African Union Unveils Ten-Year Plan to Transform Agri-Food Systems and Boost Food Security

The African Union (AU) has unveiled a new agricultural development strategy to boost agri-food output by 45 percent by 2035, transforming the continent’s food systems. This decision was made during the AU Extraordinary Summit on the Post-Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in Kampala, Uganda.

The summit endorsed the 10-year CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035) and the Kampala CAADP Declaration, which outlines six commitments to enhance agricultural productivity, trade, and sustainability. With Africa’s population projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, leaders emphasized the urgency of scaling agricultural production, food processing, and intra-African trade.

Key targets include halving post-harvest losses, tripling intra-African agri-food trade, and increasing locally processed food to 35 percent of agri-food GDP by 2035. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni urged leaders to prioritize value addition and reduce reliance on food imports, describing such dependence as a legacy of colonialism.

Museveni highlighted the need to eliminate non-tariff barriers that disrupt trade and agricultural production, emphasizing the importance of “vertical integration” in agriculture, from production to value-added processing.

AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat acknowledged the slow progress of CAADP since 2014 but praised the collaborative effort behind the Kampala Declaration. Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie and AU Agriculture Commissioner Josefa Sacko stressed the need for collective action and highlighted the declaration’s comprehensive roadmap, marking a shift from earlier declarations.

CAADP remains central to the AU’s Agenda 2063, aiming to eradicate hunger and poverty through sustainable, agriculture-led growth and enhanced public investment in the sector.