Experts punch holes in CAADP’s new plan for African food crisis
Experts have expressed alarm over the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) 2026–2035 strategy’s failure to address the mounting toxicity caused by the unregulated use of agrochemicals in food production.
As Africa races to realize the CAADP 2063 agenda, aiming to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty through agriculture-led growth, experts are warning that a critical threat has been largely overlooked.
The unchecked use of hazardous pesticides and herbicides, which they warn are silently poisoning Africa’s soils, threatening human health, and undermining the long-term sustainability of food systems was elusive in the agenda.
This chorus of concern echoed powerfully during the strategic post-Kampala CAADP summit debrief, held from May 23 to May 24 at Hilton Garden Inn in Kampala, where a diverse gathering of civil society organizations, farmer movements, policy experts, and government representatives converged to reflect on the outcomes of the Kampala CAADP summit in January and dissect the newly-adopted CAADP strategy and action plan (2026–2035).
As Bridget Mugambe, programs coordinator at the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) emphasized, “We need to sensitize people about agroecology so they appreciate its value, and we must integrate it meaningfully. Of course, there are many initiatives to be undertaken by policymakers, including capacity-building.”
Yet, as Anne Maina, the national coordinator Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya explained, “While there are provisions that speak to principles of fairness, animal health, and soil health, we do not see them articulated outright in the action plan.
Agroecology offers a proven pathway to reducing reliance on synthetic inputs, restoring degraded ecosystems, and safeguarding Africa’s food systems.”
Advocacy for Policy Change and Capacity Building
However, advancing this paradigm shift requires more than words. According to Agnes Obua Ogwal, the African Union’s advisor on CAADP, there is an urgent need for strategic advocacy and evidence-based communication.
“You need to work with them to advocate, to communicate the benefits of agroecology—how it addresses nutritional deficiencies and food insecurity, with scientifically proven evidence,” she asserted.
“When strategies and national development plans are being reviewed, we must be at the table and contribute. But we can’t contribute if we haven’t reflected deeply and articulated clearly that this is the best way forward.”
Stakeholders resolved to raise awareness among critical stakeholders, including media and faith-based organizations, generating and packaging evidence on agroecology’s efficacy, and making agroecological alternatives attractive to consumers.
They also underscored the necessity of collaborating with higher institutions of learning to integrate agroecology into research and curricula, ensuring that future generations of agricultural leaders are equipped with the knowledge and skills to implement sustainable practices.
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