In a groundbreaking move, African heads of state have adopted the Kampala Declaration, a 10-year strategy designed to reshape the continent’s agricultural landscape. This new framework shifts focus from traditional agricultural growth to a more holistic approach, emphasizing sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems. With ambitious goals for resilience, investment, and governance, the declaration aims to transform food systems and enhance food security across Africa by 2035.
The Kampala Declaration, adopted at a recent African Union summit in Kampala, Uganda, outlines clear objectives to improve Africa’s agricultural productivity by 45% by 2035. The strategy centers on the urgent need to meet the food requirements of Africa’s rapidly growing population, while embracing sustainable agricultural practices that promote long-term resilience.
The strategy commits to a 50% reduction in post-harvest losses, tripling intra-African trade in agrifood products, and raising the share of locally processed food to 35% of agrifood GDP. This vision also prioritizes a comprehensive framework through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), aiming to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and stimulate economic growth for Africa’s largely agriculture-dependent economies.
Kenyan President William Ruto expressed the collective ambition, saying, “The vision of an Africa where no child goes to bed hungry, where every community enjoys access to nutritious food, and where agriculture creates employment and wealth for millions, is within reach.”
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Despite Africa’s agricultural potential, the continent struggles with widespread food insecurity. More than 1 billion people on the continent cannot afford a healthy diet, and nearly 20% of Africa’s population faces undernutrition. With agricultural productivity levels among the lowest globally, this new strategy presents a necessary shift toward tackling these systemic challenges.
Experts are optimistic about the Kampala Declaration’s focus on sustainability. David Nabarro, strategic director of 4SD, praised the strategy’s emphasis on strengthening food systems and building resilience. He highlighted its bold approach to reducing reliance on food imports, tackling hunger, and integrating climate-resilient practices.
The Kampala Declaration marks a significant evolution from the 2014 Malabo Declaration, which focused narrowly on agriculture as a driver of economic growth and nutrition. While the Malabo Declaration set specific targets for agricultural productivity, it largely fell short on implementation.
The Kampala strategy moves beyond productivity and economic growth to address the broader interconnected issues of climate change, population growth, and evolving food consumption patterns. The new CAADP vision focuses on the transformation of the entire food system, including sustainable land management and the protection of households from climate-related shocks, with targets set for 2035.
Kefilwe Moalosi, senior program officer at AUDA-NEPAD, explained that while the Malabo strategy emphasized agricultural growth to improve nutrition, the new approach takes a more holistic view, recognizing the need to transform every stage of the food system, from production to consumption.
The Kampala Declaration places sustainability and climate resilience at its core. Member states have committed to increasing sustainable land management practices to cover 30% of Africa’s land area and ensuring that 40% of households are protected from climate-related shocks by 2035.
However, some experts, such as Bridget Mugambe, program coordinator at the Alliance for Food Sovereignty Africa, raised concerns about vague terms like “precision farming” and “climate-smart agriculture,” which could open the door to industrial farming practices, including the controversial use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). While GMOs could improve yields, critics argue that they present environmental and ethical risks. Mugambe emphasizes the need to prioritize agroecology and other sustainable, local farming practices.
Inclusivity is another central theme in the Kampala Declaration, with specific gender-related targets. These include reducing the yield gap between male and female farmers by 50% and supporting marginalized groups, including women and youth, who form the backbone of Africa’s agricultural workforce.
The Malabo Declaration set ambitious targets to double agricultural productivity by 2025, but no country achieved these goals. Public funding for agriculture often fell short of the 10% target, which continues to be a part of the new strategy. While some countries, like Rwanda, Morocco, and Egypt, have made notable progress, systemic issues such as climate shocks, inadequate financing, and policy barriers remain significant challenges.
The Kampala Declaration aims to address these obstacles by enhancing institutional and human capacity, fostering public-private partnerships, improving data systems, and promoting regional cooperation. These efforts are designed to create sustainable and effective implementation structures at the national and continental levels.
As African countries begin to implement the commitments of the Kampala Declaration, their progress will be assessed using clear indicators, a significant shift from the previous Malabo framework. Although the indicators have yet to be fully defined, the strategy stresses the importance of cross-sector collaboration among governments, the private sector, and development partners to achieve measurable results.
Ultimately, the success of this strategy will depend on the ability of member states to transform their agricultural systems into resilient, sustainable, and inclusive networks that can meet the growing food demands of Africa’s population while protecting the planet’s future.
In the words of Neema Lugangira, a Tanzanian member of Parliament: “Africa’s agricultural development, including food and nutrition security, is a whole-of-society endeavor.”
The Kampala Declaration represents a bold and ambitious vision for Africa’s agricultural future. By addressing climate change, food security, and inclusivity, and by fostering cross-sector collaboration, the strategy aims to create a more sustainable and equitable agrifood system for Africa by 2035. However, its success will depend on the commitment of African nations to take concrete action, drive investments, and build partnerships to turn these ambitious goals into reality.
