Lately, African leaders are resolute in their drive to ensure food security and promote inclusive economic development in the continent.
Some of the current moves include plans to reduce post-harvest losses; expansion of intra-African trade and encouraging climate-resilient agricultural practices. They also seek to increase agricultural output by 45 per cent and reduction of post-harvest losses by 50 per cent by 2035.
At a three-day summit held from January 9 to 11, 2025, in Kampala, Uganda, organised by the African Union (AU), the African nations pledged to raise $100b in public and private sector investments for agriculture during the next decade.
Inclusivity was part of their central focus, with commitments to empower youth, women and marginalised groups through access to resources, education and value-chain opportunities.
The summit, which brought together ministers of agriculture, heads of state and stakeholders to adopt the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035), aligns with the AU’s Agenda 2063 and builds on the 2014 Malabo Declaration, the objective was to accelerate agricultural growth, ensure food security and promote inclusive economic development.
The CAADP Strategy and Action Plan outlines key priorities, including boosting food production, reducing post-harvest losses, expanding intra-African trade and encourage climate-resilient agricultural practices.
The AGRA’s President, Agnes Kalibata, who addressed the summit during the AUDA-NEPAD session, emphasised three key actions to transform Africa’s food systems: localising the food systems agenda to align with global priorities, designing financing strategies focused on value for money and leveraging data to enhance accountability and continuous improvement.
Additionally, AGRA held a bilateral meeting with Zambia’s Minister of Agriculture, Reuben Mtolo, discussing the launch of AGRA’s legacy program in Zambia, USAID’s growing support and the potential of the Lobito Corridor to facilitate food trade across the region.
Complementing these strategic discussions, AGRA Board Chair, Hailemariam Desalegn, highlighted the pivotal role of young people and women agripreneurs as innovators and leaders whose creativity and energy will drive the transformation of Africa’s agrifood systems.
Another highlight of the summit was the emphasis on the implementation and accountability. The Prime Minister of Uganda Robinah Nabbanja, and the AU Commissioner for Agriculture, H.E. Ambassador Josefa Sacko, mentioned the need to move beyond planning into actionable strategies to transform Africa’s agri-food systems.
The three-day summit ended with a strong call to action for all stakeholders—governments, private sector actors and civil society—to collaborate in translating commitments into tangible results. As Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni noted that Africa’s future depends on embracing commercial agriculture, value addition and sustainable practices.
The President urged the extraordinary summit to promote value addition, saying that Africa cannot continue importing food to feed her population. “This Africa of having no food and begging is not the real Africa, but the colonial and neo-colonial Africa. It is a shame. The battle for value addition has been a big one because lobbies want to keep Africa as a raw-materials-producing continent. Adding value to agricultural products ensures vertical integration in the agricultural sector—from the garden to the table and from the farm to the wardrobe,” he said.
On the issue of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), he called on fellow leaders to open up the borders since they continue to undermine the advancement of agriculture in Africa. “Uganda easily produces all types of agricultural products. However, production is disrupted when some brother countries say they have bumper crops and delicense Ugandan products,” he added.
On his part, the AUC Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, noted that the ambitious CAADP Programme has been implemented since 2014 within the framework of the Malabo Declaration. He however, expressed dissatisfaction with the rate of progress.
“The various biennial evaluations of the commitments made by Member States, initiated in 2017 under this declaration, certainly show progress towards achieving the set objectives, but at an unsatisfactory pace,” Mr Faki said.
The Kampala Declaration sets a clear framework for strengthening governance, monitoring progress and ensuring evidence-based decision-making across the continent.
