Recommitment of African countries to resilient and sustainable agri-food systems in Africa for the period 2025-2035
Morocco took part in the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union dedicated to the Post-Malabo African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), which is being held from January 9 to 11, 2025 in Kampala, Uganda. Morocco was represented by Mr. Ahmed El Bouari, Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, at the head of a large delegation.
The main objective of the African Union Extraordinary Summit on the African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) is to renew the commitment of African Heads of State to the implementation of initiatives linked to the transformation of the sector African agricultural sector, through the adoption of a strategic roadmap for the period 2025-2035.
CAADP, a driver of transformation of African agriculture
The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), launched in 2003 at the Maputo Summit in Mozambique, defines Africa’s policy framework for the transformation of agriculture in Africa. It aims to increase food security and nutrition, reduce rural poverty, create jobs and contribute to the economic development of the region. Through ambitious commitments, the CAADP targets an annual growth rate of 6% in the agricultural sector, with funding of 10% of public budgets allocated to the agricultural sector.
African states are committed to strengthening the resilience of the agricultural sector in the face of challenges linked to climate change and economic crises, while encouraging investments in agricultural infrastructure and the diversification of agri-food value chains. The program also aims to promote intra-African trade to support the competitiveness of the agricultural sector.
A strong commitment from Morocco to achieve the CAADP objectives
Since its return to the African Union in 2017, Morocco has actively participated in the implementation of the CAADP objectives, aligning its agricultural strategies with the commitments of the Malabo Declaration. Indeed, all of the strategies and efforts deployed by Morocco in terms of agricultural development have enabled the construction of a resilient agricultural system, recognized on a continental scale. This resilience was highlighted during the evaluations associated with the biennial reviews monitoring the action plan of the Malabo Declaration, which placed the Kingdom of Morocco first in North Africa and second at the continental level after Rwanda.
In line with its New Development Model, the Kingdom has deployed several ambitious sectoral strategies, the “Green Generation 2020-2030” agricultural strategy, the “Morocco Forests 2020-2030” strategy and the “Halieutis” Fisheries strategy. These strategies aim to improve the resilience and sustainability of food systems, while consolidating the achievements of previous initiatives. They emphasize a profound and lasting transformation of food systems, giving priority to the human element, in particular through the generalization of social protection, the strengthening of professional training and the encouragement of entrepreneurship. agricultural. Particular attention is paid to sector governance and capacity building of professional organizations.
In terms of strengthening the water supply, major projects are underway. These include the continued development of new dams, the interconnection of basins to mobilize water lost at sea or even the desalination of seawater.
The Minister reiterated on this occasion, Morocco’s willingness, within the framework of the Royal vision in terms of South-South cooperation, to collaborate with African partner countries, for sharing experiences and mutual learning in matters of sustainability of agriculture and food security. He recalled the numerous initiatives launched by Morocco, for a more resilient and prosperous future on a continental scale, such as the Adaptation of African Agriculture “Triple A” initiative, and the Blue Belt Initiative.
Adoption of the Kampala Declaration 2025-2035
Gathered in Kampala, African countries reaffirmed their commitment to the Comprehensive Program for the Development of African Agriculture (CAADP) through the final adoption of the Kampala Declaration. They highlighted the need to strengthen agri-food systems to meet the challenges of a growing African population, the effects of climate change and the transformation of eating habits.
The latter insists on an inclusive and sustainable transformation to guarantee food security and prosperity in Africa in the face of future challenges. To do this, among the commitments made as part of the declaration, are the increase in agri-food production by 45% and tripling intra-African trade, integration of 30% of women, young people and marginalized groups into the food chains. value, the mobilization of 100 billion USD of public and private investments and the allocation of 10% of annual public budgets to the agri-food sector, eradicate hunger and improve access to food healthy for 60% of the population.
Note that the Kampala declaration builds on previous commitments, such as those in the Malabo (2014) and Maputo (2003) declarations, aimed at modern and inclusive agriculture. It recognizes the importance of agri-food processing in connecting smallholders to growing regional markets, adopting sustainable and innovative practices.
The summit brought together more than 2,000 participants, including African heads of state, agriculture ministers and government officials, representatives of the private sector and civil society, as well as experts and scientists.
MAPM
Related News :