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Writes Byron Adonis Mutingwende
Addis Ababa- Ethiopia – Non-state actors under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) are gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 10 to 12 June 2025 for the critical meeting on advancing Africa’s agri-food systems for a more resilient and sustainable future.
Chikondi Chabvuta, the co-chairperson of CNG thanked participants attending the strategic planning workshop for their unwavering commitment to the vision of ensuring that agriculture remains the backbone of Africa’s development, fostering food security, economic empowerment, and prosperity for all.
“We extend our profound gratitude to our key partners—the African Union, ActionAid, CARE, and Oxfam—for their invaluable support. To all of us, the regional networks, thank you for your technical contributions to making this happen. Your commitment to fostering a thriving civil society within Africa’s agricultural transformation is deeply appreciated. Your financial and technical contributions have not only made this meeting possible but have empowered Non-State Actors to play a pivotal role in shaping the implementation of the Kampala Declaration and the 2026-2035 CAADP Strategy and Action Plan,” she said.
Over the next few days, participants will engage in meaningful conversations, align strategies, and set forth the path for collective action.
The meeting is more than just discussions—it is about forging partnerships, amplifying voices, and ensuring that non-state actors remain at the center of Africa’s agricultural transformation.
They hope to strengthen governance frameworks, finalize CNG’s strategic plan, and deepen their collaboration with the African Union Commission and other partners to deliver real impact.
Henry Augustus Robert Jnr, the CNG co-chairperson, reminded participants that it is the member states who implement CAAADP while non-state actors are supposed to provide the support, and advocacy for the issues and the promises that the government made for the AU, for the implementation of CAADP.
“Our responsibility is to develop an inclusive non-state actors coalition that includes all of those institutions that are considered to be non-state actors, including the private sector. So as we deliberate the next few days, let us be cognizant of the fact that we want an inclusive institution that will champion the cause of creating the environment that the AU, our leaders, have envisioned.
“And let us also remember that even as we speak after 20 years of CAADP, we still have a food import bill of around US$100 billion annually. Our focus must be on how to get rid of that,” Robert Jnr said.
Agnes Obua-Ogwal, a CAADP Programme Advisor at the African Union Commission’s Department of Agriculture, paid tribute to members of the CAADP Non-State Actors Group for actively participating in the process and development of the new CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2026-2035 that was finally endorsed by the heads of state at the AU Summit in Kampala, Uganda in January 2025.
“A number of non-state actors, CSOs, are running with this document, looking at it, reviewing it, and seeing how can they contribute to implementing the Kampala declaration. And, like Chikondi said, we need to make it different. We need to have a look at what needs to be done.
“We have seen lessons learned from Maputo, and Malabo Declaration. How can we make it even better so that this time the impacts are faster and that we will be able to achieve our goals in 10 years?” Obua-Ogwal said.
The African Union has three main tracks of preparation for February 2026. It is working on the results framework, which includes reviewing all 59 indicators for Malabo, with 13 technical working groups.
She urged stakeholders to clean data from member states and come up with guidelines to domesticate the Kampala Declaration.
