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The African Union Commission (AUC) through its Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (DARBE), in collaboration with the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHDS) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), with support of technical institutions and development partners will commemorate the 15th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) along with the 20th edition of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform (PP) and the associated Malabo Policy Learning Event (MAPLE) in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 29th October to the 1st November 2024.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Dr Godfrey Bahiigwa, the Director of DARBE said in the context of the African Union (AU) Theme of the Year 2024 – “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa”, the 20th CAADP PP, MAPLE, and 15th ADFNS will discuss the nexus between nutrition, food systems, and Education, as well as capacity building for resilient and inclusive agrifood systems as the continent rallies to define the next CAADP Strategy and Action Plan: 2026-2035.
“These events – the 20th CAADP PP, MAPLE, and the 15th ADFNS- serve as a platform for policy dialogue and will provide an opportunity for stakeholders and other CAADP constituencies to reflect on the achievements of the CAADP Agenda over the past two decades while rallying the highest political, technical, and financial commitments to further Africa’s growth and prosperity. The events will discuss contemporary challenges and opportunities for scaling public financing and private sector investments in agrifood and nutrition interventions and promoting intra-Africa trade. As an icebreaker to kick off the 4-day event, the MAPLE and ADFNS thematic presentations will allow stakeholders to learn and exchange successful case studies, lessons, and best practices in agrifood and nutrition programming and policymaking.
“The overall theme for the combined CAADP PP, MAPLE, and ADFNS 2024 is, therefore, “CAADP Agenda Two Decades-on: Cultivating the Nexus of Nutrition, Agrifood Systems and Education for Africa’s Growth.” This theme underscores the need to build human, institutional, and other technical capacities to effectively implement National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs). It also highlights the importance of embracing innovative agricultural practices to accelerate the implementation and scaling of successful models to achieve resilient agrifood systems across Africa,” he said
The 20th CAADP PP and MAPLE will serve as a policy dialogue and accountability platform, celebrating the achievements of the CAADP Agenda over the past two decades since the Maputo 2003 and the Malabo 2014 agreements. These events will also chart the future course of agrifood systems transformation in the post-Malabo CAADP era, emphasizing a holistic approach to sustainable agricultural development in Africa
Under the set theme, the 20th CAADP PP and MAPLE events underscore the urgency of building human, institutional, and technical capacities to implement the NAIPs and uphold accountability effectively. As climate change intensifies and technological advancements reshape the global economy, Africa must focus on building resilient agri-food systems that can not only withstand these challenges but also promote economic growth, food and nutrition security, and social equity.
The endorsement of the 4th CAADP Biennial Review Report by Heads of State and Government in February 2024 underscores the mixed progress towards meeting the Malabo Declaration targets. Despite notable advancements, the continent cannot achieve these goals by 2025. Therefore, the Partnership Platform Meeting aims to translate the resolve into concrete actions, focusing on innovative partnerships, digitalization, and capacity building to achieve significant results and impact. The Platform Meeting will explore how to efficiently mobilize resources and scale up efforts toward sustainable agriculture, leveraging the aspirations of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security
The ADFNS is an annual statutory event the African Heads of State and Government acceded to during the 15th Ordinary Session of the AU Summit in Kampala, Uganda, through Decision “Assembly/AU/Dec.327 (XV)”. This decision was made in the wake of unacceptably persistent food insecurity epitomized by chronic malnutrition on the continent. A side event convened in the margins of this Summit under the banner “Africa must feed itself. No child should go to bed hungry”, came out with a bold recommendation for setting aside a day that sets light on the centrality of food and nutrition security in Africa’s development agenda.
Henceforth, the ADFNS has served as a platform for rallying political, technical, and financial commitments at all levels to address contemporary challenges related to implementing food and nutrition security interventions in Africa. The commemoration of this day promotes the sharing of experience, knowledge, and best practices while providing a forum to access the progress made toward assuring access for quality food for improved nutrition and health across the continent. This year’s ADFNS is taking place in a significant year of Educating an African Fit for the 21st Century and also marks the second decade of implementing CAADP and the end of the 2014 CAADP Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods which aspired, among others, to end Hunger in Africa by 2025.
Significant progress has been made through CAADP in terms of food production and productivity gains over the past decades. However, the increases in agricultural investment have not realized the CAADP goal of food security or led to improved nutrition, except for a reduction in levels of child wasting. Food has become less affordable, constraining access to adequate, diverse, and healthy diets. Malnutrition in all its forms stands out as a critical challenge, highlighting the urgent need to transform multiple systems, including agri-food and health systems.
Therefore, this 15th edition of the ADFNS will be a pivotal platform to reflect on the achievements gained over the past decade of implementing the Malabo declaration while charting how to address the challenges that hindered attaining these goals. Furthermore, this 15th ADFNS falls in the auspicious African Union year of “Educating an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa.”
The set theme reflects the need to take stock of how far the continent has come to adequately address food and nutrition security through the CAADP Malabo Declaration, considering emerging issues that require attention to ensure that aspirations to ending hunger are achieved. Issues include ensuring an agri-food systems approach for better outcomes, implementing programs and initiatives through the one health approach, and addressing contemporary issues of food production, food safety, obesity, and Africa’s food sovereignty, culture, and heritage.
Noting that apart from the conventional Nutrition and Agriculture frameworks such as CAADP, other sector plans/strategies, and frameworks also contribute towards inclusive agri-food systems development, these include but are not limited to the Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy and Action Plan (2022-2032), Nutrition and Food Systems Implementation plan 2019-2025t, the Africa Regional Nutrition Strategy 2016 to 2025, Guidelines for Inclusive Agricultural Value Chains in Africa, and the 2016-2025 Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA).
Additionally, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which outlines a long-term vision for Africa’s development, highlights the interdependence of food security, health, and education as key pillars. This underscores the importance of collaborating across sectors to achieve sustainable development goals. In particular, the ADFNS this year emphasizes the African Union’s theme of “Educating an African Fit for the 21st Century”, highlighting how educational frameworks can strengthen food security and nutrition initiatives across the continent, especially through inclusive, lifelong learning and capacity-building.
Focus on 4th Biennial Review Report
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) Partnership Platform (PP), Malabo Policy Learning Event (MAPLE), and the Biennial Review (BR) are three critical pillars that define CAADP processes. These activities have been consistently carried out throughout the Malabo period to mobilize and coordinate stakeholders, facilitate collaboration and learning, and reinforce one another. As a practice, CAADP PP and MAPLE, preceding the release of the BR report, always focus on the BR results of that particular year. This year follows the same practice, ensuring that stakeholders are well-informed and aligned on the progress made and the challenges ahead in achieving the goals set forth in the CAADP framework.
The African Union released the 4th BR report after the HoSG endorsement in February 2024. This report indicates that no country is on track to meet Malabo commitments by 2025 – though the progress made is commendable considering the events that occurred during the reporting period. The endorsement of the 4th CAADP Biennial Review Report by Heads of State and Government in February 2024 underscores the mixed progress towards meeting the Malabo Declaration targets. The report highlights the country’s performance and recommendations on specific technical areas critical for food and nutrition security and economic growth and is therefore a useful tool to inform dialogue, agricultural interventions, and adaptations at continental, regional, and national levels.
Low utilization and action on the BR results is one challenge that has bedeviled the BR process and hindered actions on the BR outcomes and recommendations. Effective utilization of the BR Results starts with wider dissemination, conversation, and dialogue to create necessary awareness and understanding to enable the actors to interpret and internalize the results and sufficient buy-in to stimulate action. The engagement with BR results must be sustained through various events, forums, and activities using different approaches to ensure that stakeholders are continuously reminded and encouraged to act on the recommendations in their day-to-day activities. Effective utilization of BR Results would ensure that Member States follow through on the recommendation and address systemic gaps hindering the achievement of targets and agricultural transformation.
The year 2024 was a critical year for CAADP with an intense focus on the Post-Malabo Agenda development process. CAADP PP provides an important platform to revisit the BR results, continue the dissemination, sustain conversation, and stimulate and follow up on actions and learnings on the BR recommendations. It also provides an opportunity to surface emerging lessons from national and partners’ responses to the recommendations.