The Prime Minister says it is shameful that the continent continues to import food from other continent when it has 65% of arable land, abundant water , and good days of sunshine.
The Prime Minister,
Robina Nabanja has challenged Minister of Agriculture from Africa tow work
towards reducing what she described Africa’s over reliance on food imports out of the continent.
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Nabanja made the
call during the opening The
Extraordinary Summit on Comprehensive
Africa Agriculture Development Programmes (CAADP) organized by the African Union Commission and
hosted by the Government of Uganda.
“The Africa Development Bank report indicates
that more than 60% of Africa’s working population is engaged in Agriculture. That
the soil across the continent is rich, that Africa has 65% of the world’s uncultivated
arable land. And that Africa has abundant
fresh water, enough rainfall and a good number of days of sunshine. Yet in
2021, Africa’s food imports were about 100 billion US dollars fueled mainly by
population growth. What a shame,” she remarked.
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She challenged
the Ministers to come out with proposals on how Africa can out of what she
described as undesirable situation.
Nabanja
said Africa must feed itself if it is to guarantee its future. The Summit will
bring together a wide array of stakeholders, including African Heads of State
and Government, Ministers, Regional Economic Communities.
The Summit takes place at
time when Africa is working towards overcoming challenges identified in the
Malabo Biennial Reviews and to ensure that the continent’s agriculture and food
systems are resilient, inclusive, and capable of meeting growing demands.
The outgoing
Africa Union commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and
Sustainable Environment, Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko decried that reports
continue to indicate that Africa is a continent of food insecurity.
“Let’s change
the narrative the time is now let’s feed Africa. Let all the citizens of Africa
have access to a nutritious food and affordable food” said Correia Sacko who is
ending her second term at the African Union body.
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She has
noted that there is a lack of investment towards more foods production most of
the African countries. Some studies estimates that Africa spends between $35-40
billion dollars annually on food imports.
Food and nutrition experts
have warned that if nothing is done, or if Africa doesn’t change its narrative,
it will import foods worth $120 billion annually.
Development experts further
suggest the need for an inclusive growth where all the citizens are out of
poverty and are benefiting from the essential needs of humankind.
They have
suggested the need to take the agricultural sector seriously.
In the Malabo Declaration the heads of States
and governments from Africa had declared there would be zero hunger in the
continent by 2025.
However,
it is being observed that hunger and malnutrition are again on the rise in a
number of countries. This calls for an increase in efforts to address the
hunger, the food and nutrition security,
While the
continent has faced challenges from climate change, the emergence of Fall Armyworm,
desert locusts and the COVID 19 pandemic among others, some pundit insist that
some governments have to been deliberate in their efforts as the Maputo Declaration
2003-2013 and the Malabo Declaration 2014.
Learning
from Ethiopia
Ethiopia is
among the few Africa countries that are working towards the elimination of what
it called non-essential food items.
Dr Grirma Amente, the Minister for Agriculture
for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia told the summit in Kampala the
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development
Programmes (CAADP) has been instrumental in guiding their efforts to enhance
agricultural productivity, imp[rove food security and to promote sustainable practices
. He revealed that
Ethiopia has cascaded CAADP into its national agricultural investment plans
which he said has focused into transforming the agricultural sector to achieve
food and nutritional security, improve livelihoods and foster economic growth.
“The plan has significantly
increased agriculture budget allocation and has demonstrated it commitment to
meet the 6% annual growth target of CAADP in the last five years. Furthermore,
Ethiopia has taken practical steps by implementing national initiatives towards
achieving the CAADP objectives,”
He some of the initiative
include the Climate resilient wheat initiative which he said is aimed at increasing
national wheat production to 23 million tons annually. The initiative is
expected to turn Ethiopia to wheat self-sufficiency after over 50 years of net wheat
imports.
Grirma urged countries not to
look at agriculture as merely a sector. “It is the backbone of our economies,
it a source livelihoods for millions, and a key driver of sustainable development”
said Amente.
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He
suggested the need to create opportunities for Africa’s young people to engage
in Agriculture through education, access to finance, and technology and empowering
women as key player.
“As we
look ahead, we must acknowledge t the evolving challenges, climate change, population
growth, urbanization and the ongoing impact of global pandemic challenges” he
advised.
While
Ethiopia has demonstrated that plans such as CAADP can work,
the African Development Bank projected that Africa’s food
imports would reach $90 billion by 2030, these projections were based on trends
during 2000-2010.
Studies have shown that the
region imported roughly $40 billion per year over the past four years while it
exported roughly $35 billion.
The third biannual review of
the implementation of the CAADP in 2023 noted that African countries should
have performed better that they did in the previous ten years.
The
Kampala Declaration, CAADP
Strategy and Acton Plan for 2026-2035
The Summit in Kampala is
expected to adopt the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme
(CAADP) Strategy and Acton Plan for 2026-2035.
The Extraordinary AU Summit in
Kampala has also been dubbed the Post-Malabo CAADP. The participants who
include Agricultures Ministers from Africa are expected to redefine Africa’s
agricultural transformation agenda for the next decade.
The Agriculture, Animal Industries
and Fisheries Minister, Frank Tumwebaze said 2025 will be a defining year for
the future of Africa’s agricultural sector. “I’m glad that we are beginning the
year by high-level discussion on the agriculture sector” said Tmuwebza who has
for the last two years been doubling as the Chairperson of the Specialized
Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment.
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The new CAADP Strategy and
Action Plan will be successor strategy for the Malabo Declaration 2014 in which
leaders from Africa targeted a 6% annual growth in the Agricultural sector. AU
member states were asked to commit 10% of the national budgets to agriculture. The Malabo Declarations renewed the ambition until
2024 including, the eradication of poverty, hunger, reducing malnutrition and tripling
Intra Africa Trade among others.
The CAADP Strategy 2026-2036 will
be the third in a series of 10-year strategies focusing on agricultural
development on the continent.
Broader Context of CAADP
Since its inception in 2003, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development
Programme (CAADP) has served as the cornerstone of agricultural transformation
in Africa.
Its goals include achieving a
6% annual growth rate in agriculture, ensuring 10% budget allocation to the
sector, and addressing food security, nutrition, and rural poverty while
safeguarding the environment.
Building on the successes of
the Maputo (2003) and Malabo (2014) Declarations, the post-Malabo agenda seeks
to address the gaps identified in recent Biennial Reviews. The draft Ten-Year
CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035) provides a forward-looking blueprint
for inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems transformation.