KAMPALA, Uganda (BG) — Uganda’s Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Frank K. Tumwebaze, has declared 2025 a pivotal year for Africa’s agricultural sector, emphasizing the urgency of implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Agenda 2026–2035.

Speaking at the CAADP Summit in Uganda’s capital city, Kampala, on Thursday, Tumwebaze stressed the importance of moving beyond planning and into action.

“The planning phase of the Kampala CAADP Agenda ends during this Summit. We must, therefore, move into implementation and execution mode,” Tumwebaze said.

As an African Union initiative, CAADP supports member states in increasing investment and productivity in the agricultural sector.

Advancing Resilient and Industrialized Agriculture

Tumwebaze called on African ministers and stakeholders to advance agricultural systems resilient to climate change and other shocks, promote agro-industrialization, and leverage technological research to achieve sustainable growth.

“We must move, not with the times, but ahead of times. This calls for advances in technological research and practices, building agricultural systems that are resilient to climate change and other shocks, agro-industrialization, and the like,” Tumwebaze said.

The CAADP Agenda 2026–2035 aims to build on the progress made under the Malabo Declaration, which outlined specific goals for agricultural transformation, food security, and poverty alleviation across Africa.

The African Union (AU)’s Agenda 2063, Africa’s long-term strategic framework, envisions a prosperous and sustainable continent, with the agricultural sector playing a critical role in achieving inclusive growth and development within the remaining 38 years.

Acknowledging Collaboration and Urging Action

Tumwebaze acknowledged the collaborative process that shaped the agenda, thanking the AU Bureau of the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture and leaders like Ambassador Josefa Sacko, AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Dr. Godfrey Bahiigwa Director for Agriculture at the AU Commission for their contributions.

He also highlighted the need to operationalize the Regional Animal Resource Seed Centers of Excellence, calling on participating countries to expedite agreements to ensure their functionality.

The Uganda minister emphasized the importance of action. “It is by focusing on execution that we can make a meaningful impact to our continent and our people,” he said.

CAADP Pushes Investment and Resilience

Through CAADP, African governments have agreed to allocate at least 10% of national budgets to agriculture and rural development and to achieve agricultural growth rates of at least 6% per annum.

Underlying these investment commitments are targets for reducing poverty and malnutrition, increasing productivity and farm incomes, and improving the sustainability of agricultural production and the use of natural resources.

CAADP also supports countries in enhancing resilience to climate variability through the development of disaster preparedness policies and strategies, early warning response systems, and social safety nets.