In 2003, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was launched with the ambitious goal of transforming agriculture into a catalyst for economic growth, poverty alleviation, and food security across Africa. Rooted in the Maputo Declaration and later reinforced by the Malabo Declaration, CAADP aimed to position agriculture at the heart of Africa’s development. Its targets – allocating 10% of national budgets to agriculture and achieving a 6% annual agricultural growth rate – were bold, reflecting the continent’s determination to take ownership of its development agenda.
Two decades later, CAADP’s legacy is a stark reminder of both potential and unfulfilled promise. While its vision has driven important milestones, the framework has struggled to deliver transformative outcomes for Africa’s farmers. Civil society, particularly vocal advocates, has raised critical concerns about CAADP’s design, priorities, and implementation, questioning whether it serves the people it was intended to benefit or reinforces harmful external dependencies.
CAADP has reshaped the narrative of agriculture across Africa. From national agricultural investment plans to the Biennial Review process, the framework has achieved milestones worth celebrating. Countries like Rwanda stand out, showing what is possible when strong political will is combined with targeted investments in infrastructure, technology, and market development.
CAADP has also championed the spirit of collaboration through initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), designed to break down trade barriers and ignite intra-African trade. It has reminded us that agriculture is not just about feeding the continent – it’s about driving economic growth, ensuring food security, and building resilience in the face of climate challenges.
However, the framework has been criticized for its failure to translate ambitions into equitable and sustainable outcomes for Africa’s farmers. A major issue is its top-down approach, which has prioritized policies over grassroots-driven solutions. This has led to a lack of inclusivity and limited support for agroecology, a sustainable farming practice that integrates biodiversity, resilience, and local knowledge. Agroecological approaches offer proven solutions to Africa’s food and climate crises, yet CAADP continues to favor industrial agriculture, which depletes soils, harms biodiversity, and increases dependency on costly external inputs.
Another concern is CAADP’s openness to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and gene-edited crops. These technologies often come with risks, such as the dominance of patented seeds by multinational corporations, which lock farmers into cycles of dependency. Inadequate regulatory frameworks leave communities vulnerable to health risks, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss. Cross-contamination threatens indigenous crops, undermining Africa’s agricultural heritage and resilience. These technologies prioritize corporate profits over the survival and well-being of local populations.
Governance issues further hinder CAADP’s transformative potential. While some leaders have highlighted the untapped wealth Africa loses from raw material exports, the voices of civil society advocating for agroecology, local resource sovereignty, and resistance to neo-colonial strategies are often sidelined. This disconnect between policy and grassroots realities has undermined the effectiveness of CAADP.
Additionally, CAADP’s reliance on external donors has skewed priorities toward export-oriented agriculture, favoring global market demands over local food systems. This imbalance exacerbates inequalities, leaving smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth, struggling to compete with powerful agribusinesses. The 2026-2035 CAADP Strategy and Action Plan seeks to address these challenges by leveraging donor contributions for capacity building, but this could perpetuate dependency and compromise Africa’s agricultural sovereignty.
Lastly, climate change poses a critical threat to Africa’s agriculture, but CAADP’s response has been insufficient. While the 2026-2035 strategy mentions carbon credits as a potential solution, this approach risks commodifying ecosystems without delivering tangible benefits to farmers. Without robust governance and equitable mechanisms, this strategy could exacerbate inequalities and prioritize profits for external actors over local resilience.
CAADP remains a crucial framework for Africa’s agricultural transformation, but its success hinges on confronting its critical shortcomings. Urgent, bold reforms are essential for CAADP to reach its true potential. Agroecology, food sovereignty, and resilient, inclusive systems must be the foundation of this transformation. The future of Africa’s agriculture must be shaped by the voices of the grassroots by women, youth, and smallholder farmers – not by the elite. The power to shape Africa’s agricultural future lies with its people, not external forces.
