African leaders must take responsibility for the continent’s persistent food security challenges, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) has said.
Speaking at an extraordinary summit of the African Union in Kampala, Uganda, Moussa Faki Mahamat emphasized that the paradoxical situation where Africa remains food insecure despite having vast agricultural potential is unacceptable.
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“Africa is proud to have more than 60% of its population young and 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, water, and forest resources,” Mr Mahamat said. “However, hunger still kills in Africa, and our youth are disaffected with agriculture and the rural world.”
He attributed the situation to a lack of efficient strategies to promote agriculture and rural development, saying that leaders must hold themselves accountable for the current state of affairs.
“We must promote efficient strategies that generate hope and prosperity on our lands,” Mr Mahamat urged. “We must hold ourselves responsible for the current paradoxical food security situation in Africa.”
The summit, which brought together ministers of agriculture from the AU’s 55 member states, aimed to accelerate progress towards the goals set out in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who hosted the summit, was praised for his commitment to farmers and herders.
President Museveni, himself a farmer, has long championed transforming agriculture into a powerful lever for wealth creation in Africa.
The summit’s outcome, known as the Kampala Declaration, is expected to provide a roadmap for accelerating agricultural transformation and improving food systems in Africa.
As the continent strives to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 on zero hunger, the outcomes of the summit are expected to play a critical role in shaping Africa’s agricultural future.
