ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — August 17, 2026 — The African Union Commission and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are calling for a stronger shift from agricultural policy commitments to practical implementation as African countries begin putting the new Kampala agricultural agenda into action.
IGAD opened a two-day regional dialogue in Addis Ababa today focused on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and lessons from the Fifth Biennial Review. The meeting is being held with support from the African Union Commission, AUDA-NEPAD, the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
At the center of the discussions is Africa’s transition from the Malabo CAADP commitments, which covered 2014–2025, to the Kampala CAADP Declaration and Strategy and Action Plan for 2026–2035.
Vilakati: Africa Must Focus on Delivery
Moses Vilakati, the African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, has made implementation a central message of the transition.
Vilakati has argued that Africa’s agricultural challenge is no longer simply a lack of policies or strategies. The continent must become better at converting those commitments into measurable programs at the national and regional levels.
In previous remarks on implementation of the Kampala framework, Vilakati said the continent had not focused sufficiently on delivery and had not consistently converted policies into action. He has emphasized that the Kampala period must avoid repeating weaknesses experienced during the Malabo cycle.
That message gives today’s IGAD dialogue added importance: regional organizations such as IGAD will have a major role in translating continental AU commitments into programs that individual governments can implement.
$100 Billion Investment Target
The Kampala CAADP Strategy establishes ambitious targets for Africa’s agricultural and food systems.
Among them is a goal of mobilizing US$100 billion in public and private investment in African agrifood systems by 2035. The strategy also seeks to increase agrifood output by 45%, cut post-harvest losses by 50% and triple intra-African trade in agricultural products and services.
The framework also continues the push for stronger government investment in agriculture. The longstanding continental benchmark calls for governments to allocate at least 10% of public expenditure to agriculture, although AU documents acknowledge that relatively few countries have consistently achieved that target.
The challenge now is turning those continental numbers into actual national budgets, irrigation projects, agricultural infrastructure, financing for farmers, improved seeds and fertilizers, processing facilities and functioning regional markets.
Agriculture and African Integration
Agriculture is particularly important to African integration because food systems cross national borders.
A farmer may produce crops in one country, use fertilizer imported through another, sell products across a neighboring border and depend on regional transportation corridors to reach larger markets.
Successful implementation of the Kampala agenda could therefore complement the broader push toward the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by increasing agricultural production and creating stronger regional value chains.
Instead of African countries primarily exporting unprocessed agricultural commodities, stronger regional food systems could encourage more processing, packaging and manufacturing within Africa.
What It Means for Ordinary Africans
For ordinary households, implementation could ultimately matter more than another continental declaration.
Successful agricultural transformation could influence food prices, jobs, rural incomes, food security and opportunities for young entrepreneurs. Investments in storage and processing could also reduce the amount of food lost between farms and consumers.
Africa continues to face significant food-security challenges. Vilakati has previously pointed out that more than 300 million Africans remain food insecure, while the continent spends close to US$100 billion annually on food imports.
Those figures help explain why the AU is putting increasing emphasis on implementation.
The Kampala framework has established the targets. The next test is whether the African Union, Regional Economic Communities such as IGAD, national governments, the private sector and development partners can turn those commitments into investments and programs that reach farmers and consumers.
For Africa’s agricultural integration agenda, the coming decade may therefore be judged less by the declarations leaders sign and more by what actually changes on farms, in markets and on household tables.