A coalition of Non-State Actors (NSAs) in the agricultural and food systems sector has called for the domestication of the African Union (AU) Kampala Declaration across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to strengthen food and nutrition security in Nigeria.
The coalition, comprising civil society organizations, farmer associations, academia, research institutions, development partners, the media, and the private sector, made the call in Abuja after a two-day workshop on the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration on “Strengthening Food Systems and Enhancing Food Security and Nutrition (2026–2035).”
The workshop was supported by the German Development Corporation’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies (GIZ AgSys) and ActionAid Nigeria.
Chairperson of the Coalition of NGOs in Agriculture and Sustainable Development, Rosemary Effiong, recalled the commitments made by the Nigerian government during the African Union Heads of State Summit on the CAADP Kampala Declaration in January 2025, as well as the unveiling of the 10-year Strategic Action Plan (2026–2035) to transform the agricultural sector through a Presidential Directive implementing the six strategic objectives of the Declaration.
To this end, the CAADP Non-State Actors Group (CNG) Nigeria pledged to collaborate with the Federal Government in implementing the six strategic objectives, which include promoting sustainable food production, agro-industrialization, and trade; boosting investment and financing for accelerated agrifood systems transformation; ensuring food and nutrition security and equitable livelihoods; and building resilient agrifood systems.
They further advocated for the integration of CNG Nigeria in the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the 10-year Strategic Action Plan (2026–2035).
The coalition also called for the implementation of the CAADP commitment to allocate at least 10 percent of national, state, and local government budgets to agriculture, ensure the timely release of funds, and improve expenditure performance and utilization.
Additionally, they urged government at all levels to strengthen rural infrastructure and services — including roads, irrigation, storage, markets, and ICT — and increase investments in strategic areas such as extension services, access to credit, women and youth participation in agriculture, labour-saving technologies, inputs, post-harvest loss reduction, climate-resilient sustainable agriculture, nutrition, irrigation, research and development, monitoring, evaluation, and coordination.
Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Dr. Karin Jansen, noted that GIZ had launched the “Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies” (AgSys) project to support agricultural reforms in nine partner countries across Africa and Asia, as well as at regional and global levels.
He stated that Germany, through its Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, had reaffirmed its partnership with the African Union on CAADP and the Kampala Agenda as key frameworks for food systems transformation, providing additional funding for the GIZ AgSys project.
Jansen emphasised that Nigeria’s leadership is crucial to the successful domestication of the CAADP Kampala Declaration, stressing the need for coordinated national and state-level action to ensure effective implementation.
