By Jeff Kapembwa
Africa’s stunting agriculture spurred by climate change and other headwinds has come under review, prompting state and non-state actors to re-think strategies to transform the sector and bolster agrifood output by 45 percent by 2035.
The 10-year strategy and action plan is a brainchild of the African Union, hinging on the outcome of the Post-Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP)’s quest to ensure it became the continent’s food lifeline.
It was a resolve of all leaders, Governments, and various players to rebrand the continent through sustained investment in the sector, having underperformed because of lukewarm investments by AU member states.
Having noted shortfalls in an earlier 10-year plan set until 2025, the new strategies if mooted will allow the sector to attract investment for stained ‘home-grown food’ to avert aid.
The 55-member states in collaboration with the AU and other interest groups met at the just-ended African Union Extraordinary Summit on the Post-Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) hosted by Uganda.
The meeting was intended to sort and insulate the continent from threats of food insecurity on the continent.
In unison, the players acting on the belated action to compel all Africans to invest 10 percent of their annual budgets to improve the sector’s performance.
Though the objective was not achieved since 2003, the meeting set various action plans and strategies that will seek to transform and strengthen the belated agri-food system by 2035.
The 55 AU member states committed to devising six commitments to help transform and strengthen the agri-food system on the continent.
African Heads of State and government note that Africa’s population is projected to reach 2.5 billion people by 2050, with the global population projected to reach 9.8 billion people, read part of the communique.
The players appreciating the challenges this will pose for food demand seek a need to review upwards various parameters in agricultural production, productivity, food processing, and trade.
They committed to intensify sustainable food production, agro-industrialization, and trade.
The strategy is arguably to compel Africa to reduce post-harvest loss by 50 per cent, and triple intra-African trade in agrifood products and inputs by 2035.
This is ultimately intended to help raise the share of locally processed food to 35 percent of agrifood GDP by 2035.
“The adoption of the strategy is seen as a pivotal moment that will lay the groundwork for agri-food systems across the continent, and enable countries to act.” reads the statement.
And Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, noting various challenges buffeting Africa’s food security called for a commitment by all African leaders to prioritise value addition to food for exports
He discouraged the continent from imports and instead relied on ‘homegrown’ food unlike imports to meet the needs of its populace, a contrast to Africa’s potential.
“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,” Africa’s trade development hinges on all African countries adopting open border policy and facilitating trade growth by eliminating Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that grossly undermine the growth of the sector.
He cites Uganda’s resolve to grow promote locally produced food and ensure food security as a strategy, others on the continent should emulate to defray food deficiency while promoting exports.
“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”.
AUC Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, commended players for the ambition exhibited under the ‘reinvigorated and ambitious CAADPP program’ which has been implemented since 2014 and within the framework of the Malabo Declaration.
The AU remains dissatisfied with the rate of progress noting that in recent years little progress to accelerate the actualisation of the CAADP has been marred by red tape, which could have been avoided.
“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,” said Faki.
The AU commended the African Union Commission AUDA AUDA-NEPAD, the Regional Economic Communities, Member States, and technical and financial partners in preparing the Kampala Declaration and that:
“It symbolises the total of all the efforts made upstream in identifying all the negative factors that lie at the root of the low rate of the attainment of our set objectives for the Agricultural sector on the continent,”
AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment, Josefa Sacko described the Kampala declaration as a different blueprint from the Malabo and Maputo declarations.
This is because of the inclusion of the comprehensive strategy and action plan, being a take-off point for many African countries still lagging.
. “This will allow member states to begin implementing immediately after the adoption,” she told the heads of state and government at the end of the extraordinary summit.
She commended players for emerging stronger compared to 10 years earlier before 2025 when the other phase ends.
“We now have a clear roadmap, a theory of change that outlines the pathway to transformation, realistic and implementable strategic objectives, a broad policy scope enhancing food system approaches, and targets that reflect the continent’s aspirations”.
Background:
The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) was mooted as an African Union Agenda 2063 continental initiative, ostensibly to raise agricultural productivity, and increase public investment in agriculture.
It was also touted to stimulate economic growth through agriculture-led development and to help African countries eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.
Launched in 2003 after the Maputo Declaration and later reaffirmed in 2014 in Equatorial Guinea with the Malabo Declaration, it is now tilted to accelerate and campaign for Africa’s food security and nutrition.
It is envisaged to increase incomes in Africa’s farming-based economies. It has emerged as the cornerstone framework for driving agricultural transformation across Africa.
The blue print t represents a fundamental shift toward development that is fully owned and led by African governments.