Adoption of the Kampala Declaration at the PDDAA Summit

The African Union’s Detailed Programme for African Agriculture (PDDAA) summit concluded on Saturday with the adoption of the Kampala Declaration. The event, which began on Thursday under the theme "One Voice, One Land," gathered around 2,000 participants, including political leaders, civil society representatives, and experts.

Morocco was represented by Ahmed El Bouari, Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water, and Forests, who led a substantial delegation. This included the Moroccan Ambassador to Tanzania and the Comoros, Zakaria El Goumiri, the Secretary-General of the Agriculture Department, Redouane Arrach, and Zakaria El Yacoubi, Acting Director of Irrigation and Agricultural Space Development.

The summit ended with African nations adopting the Kampala Declaration, focusing on the development of a resilient and sustainable food system. This included the PDDAA’s ten-year strategy and action plan.

The participants pledged to increase sustainable food production, promote agro-industrialization, and enhance trade. By 2035, the countries aim to boost agro-food production by 45%, reduce post-harvest losses by 50%, and triple intra-African trade in agro-food products and inputs.

To achieve these goals, the Kampala Declaration calls for the creation of a conducive political and regulatory environment and the integration of emerging technologies such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and digitization.

Countries also committed to increasing investment in the accelerated transformation of agro-food systems, with a target of mobilizing $100 billion in public and private investments by 2035.

Moreover, the Declaration seeks to reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty in Africa by 50%. African nations were urged to incorporate these commitments into their national policies, strategies, and budgets for effective implementation. A call was also made for African farmers to adopt innovative practices and emerging technologies to improve productivity, sustainability, and resilience in the agricultural sector.