Southern Africa Delegates Share Their Triumphs and Challenges on the Road to a Post-Malabo Agenda

Participants in the regional consultations held in Lusaka, Zambia.

Twenty years ago, African leaders came together in Maputo with a shared vision: to revolutionize the agricultural landscape, lift millions out of poverty, and pave the way for sustainable economic growth. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was born from this vision, and over the years, it has grown into a beacon of hope and progress for the continent.

Looking to the future, stakeholders gathered this June in Zambia for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) regional consultations, part of a series of regional dialogues on the post-Malabo Agenda process.

Stakeholders gathered this June in Zambia for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) regional consultations, part of a series of regional dialogues on the post-Malabo Agenda process.

The 2014 Malabo Declaration expanded the focus, scope, content, goals, targets, and implementation modalities of CAADP. The African Union and its partners are now embarking on a process to outline the next 10-year agenda for the continent. The success story of CAADP, with its transformative impact on the agricultural sector, is not only a cause for celebration but also a source of invaluable lessons that can be applied to continue the journey of progress and development.

At the consultations in Lusaka, opened with remarks by Dr. Rudo Makunike, Head of the Technical Cooperation and Advisory Services Division of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), SADC outlined the goals and progress of strategies used to strengthen agricultural investments, including its regional agriculture investment plan, regional crop development program, irrigation policy, regional mechanization strategy, regional livestock development program, and food and nutrition strategy.

Speaking on behalf of the African Union Commission, Ms. Panduleni Elago mentioned the significance of investing in smallholder farmers, who are the backbone of the agricultural sector. “Through targeted support and capacity building, and with the right tools, knowledge, and resources, smallholder farmers can achieve remarkable results. Smallholder farmers’ resilience, hard work, and determination, when combined with adequate support, have been key drivers of our agricultural success,” she said.

‘’CAADP's success is a testament to the importance of regional and international collaboration. By sharing knowledge, resources, and best practices with our neighboring countries and global partners, we've achieved collective progress,” she added.

On behalf of the SADC Executive Secretary, His Excellence Mr. Elias Magosi shared that in SADC’s Biennial Reviews in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023, measuring the implementation of the Malabo Commitments, reveal many improvements in some of the commitments, but stagnation or regression in others. “The purpose of this meeting, therefore, is to reflect on our past performance and to make recommendations for improvement in the last Biennial Review in 2025 and importantly in the post-Malabo Agenda.”

These ongoing regional consultation meetings are opportunities to reflect on the overall role of the Malabo goals and targets and their integration in national development plans. They also provide an opportunity to question whether the CAADP strategies and implementation are anchored in the countries’ planning and budgeting cycle and how best to integrate these in the next agenda.

The delegates agreed that in the post-Malabo Agenda, member states must seek complementary alignment, harmonization, and continuation of the effective strategies already in place. The challenge is to do this while not stifling the creativity to improve, embrace change, and re-imagine issue paradigms such as the agri-food system. After the three-day meeting, the recommendations for the new agenda proposed feedback for 13 thematic focus areas, including how to incorporate emerging technologies, halve poverty through inclusive agricultural growth, and evolve the principles and values of the CAADP agenda, from narrow agriculture-led growth to agri-food systems.

Resources

SADC experts assess Africa's agricultural transformation goals (AfricaBrief)