On January 11, 2025, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s commitment to transforming Africa’s agricultural sector during the Extraordinary Session of the African Union Assembly on the Post-Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) agenda in Kampala, Uganda.

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) has been crucial in driving agricultural transformation across Africa since its inception in 2003. The program is aimed at increasing food security and nutrition, reducing rural poverty, creating employment, and contributing to economic development while safeguarding the environment. CAADP aims for a 6% annual growth rate in the agricultural sector, with African Union member states allocating at least 10% of their budgets to agriculture.

Represented by Dr. Anxious Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, President Mnangagwa emphasized the critical importance of reforming agriculture to achieve accelerated development over the next decade. He noted that food security remains a persistent challenge for Africa due to climate change, macroeconomic instability, pandemics, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical tensions. Despite these challenges, he acknowledged that the goal of allocating 10% of national budgets to agriculture, as set out in the Malabo Declaration, has been inconsistently met across Member States.

President Mnangagwa welcomed a recommended shift toward a private sector-led, government-supported investment strategy. He highlighted Zimbabwe’s adoption of strategic investments in irrigation, mechanization, and agribusiness development, which have bolstered yields and improved food security at household and national levels. He also praised the systems approach outlined in the Kampala Declaration, aligning it with Zimbabwe’s broader agriculture-driven economic development strategy, emphasizing inclusiveness, resilience, and increased investment in research and innovation.

The President underscored the importance of the Africa Centre for Fertilizer Development (AFCD) in boosting fertilizer production and availability, calling for its expedited integration under the African Union. He also highlighted the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a platform to expand market access for farmers, deepen regional integration, and develop critical infrastructure.

Recognizing the pivotal role of women and youth in agriculture, President Mnangagwa stressed the need to engage young people in agri-food system development, framing them as the future of Africa’s agricultural and economic transformation.

Through these initiatives and its commitment to the African Union’s vision, Zimbabwe aims to lead by example in achieving a prosperous and food-secure continent, reinforcing agriculture’s central role in economic growth and development.

Building on the Maputo Declaration (2003-2013), the 2014 Malabo CAADP Declaration renewed commitment to CAADP and established ambitious goals for 2025, including eradicating hunger, reducing malnutrition, tripling intra-African trade, and building resilience of livelihoods and production systems. The Malabo Declaration underscored the importance of mutual accountability through agricultural biennial reviews and recognized the essential role of related sectors like infrastructure and rural development. During the Thirty-Seventh Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in February 2024, the Heads of State and Government (Assembly/AU/Dec.900(XXXVII) expressed concern that the continent is not on track to meet the Malabo CAADP goals and targets by 2025. This has spurred a call for the development of a post-Malabo CAADP agenda to build resilient agri-food systems.