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CAADP
C AADP

ACHIEVING PROSPERITY THROUGH
AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA

BY CHIGOZIE N. UDENSI*

frica is bestowed with vastly abundant agricultural businesses and agro-allied industries are
Aenvironmental and agricultural resources, yet vital to revamping the fortunes of the rural economies of
the continent has remained a net food importer. This African countries, this should be achieved in ways that
is due to a combination of the stagnating agricultural discourage land grabbing and the lack of community
production and the rising demand for food, intensifi ed by rights over their assets.
the depletion of environmental condition. In response to An important part of a country’s CAADP
this challenge is the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture implementation is the CAADP Results Framework.
Development Programme (CAADP); the strategic Therefore, the application of the System means
policy structure of the African Union for the African incorporating its functions and concepts at all stages into
continent’s agricultural development. The African Union the exercises and processes of CAADP development.
(AU) and NEPAD founded CAADP in 2003. It aims to The Results Framework thus helps to facilitate, provide,
achieve an annual growth rate of approximately 6% in support and promote:
the gross domestic agricultural product of each of the 1. The design and implementation of policies,
participating countries by investing at least 10% of the initiatives and investment opportunities;
national budgets in the agricultural sector each year. 2. Objectivity and consistency of intent in success
One of Africa’s greatest challenges today remains and outcome monitoring;
food security. It is most noticeable in the recurrent 3. A sound, consistent and evidence-based framework
shortage of food and famines, like the Horn of Africa for pursuing accountability; and
crisis, which lasted from July 2011 to February 2012 4. Compliance and standardisation, which strengthens
and affected about 13 million people. To this eff ect, cohesion in the efforts to grow.

in 2014 when the African Union adopted the “Malabo The Results Framework of the CAADP shows that
Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and there are different tools and processes at the national level

Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved to design, implement, monitor and evaluate agricultural
Livelihoods”, African leaders dedicated themselves to interventions. It is intended that the Framework will act as
ending hunger and reducing poverty on the continent an essential part of these current systems and instruments.
by 2025. Countries are encouraged to reinforce or create national
Over the last decade, the introduction of the result frameworks for their individual governmental
Comprehensive Africa Development Program for agricultural investment plans. It is essential that the results
Agriculture (CAADP) has enabled some countries to frameworks at the country level are synchronized with the
resolve major developmental challenges in agricultural continental CAADP Results Framework. The moral duty
production. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the and responsibility of African leaders is to rise up together
Africa Development Bank, in his public lecture at the and end hunger in Africa. This can be achieved by going
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United the extra mile to transform agriculture into an enterprise
Nations, held at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, for wealth creation and prosperity.
in 2018, explained that the global sustainability of
food will depend on what Africa does with agriculture *Author is a PhD student in Politics and International
in the future. Africa contains 65% of the 9 billion Relations from the University of Johannesburg, South
uncultivated arable lands left to feed by 2050. Although, Africa.

Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 8 • Issue 9 • November 2020, Noida • 47