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By Malama Malama – CAYACC Zambia Representative
📍 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 10–12 June 2025
From 10th to 12th June 2025, I had the privilege of representing the Consortium of African Youth in Agriculture and Climate Change (CAYACC) at a continental panel discussion on “Lessons and Challenges from Non-State Actors’ Engagement in CAADP Implementation,” held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Alongside Ron Mulamba (Kenya) and Olorato Sebitla (Botswana), we proudly represented the youth constituency in highlighting the realities, innovations, and aspirations of young people in Africa’s agriculture and climate landscape.
🌍 Lessons Learned
This engagement reaffirmed the urgency of intentional and structured youth participation in policy spaces. The CAADP framework, aimed at transforming African agriculture, cannot reach its full potential without the inclusion of young people not just as beneficiaries, but as co-creators of solutions. Our experience revealed that while youth energy and innovation are abundant, access to decision-making platforms, funding, and enabling environments remains limited in many parts of the continent.
A key lesson was the power of youth innovation in navigating challenges. Across Africa, young people are developing alternative and homegrown solutions from digital platforms that connect farmers to markets, to climate-smart farming techniques, renewable energy innovations, and localized agribusiness models. These solutions often emerge not from access to resources but from the pressing need to adapt, survive, and build a better future. What we need now is greater recognition, support, and investment in scaling these innovations.
I also learned that youth must be organized and united across regions. Language barriers, policy exclusion, and lack of technical capacity are challenges that can be overcome through coordination, solidarity, and knowledge exchange. Equally important is the role of evidence-based advocacy, which allows us to influence policy using data, lived experiences, and community-driven insights.
Above all, this engagement was a reminder that youth must claim space, not wait for it to be given. Through platforms like CAYACC, young Africans are already demonstrating their leadership and resilience. We must build on this momentum.
🚀 A Call to Action for Youth Across Africa
To my fellow young Africans: the agricultural and food systems we inherit will be shaped by our decisions, actions, and alliances today. Let us rise to the moment.
- Organize: Build and strengthen youth-led movements like CAYACC that connect local action to continental impact.
- Innovate: Continue to develop alternative solutions using local knowledge, new technologies, and sustainable approaches that address your community’s unique challenges.
- Engage: Be informed about your country’s agricultural policies, country reports, CAADP commitments, and platforms where decisions are made. Push for youth inclusion.
- Collaborate: Join hands with women’s groups, civil society, academia, and the private sector. We are stronger when we work together.
- Inspire others: Share your journey, mentor your peers, and help build a new generation of youth leaders in agriculture and climate action.
As I conclude, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to the leadership of the CAADP Non-State Actors Group (CNG), my youth constituency, and the African Union, ActionAid, CARE International, and Oxfam International for providing this vital platform. Thank you for believing in youth and enabling us to contribute to co-creating an inclusive, just, climate-smart, and youth-driven food-secure future for Africa.
The work continues on the farm, in the field, and in the policy arena. Let us walk this journey with purpose, courage, and unity.
The future is not something we wait for—it’s something we build. Together.
