Current In 2002, the International Foundation for Science (IFS )and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) began preparations for the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative by exploring ways of improving the dialogue between researchers and stakeholders in the agricultural production chain. The foundations for this initiative have been laid in the recognition that the sustainable management of agricultural resources demands a capacity to exploit high quality transdisciplinary research to generate knowledge about both ecosystem processes affecting local, regional and global environments, and the social and economic institutions governing management of the resource base. The CODESRIA-IFS Sustainable Agriculture Initiative will stimulate multidisciplinary agricultural research that generates new knowledge and appropriate technologies for improved natural resource management for sustainable agriculture, and thereby contribute to the reduction of global hunger and malnutrition. Current events highlight the timeliness of this project; ongoing agrarian and land reform is resulting in changed political and legal institutions for food production, drought and floods have threatened food reserves and agricultural livelihoods in many African countries, and the World Food Summits of 1996 and 2002 have focused the global consensus regarding the need to reduce chronic food and nutrition deficits by increasing agricultural production within the context of sustainable utilisation of the biological resource base. To help African researchers working in the field of sustainable agriculture to orientate their activities towards meeting the needs of agriculture stakeholders. An increase in the number of young researchers trained in the specified research priority areas, as well as an understanding of cross-cutting issues which are pertinent to the implementation of new technologies. The aim is that such researchers would provide a necessary human resource base and ultimately assume key roles in national and local research and development programmes.An increase in the number of active multidisciplinary research teams in Africa that can engage agriculture stakeholders and achieve jointly identified research goals. The incorporation of stakeholders into the research process will increase the impact of supported projects for meeting development and food production goals.Research findings relevant and implementable for the sustainability of agricultural production in Africa.Increased international and regional research collaboration in the identified priority research areas leading to a greater probability of developing sustainable solutions to the identified problems in these areas.Applicability of such solutions to similar agro-ecological zones in other developing countries.Enhancement of skills of the existing pool of researchers in developing countries in fields related to the thematic areas will make a significant contribution to research programmes and such persons will be available to serve as Advisers to policymakers.Intensified regional networking and information sharing among researchers as well as between researchers and development practitioners. Workshops organised at a sub-regional level are cost efficient at the same time as they help building trust among neighbouring countries as they can learn from each other.