Salutations
● H.E. Amb. Josefa Sacko, AU Commissioner for ARBE to welcome Ministers and participants
● Hon. Frank Tumwebaze, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of the Republic of Uganda and Chair of the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment
● Hon. Dr. Gedion Timotheos, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
● Hon. Gen. Jeje Odongo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Uganda
● H.E. Dr. Mohamed Salem Merzoug, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, and Mauritanians Abroad, Islamic Republic of Mauritania and Chair of the Executive Council
● All Honorable Ministers present,
● Heads of Institutions

Distinguished delegates, All Protocols duly observed.

I’m truly honored to welcome you all to this JOINT MINISTERIAL SESSION of MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE at this Extraordinary Summit on Post Malabo CAADP.

Twenty years ago, our Heads of State the launched CAADP programme through the Maputo declaration of 2003.

Ten years later the Malabo Declaration of 2014 reaffirmed the CAADP agenda as Africa’s vision for agricultural transformation, wealth creation, food security and nutrition, economic growth, and prosperity for all.

CAADP has been one of Africa’s most successful and impactful policy blueprints with universal acceptance as the continental blueprint for food systems transformation.

Excellences,
CAADP is at a pivotal moment as we come to the end of the Malabo commitment period this year.

After 20 years of CAADP implementation, Africa is in a remarkably better position than at the time of the Maputo declaration in 2003.

But, despite this progress, immense challenges remain.

The four Biennial Reports that have been presented so confirm that we are not on track to achieving the targets we set ourselves through the Malabo declaration.

Our Heads of States during the 37th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly held last year also noted that despite significant progress over two decades, the continent’s ambitions and aspirations under the Maputo and Malabo agendas have not been met.

Much work is still needed to ensure that all Africans have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food.

The Heads of State reiterated the need to retain the strengths of the CAADP agenda while adjusting and deepening it to respond to emerging issues - such as climate change, conflicts, epidemic outbreaks, and economic shocks.

They recognized the importance of developing the successor 10-year CAADP Strategy which we are proud to present to the Heads of States at this Extraordinary Summit here in Kampala.

The AUDA-NEPAD and the AUC were tasked by our Member States with leading the process of developing the 10-year post-Malabo CAADP Strategy. But we did not deliver this Strategy on our own.
We received generous support and cooperation from our RECs, Development partners, Knowledge partners, Non-state Actors and the Member States themselves.

This was a truly consultative process that was Africa led.

Excellences,
I’m delighted to confirm that we have a comprehensive 10-year CAADP strategy for 2026-2035 that will guide our continent in tackling the pressing challenges we face in building sustainable and inclusive food systems.

The post-Malabo CAADP agenda is an opportunity to address many areas where progress has been less than satisfactory.

Informed by the lessons from 20 years of CAADP implementation we also have an opportunity to respond to emerging challenges that our food systems face, as we have witnessed in recent years.

Excellences,
The new 10-year CAADP Strategy embraces a food systems approach - informed by our deepening appreciation that a systems approach is needed to address the complex and multi-faceted nature of our food systems.

On this basis, the new strategy emphasizes new elements such as strengthening agro-processing and other strategic post-production elements as these are critical for driving sustainable intensification.

The 10-year Strategy also places emphasis on building resilient agrifood systems given the impact of climate and other socio-economic shocks on our food systems.

The need to ensure inclusivity and equitable livelihoods, is a central new pillar to the strategy, emphasizing the need for deliberate focus on women, youth and other groups who struggle to get access to productive resources.

Lastly the 10-year CAADP Strategy recognizes the central role of strong leadership, governance and systemic capacities for planning and execution in our member states.

Excellences,
AUDA-NEPAD remains unwavering in our commitment to the implementation of the CAADP strategy to drive achievement of continental goals on food and nutrition security, and poverty alleviation.

Working with our Member States and our partners we are confident that we will achieve the ambitious targets we have set for ourselves thought this new Strategy.

I thank you wish you and wish you fruitful deliberations.
END