• Your Excellency, Hon. John Steenhuisen, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development of the Republic of South Africa.
• Your Excellency, Hon. Kyakulaga Fred Bwino, Minister of State for Agriculture, representing Hon. Frank Tumwebaze, Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of Uganda and the Chair of the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment.
• Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Eswatini Hon Mandela Tshawuka
• Your Excellency Mme Nardos Bekele, CEO, AUDA-NEPAD
• Excellences of The STC Bureau and their Representatives
• Representatives Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Mechanisms of the African Union
• Representatives from the African Union Member States
• Representatives of the Development Partners
• Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
• All protocols observed

It is my great pleasure and honor to welcome you all to the official Launch of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035) and the CAADP Kampala Declaration.

Today, Africa stands tall, during the launch of this transformative Strategy that was adopted during the Extra Ordinary Session of the African Union Heads of State Assembly in Kampala, Uganda, in January 2025. The Launch of this strategy is one of my key agenda in my 100 days Plan of Action for the Commission since my assumption of office as Commissioner for the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment.

"A seed of hope has been planted in the fertile soil of Africa's agricultural landscape. Today, we gather to nurture this seed into a bountiful harvest, symbolizing the transformation of our agriculture sector and the prosperity of our people."

Our Journey so far in Agriculture has made us traverse the path from the Maputo Declaration to the Malabo Declaration, and now, we embark on a new journey with the Kampala Declaration and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2025-2036. Despite various challenges faced including budgetary constraints, weak advocacy and awareness creation, weak infrastructure, African Union Member States remain resilient to the commitment of CAADP. Many countries have made commendable progress, though the targets set by the Malabo Commitments have not been fully achieved. I take this opportunity to congratulate the African Union Member States for the fortitude shown to make Africa self-reliant in terms of food Self Sufficiency.

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

The new CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2025-2036 marks a significant shift towards agrifood systems transformation. We recognize that agriculture is not just about production, but about creating a holistic system that encompasses production, processing, distribution, and consumption. It also envisions sustainable and resilient agri-food systems for a healthy and prosperous Africa.

Through this strategic document, the continent has been offered a springboard to create greater coherence in the bid to drive nature-positive agricultural production systems that will support ecosystem restoration and bio-diversity gain.

Currently, Africa is home to nine of the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, and African Union Member states are already diverting up to 9 per cent of their national budgets to respond to climate extremes.

This strategy if fully implemented by our Member States, pertinent and persistent issues such as food and nutritional insecurity; Biodiversity loss; gender inequality; rising unemployment, migration, emerging diseases including pandemics, inflation and weak economies including adaptation and mitigation would be effectively addressed.

Allow me to commend the conscious effort to ensure the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan is more inclusive featuring integration of various sectors including livestock and crop systems, smart agriculture including emerging technologies such as Artificial intelligence, digitalization, investment and financing.

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to make a clarion call to our member states to support the domestication of the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035) through committing increased budgetary allocations. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Development partners community, in particular the support that is being demonstrated by the Development Partners Coordination Group, and private sector partners who have continuously offered their support to African Agricultural development agenda. We further call on you all. to support the domestication and implementation of the CAADP Kampala declaration.

I convey my compliments to the Government of The Republic of South Africa for hosting this auspicious occasion and reiterate the commitment of the African Union in realizing the vision of the “the Africa, we want”.

As we launch this new chapter in our collective efforts to transform Africa's agriculture sector, I urge all stakeholders to work together to achieve our goals. Let us harness the power of agrifood systems transformation to feed our people, create jobs, and drive economic growth. Together, we can make Africa's agriculture sector a beacon of hope and prosperity for generations to come.

"When the winds change blow, some people build walls, while others build windmills." Let us build windmills, harnessing the power of agrifood systems transformation to drive our development and prosperity

I thank you for your kind attention.