By Tandong Calistus Jong
Harare, Zimbabwe
The 22nd Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform (PP) and the first Kampala Agricultural Policy Learning Event have opened in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, bringing together agricultural stakeholders from across African Union (AU) Member States to chart a collective path towards implementing the CAADP Kampala Declaration and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035).
The four-day gathering, running from 15–18 September 2026, is focused on strengthening political commitment, implementation readiness, institutional accountability, investment mobilisation, partner alignment and structured follow-up mechanisms.
Organised by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), in collaboration with Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), technical institutions, development partners and other strategic stakeholders, the meeting is being held under the theme: “Strengthening Political Leadership, Implementation Readiness, Financing, Partnerships, Mutual Accountability and Delivery at All Levels.”
The Kampala Declaration provides renewed continental ambition and strategic direction for accelerating agricultural transformation, strengthening food and nutrition security, creating jobs, enhancing resilience, expanding intra-African trade and supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
However, the central challenge facing Member States and continental institutions is no longer the development of policy frameworks, but the effective implementation of the commitments, investments and reforms needed to deliver tangible results for Africa’s people.
Africa must move from commitments to delivery
Opening the meeting on Tuesday, H.E. Moses Vilakati, African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE), said he had adopted a 100-Day Rolling Action Plan upon assuming office, centred on one principle: implementation.
H.E. Moses Vilakati, African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE)
One of its key priorities, he said, was the launch and operationalisation of the Kampala Declaration and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan.
“But launching a strategy is not an achievement,” he said. “Real achievement lies in implementation. Real achievement lies in turning aspirations into results.”
He said the Partnership Platform represented an important shift in the continental approach to agricultural transformation.
“We are no longer discussing what should be done; we are discussing how it will be done. We are discussing who will do it, how it will be financed, how progress will be measured, and how accountability will be strengthened.”
Commissioner Vilakati said Africa possessed the resources needed to feed and develop itself.
“Africa has the capacity, the land, the water, the knowledge and the human resources to produce by ourselves,” he said.
He concluded that Africa did not suffer from a shortage of frameworks, plans, road maps, consultations or commitments, but from an implementation deficit.
“The challenge before us is no longer knowing what needs to be done. The challenge is doing it. The challenge is delivery.”
Zimbabwe aligns national strategy with Kampala agenda
In his opening remarks, Dr Anxious Jongwe Masuka, Zimbabwe’s Minister for Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resource Development, said the country was deeply humbled and proud to have been selected by the African Union Commission to host the continental gathering.
Dr. Anxious Jongwe Masuka, Minister for Agriculture, Mechanization and Water Resource Development of Zimbabwe
He said the event was more than another policy meeting, describing it as a landmark occasion as Member States convened under the new framework of the Kampala Declaration and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035).
“This moment marks a critical, deliberate and collective shift from the commitments of the Malabo era towards a new decade defined by accelerated, tangible delivery,” he said.
According to Minister Masuka, the new continental agenda is guided by the vision of “Sustainable and Resilient Agrifood Systems for a Healthy and Prosperous Africa.”
He said achieving this vision required a fundamental shift from an agriculture-centric focus to a holistic agrifood systems approach integrating production, processing, trade, consumption and waste management.
Zimbabwe, he noted, had already begun domesticating the spirit of the Kampala Declaration through its national development agenda.
The country recently launched the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2 (AFSRTS 2: 2026–2030), which Minister Masuka described as the vehicle for domesticating the CAADP Kampala agenda.
AFSRTS 2 is a central pillar of Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS 2) and shares a parallel and integrated framework with the six Kampala Strategic Objectives.
Zimbabwe has set a target of transforming agriculture into a US$15.8 billion industry by 2030, a target the minister described as a carefully planned trajectory rather than a mere aspiration.
AUDA-NEPAD calls for delivery-focused decade
For Mrs Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, Director of Agriculture, Food Security and Environmental Sustainability at AUDA-NEPAD, the new CAADP cycle must be defined by implementation and measurable results.
Mrs Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, Director of Agriculture, Food Security and Environmental Sustainability at AUDA-NEPAD
“This is therefore not another moment for declarations. It is the moment to demonstrate delivery,” she said.
She pointed to findings from the Fifth Biennial Review, which show that Africa’s continental CAADP score increased from 4.56 to 5.25. While this represents progress, it remains significantly below the 9.40 benchmark required to be considered on track.
No Member State or commitment area reached that benchmark, she noted.
Countries performed best on process-related commitments, particularly planning and mutual accountability. However, performance remained weakest in areas with the most direct impact on citizens, including increasing intra-African trade, ending hunger and mobilising investment financing.
Lisinge-Fotabong also highlighted the continuing food and nutrition challenges facing the continent.
According to the 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition report, approximately 309 million Africans were undernourished in 2025, while two out of every three Africans could not afford a healthy diet.
At the same time, Africa spends more than US$100 billion annually on food imports, much of which could potentially be produced, processed and traded within the continent.
She stressed that AUDA-NEPAD’s role was not to author plans for countries or substitute for national institutions. Rather, its comparative advantage was to serve as the continent’s “delivery connector”.
Its role, she explained, was to help Member States and regional bodies move from a continental decision to a credible national plan; from a plan to a bankable investment portfolio; from a portfolio to financing; and ultimately from financing to measurable implementation.
Partnership Platform targets Africa’s implementation gap
The CAADP Partnership Platform serves as a key continental mechanism linking policy, political leadership, financing, innovation, technical assistance, partnerships and accountability to accelerate Africa’s agricultural transformation.
The discussions in Harare come at a critical juncture as countries begin implementing the new CAADP framework for 2026–2035.
Stakeholders in a group photo
By 2035, Africa aims to increase agrifood output by 45 per cent, reduce post-harvest losses by 50 per cent, triple intra-African trade in agrifood products and inputs, increase local value addition and food processing, mobilise US$100 billion in investment, and accelerate progress towards food and nutrition security across the continent.
Achieving these targets will require more than continental commitments. It will demand sustained political leadership, stronger institutions, predictable financing, coordinated partnerships, robust accountability systems and, above all, the ability to translate strategies into concrete results.
The message emerging from the Harare gathering is clear: Africa has entered a new decade of agricultural transformation in which implementation, delivery and accountability must take centre stage.