SETTING THE COURSE FOR A JUST FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION IN AFRICA
We, members of Non-State Actors representing diverse food and nutrition actors from 35 African countries, convened under the AFSA umbrella in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 16-18 May 2024, to take stock of the performance of the CAADP framework, from Maputo to Malabo, and to contribute to the process of developing the post-Malabo agenda that will guide Africa’s agricultural transformation for the next decade.
African nations convened in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2003, and agreed on the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP). The pledge was to increase the growth of agricultural sector productivity by 6% and to allocate 10% of their national budget GDP to the agriculture Sector. to achieve the 6% growth. As there was no marked progress, this pledge was followed by a ten-year strategy developed in Malabo. While African leaders remain committed to delivering the CAADP framework, the four Biennial Review Reports have indicated that despite significant efforts in the implementation of the Malabo Declaration, the continent remains largely off-track to achieve the Malabo targets by 2025. Furthermore, according to the SOFI report 2023, Africa remains the worst-affected region, with one in five people facing hunger on the continent, more than twice the global average.
As the two decades have ended, a process is underway to start a strategy for another ten years, to be called the Kampala Declaration, as the meeting will take place in Kampala in 2025.
As the African Union Commission embarks on the development of the post-Malabo agenda, we wish to draw its attention to the following issues to ensure that the process does not reproduce the very structural challenges and systemic issues that have hindered the continent from making progress in delivering food sovereignty to its people over the last two decades of CAADP. It should be based on the lessons learned from the previous processes.
CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Process of Developing the Post-Malabo Agenda
We are concerned that the African Union Commission (AUC) has embarked on the development of the post-Malabo agenda with limited participation of wider stakeholders in Africa, which is critical to yield constructive engagement and ownership by the people of Africa as envisioned in Agenda 2063, “The Africa We Want.” We want to remind the AUC that the failure to actively involve African farmers and citizens in the design and implementation is one of the reasons for the failure of CAADP and Malabo. We are further concerned that the post-Malabo roadmap was communicated to wider stakeholders late (mid-May), with strict and unrealistic timelines.
- The Proposed Framework
Aware of the 13 thematic areas being proposed to shape the third CAADP declaration, led by Akademia 2063, information is not readily available to stakeholders on the creation, identification of the 13 agendas, learnings that informed the maintenance of the existing seven commitments, and the addition of six new areas. It is not clear how the few actors leading the 13 topics were selected and who selected them. There is no participation of key farmer groups and citizens in these groups. This remains critical as the BR reports have repeatedly indicated low performance and non-reporting of many member states on most of these commitments.
- Theory of Change
The future theory of change is one of the most critical elements of the future of CAADP. A theory of change based solely on the productivism paradigm needs to be thoroughly revisited to reflect a food system agenda. Otherwise, it risks reproducing the same structural and systemic challenges that continue to undermine Africa’s agricultural transformation.
- Financing
While African governments remain committed to this process, we are concerned about the continued limited domestic financing by African governments. This constrains the process in terms of content, context, and ownership by the African people.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Timelines: Review the timelines leading to the post-Malabo declaration in Kampala to allow AU Member States and other stakeholders time to mobilize and engage the people and resources to contribute constructively to the process. Furthermore, the AUC should broaden the consultative framework to deepen the participation of women, youth, smallholder farmers, cultural, religious, consumer groups, and civil society organizations.
- Inclusion of Non-State Actors: Include representatives of CSOs/NSAs and farmers in the 13 Technical Working Groups and structures that govern the post-Malabo development process.
- Framework Review: Prepare for a comprehensive review of the framework indicators and targets to reflect the realities in Africa and the capacities of African governments to implement, report, and include African sustainable development approaches to food systems transformation, through agroecology.
- Financing Commitment: African Union Member States should commit to financing the development of the post-Malabo agenda.
As members of non-state actors, we remain committed to engaging in this process and further mobilizing other stakeholders to contribute constructively at the national, regional, and continental levels.
ABOUT AFSA: The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa is a continental coalition of civil society organizations advancing food sovereignty and agroecology across the African continent. It comprises African food producer networks, indigenous people’s organizations, faith-based organizations, women and youth groups, and consumer movements. AFSA is a ‘network of networks’ with 41 member organizations active in 50 African countries, impacting around 200 million individuals.
Web: www.afsafrica.org Email: afsa@afsafrica.org
