By Dr. Kivumbi Earnest Benjamin, L. H. D. (Hon.) Updated at 1340 EATon Thursday 30th October 2025

Kigali, Rwanda — The 21st Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform and the 16th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) officially opened on Wednesday at the Kigali Convention Center, bringing together ministers, policymakers, development partners, and agricultural experts from across Africa.

Held under the theme “From Malabo to Kampala: Accelerating Just, Resilient Agrifood Systems Transformation for Nutrition and Sustainable Growth,” the joint event aims to reinforce Africa’s commitment to building inclusive, climate-resilient, and nutrition-sensitive agricultural systems.

During the high-level opening plenary, Rwanda’s State Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, Hon. Telesphore Ndabamenye, underscored the need for decisive and coordinated action to transform Africa’s agriculture from policy commitments into measurable progress.

“Africa’s future depends on turning commitments into coordinated action,” he said, urging countries to sustain the Malabo momentum through the CAADP Kampala Strategy—a framework designed to accelerate transformation of agrifood systems for resilience and sustainable growth.

Hon. Ndabamenye further noted that as Africa marks the 16th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security, governments must prioritize equitable access to food alongside productivity gains.

“Food security is about producing better and ensuring that all Africans—especially children and vulnerable groups—have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food,” he emphasized.

Background on CAADP

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was launched in 2003 under the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to drive agricultural growth, food security, and poverty reduction across the continent. It calls on member states to allocate at least 10% of national budgets to agriculture and to achieve an annual 6% growth rate in the sector.

Over the past two decades, CAADP has become the backbone of Africa’s agricultural transformation agenda, helping countries align investment plans with regional priorities. In 2014, the Malabo Declaration, adopted in Equatorial Guinea, renewed the commitment to CAADP by setting measurable goals for agricultural transformation and ending hunger by 2025.

The CAADP Partnership Platform (PP) is the programme’s premier annual forum for review and dialogue among governments, development partners, private sector actors, and civil society. Previous meetings have been hosted in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Dakar (Senegal), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

The theme “From Malabo to Kampala” signifies the transition from the commitments made in Malabo to the new Kampala Strategy, which will define Africa’s agricultural priorities for the next decade.

Expected Outcomes

The Kigali meeting is expected to produce a renewed continental roadmap toward achieving resilient agrifood systems, enhanced nutrition, and sustainable economic growth. Delegates are anticipated to endorse key elements of the CAADP Kampala Strategy, focusing on:

• Strengthening accountability mechanisms for agricultural investment;
• Advancing climate-smart agriculture and food system resilience;
• Promoting regional trade and value-chain integration; and
• Ensuring that nutrition and food safety remain central to agricultural policies.

The outcomes of the Kigali deliberations will feed into the upcoming Kampala Forum, where African leaders are expected to adopt a new vision for transforming the continent’s agriculture by 2035.