A group of 5 H2020 funded projects including Soils4Africa, UPSCALE, Ewa-Belt, SustInAfrica and SustainSahel, presented their key recommendations to sustainably intensify agriculture in Africa. The recommendations were presented at the 5th AU–EU Agriculture Ministerial Conference in Rome on 30th June 2023. The presentation was made during the thematic session “Research and Innovation for smarter policies and technologies”, chaired by the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Ireland, Martin Heydon.