By Baboloki Semele: The African Union Commission’s Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE), in collaboration with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), will officially launch the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035) and the Kampala Declaration in Johannesburg, South Africa, from May 5-7, 2025. The event, set to take place in hybrid format, marks a pivotal moment in Africa’s journey toward transforming its agrifood systems.

This significant occasion will roll out a new continental strategy endorsed by African Heads of State during the Extraordinary AU Summit on Post-Malabo CAADP, held in Kampala, Uganda from January 9–11, 2025. The Kampala Declaration, which comes into effect on January 1, 2026, reaffirms Africa’s high-level commitment to intensify sustainable food production, agro-industrialization, and intra-African trade, while boosting investment and financing toward achieving resilient, inclusive, and efficient agrifood systems.

The new CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2035 redefines Africa’s agricultural ambitions. Unlike its predecessors, the post-Malabo CAADP agenda expands the focus from agriculture-led growth to a more inclusive agrifood systems transformation. It seeks to deliver food and nutrition security, enhance resilience and climate adaptation, create sustainable jobs, promote agro-industrialization, and improve governance and accountability within the sector.

This shift is critical as Africa confronts growing vulnerabilities. Despite doubling its GDP between 2000 and 2021 and recording the fastest-growing agricultural sector globally, the continent continues to grapple with food insecurity. According to the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, 20% of Africans suffer from hunger, and 58% face food insecurity, with 924.8 million people unable to afford a healthy diet.

The launch of this Strategy responds to a stark internal review from 2023, which revealed that no AU Member State was on track to meet the ambitious targets of the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods.

CAADP was first adopted through the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in July 2003, where African leaders committed to allocating at least 10% of national budgets to agriculture. That momentum was renewed in 2014 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, with new goals aimed at halving poverty, ending hunger, tripling intra-African agricultural trade, and ensuring accountability through evidence-based planning.

However, two decades later, public investments in agriculture remain inadequate, and the goals set forth in Malabo are largely unmet. Only a handful of countries have achieved the 10% investment benchmark. Nonetheless, progress is evident: 31 countries have developed National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs), four regional plans were finalized, and 28 countries have mobilized resources to implement their NAIPs.

What Does the New Framework Cover?

The CAADP 2026–2035 Strategy addresses a comprehensive list of challenges and opportunities, including:

• Sustainable food production and nutrition
• Livelihood resilience and climate-smart agriculture
• Agro-industrialization and value chain enhancement
• Good governance and accountability in agrifood policy
• Strengthening market access and regional trade via AfCFTA
• Inclusivity, focusing on women, youth, and smallholder farmers
• Animal health and welfare as critical to system-wide sustainability

Most importantly, the Strategy responds to emerging trends: increasing urbanization and rising middle-class demand for diverse, ready-to-eat and high-quality food products. With Africa’s population expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, the framework underscores the urgency of improving food system efficiency and resilience.

It also integrates lessons learned from recent global and regional disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate shocks, internal conflicts, and the Russia-Ukraine war, all of which have exposed the fragility of Africa’s agrifood sector.

A Vision Consistent with Agenda 2063

At its core, the new CAADP framework envisions “Sustainable and Resilient Agrifood Systems for a Healthy and Prosperous Africa,” aligning seamlessly with Agenda 2063, the African Union’s strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the continent.

The Strategy’s holistic approach prioritizes environmental sustainability, combats all forms of malnutrition, and ensures economic inclusion for the 70% of Africans who rely on agriculture for their livelihood. By 2035, strengthened intra-African trade in agriculture, driven by CAADP’s alignment with AfCFTA, could become a key pillar of economic transformation.

As the continent steps into a new era of agrifood policy with the launch of the CAADP 2026–2035 Strategy and the Kampala Declaration, expectations are high. The success of this ambitious framework depends on committed political will, transparent implementation, effective public-private partnerships, and empowered stakeholders at all levels—from rural farmers to regional policymakers, because Africans are in agreement that Africa must move beyond declarations and turn commitments into concrete action to nourish its people, build resilient communities, and achieve the vision of “The Africa We Want.”