Graft Africa was born out of lived experience. My earliest lessons in food systems came from my mother, a poultry and pig farmer in Nigeria, whose determination was constantly undercut by the invisible barriers around her – the absence of trade financing, information locked in silos, and opaque supply chains that kept small producers like her perpetually on the margins. Years later, as a scholar and global development practitioner, I’ve witnessed the same systemic fractures across various crop and livestock systems in West Africa: farmers working hard but paid poorly and cut off from information, innovators brimming with solutions but unable to access capital, and policies written with good intent but rarely translating into ground-level change. Graft Africa is my response to this shared story – a platform that grafts innovation, collaboration, agency, and accountability into the very roots of our agrifood systems. Innovation, because we need tools and ideas as bold as the challenges we face. Collaboration, because no single actor can transform the system alone. Agency, because the people who till the land and drive the markets must have active voices in shaping their development and futures. And accountability, because talk without systematic, consistent follow-through is no longer enough. This is not charity work. It is the sustainable cultivation of shared prosperity: where farmers thrive, youth lead, value chains strengthen, and partners find both impact and opportunity. Here, we are all witnesses but also co-architects of a resilient, inclusive, and ambitious future for all who are connected to West Africa’s agricultural and food systems.