The African Union (AU) has adopted a ten-year strategy and action plan to transform Africa’s agri-food systems and ensure food security, aiming to increase the central continent’s agri-food output by 45% by 2035.
In order to make agri-food systems more sustainable and resilient, this ten-year strategy comes as a larger transformation, even for the Commonwealth countries who are members in this organization.
In the Kampala Declaration, all 55 African Union member states agreed on six key goals for transforming the continent’s agri-food systems. Among the main targets are reducing post-harvest losses by 50%, increasing intra-African trade in agri-food products and inputs by 2035, and raising the share of locally processed food to 35% of agri-food GDP by the same year. The strategy prioritizes value addition in agriculture, encouraging African countries to move beyond exporting raw materials. To support intra-African trade, it calls for reducing non-tariff barriers that hinder the flow of agricultural goods. Simultaneously, it highlights sustainability and resilience, promoting sustainable food production and agro-industrialization to develop solid, future-ready agri-food systems.
By 2050, Africa is expected to reach an approximate population of 2.5 billion, which will quite evidently increase the demand in the food industry. To ensure food security, the AU views this strategy as a great solution in order to increase productivity and also to prevent Africa from continuing to rely and depend on food importation.
Being under the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), which is the AU’s flagship agricultural initiative, the AU Commission says the 2026–2035 plan is more concrete than past declarations, offering a clear roadmap with realistic objectives, a theory of change, and measurable targets.
Aiming to boost economic growth by increasing output, adding value, and expanding intra-African trade, the AU’s strategy strengthens food security by reducing losses and encouraging local processing, hosting regional integration, supporting sustainable agriculture, and advancing agro-industrialization to create jobs, build resilient food systems, and reduce reliance on raw exports.
One can identify that by adopting this ten-year strategy, the AU sets a clear path toward transforming the continent’s agri-food systems. Through value addition, sustainable practices, and enhanced trade, African nations can achieve food security, economic growth, and industrialization, positioning the continent as a resilient, self-reliant, and competitive player in global agriculture by 2035.
