Africa is too often defined by what it lacks. Global perceptions focus more on what’s missing rather than what exists — especially when it comes to food.

It’s likely that you pictured scenes of starvation after reading that last line. The “starving African” is a tired Western stereotype that remains unfairly draped across the continent’s shoulders — yet hunger is real and persistent in many countries, and the stereotype can underestimate the serious causes and impacts of this deeper issue. 

However, there exists another reality. When considering Africa’s relationship with food, we could just as readily envision chopped kei apples simmering down to make tangy jams, or cooked fonio ready to be fluffed and paired with spicy fish. But widespread rising food prices and limited options for farmers have kept that vision from becoming a reality. 

The solution lies in greater investment in agriculture — this investment forms the bridge from where Africa is and where it could be. That’s why, in 2003, African Union member states made a commitment to turn potential into action, through a plan designed to reduce hunger levels while investing in livelihoods, productivity, and a stable economy. 

This monumental roadmap is called the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme, or CAADP.  For the past two decades, it has guided efforts to fight hunger. Here’s what you need to know. 

What Is CAADP? 

The CAADP is a continent-wide commitment to invest in farming and food systems in order to reduce hunger and poverty — all while increasing employment and boosting the economy. 

Put simply: it is a guide for transforming agriculture on the African continent. 

Under this policy agreement, African Union (AU) member states commit to investing 10% of their national budgets in agriculture to achieve 6% annual GDP growth. This commitment was introduced in 2003 in an announcement called the Maputo Declaration where goals were set to be achieved by 2015.

In 2014, the Malabo Declaration shifted the goalpost to 2025, expanding on CAADP’s initial goals under the first declaration and bringing in a continent-wide scorecard to track progress. Then more recently, in 2025, the Kampala Declaration extended the agenda to 2035 with a bigger focus on resilience, youth, women, and food systems. Focusing on food systems is a big one here, because it expands the policy to include every part of the food production process — from the field, to your plate, and everything in-between. This includes farmers, cold-chain storage, shippers, warehouse workers, chefs, exporters, and retailers.

How Does It Work? 

Farmers sort out climate-smart beans in Machakos, Kenya in March 2024Farmers sort out climate-smart beans in Machakos, Kenya in March 2024. From ancient fertilizer methods in Zimbabwe to new greenhouse technology in Somalia, farmers across the African continent are looking to the past and future to respond to climate change.
Image: Andrew Kasuku/AP

There are four main buckets under the Maputo Declaration that need to be filled by governments in order for CAADP to be successful: 

  1. Extend sustainable farmland and water management: Leaders must expand the farmable areas in their nations under sustainable land and water management, and to focus on reliable irrigation solutions (as opposed to relying on unpredictable rainfall). 
  2. Improve market access: Each nation should invest in improving agricultural and trade-related infrastructure, such as roads to transport food and resources, storage facilities, and food packaging systems, in order to make access to markets easier.
  3. Boost food supply and alleviate hunger: This includes implementing smart measures (especially technological solutions) to increase food production, particularly on small-scale farms which tend to be in rural areas where food is scarce. Smallholder farmers can make food more accessible close to those who need it most; boosted food production efforts also result in increasing incomes and job opportunities in rural areas. An additional consideration is how much Africa spends on importing food, especially food aid in crisis moments. Currently, agricultural capacity to meet needs in times of conflict and crisis is rather low. Increasing food production can assist with that.
  4. Research and technology: Strengthening agricultural research can assist nations in adapting to the ever-changing climate, identify where key issues in food production lie so that intentional solutions can be applied. This goes hand in hand with speeding up technology dissemination and adoption — which basically means providing farmers and others across the food system with technologies that can improve production, and encouraging them to adopt these technologies into their day-to-today systems.

With each declaration, these main buckets have been extended. The Malabo declaration adjusted CAADP’s original plan to seven buckets, which included halving poverty by 2025, boosting agricultural trade inside the continent, and steps to keep countries accountable to their commitments. 

The Kampala declaration went further by zooming in on the need for resilient food systems (remember, food systems are about more than what’s grown in the field), and is the first to boldly integrate the inclusion and empowerment of youth, women, and other marginalized groups. It also highlights cross-border cooperation as a tool, where countries can rely on each other to fulfil their commitments. 

How Are Countries Kept Accountable to CAADP? 

CAADP overall is a group project, and so tracking the accountability on this project is a group endeavor. 

Every nation creates its own plan for how they aim to fill the CAADP buckets. This is known as an NAIP (National Agriculture Investment Plan), and it breaks down each country’s goals and budget. Every two years, governments submit performance reports based on the NAIP to the AU, which then converts those numbers into a continent-wide scorecard (you might see this process referred to elsewhere as the Biennial Review). This scorecard is called the Africa Agriculture Transformation Scorecard, and it shows commitment by commitment, who is on track and who isn't.  

Leaders consider these results at each review and expect countries to close gaps before the next check-in, which happens every two years. Because the scorecard is also open to the public, everyone (including journalists, farmer groups, and active citizens) has access to the data and can question why countries are behind, or how others are ahead, and can demand better delivery on these goals. 

It’s a cycle of accountability until we get it right: countries establish goals, measure them honestly, report the findings, grow through public and AU feedback, and repeat. 

Is Africa On Track To End Hunger? 

The short answer? No. 

In the most recent review cycle in 2023, Africa needed an overall score of 9.29 out of 10 on the scorecard in order to be considered “on track." No country reached this benchmark. Disappointingly, the continent’s nations achieved an average of just 4.56 out of 10. This means that no country is on track for all of its commitments. The review was a wake-up call for each country’s leaders to step up. 

But there’s hope. The Kampala Declaration has laid out critical next steps and measurable targets for the next decade to 2035. It then calls upon countries to incorporate the new investment plans into their national agendas by 2028. This latest declaration broadens the scope to consider the whole food system (production, processing, trade, nutrition, and waste management — not just farming) to adequately tackle hunger, create employment, and improve livelihoods. 

Overall, CAADP is an essential policy framework for real change. By urging African leaders to invest in agriculture and build resilient food systems, CAADP paves the way for a future where all citizens can eat, work, and thrive. 

This article was made possible thanks to funding from the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa and the African Foods Systems Forum. 

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