided by communities, with spellings and translations checked with knowledge holders.
Confidential or restricted knowledge will not be published. AFSA will manage the resulting dataset on behalf of communities for movement building, advocacy, research and communication purposes while acknowledging participating communities, knowledge holders and researchers.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should submit one email containing the following:
- A CV of no more than two pages, including at least two referees.
- A country concept note of no more than three pages explaining the proposed communities or food territories, why they have been selected, the knowledge holders to be engaged, the consent approach and the fieldwork plan.
- One example of previous relevant work, such as a report, article, thesis chapter or documentation product.
- Where applicable, the name of the AFSA member organisation with which the applicant is affiliated.
Application Email
Email: afsa@afsafrica.org
Subject line: African Food Baskets Researcher: [Country]
Applications may be submitted in English, French or Portuguese.
The application deadline is 6 September 2026. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
Why This Opportunity Matters
The African Food Baskets Initiative provides an opportunity to contribute to the preservation of Africa’s rich food heritage while developing practical research and community documentation experience.
For researchers with knowledge of local food cultures and strong community networks, the assignment offers a chance to transform local knowledge into a valuable resource that can support advocacy, education, research, communication and policy engagement.
Researchers interested in food sovereignty, traditional knowledge, sustainable agriculture, nutrition, cultural heritage and community-led development may find this opportunity particularly relevant.
Application Deadline: 6 September 2026
Application Email: afsa@afsafrica.org
Subject: African Food Baskets Researcher: [Country]
Applicants are encouraged to review the full Terms of Reference carefully before submitting their applications.
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