The Vice President of Uganda, Jessica Alupo has asked Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) delegates to effectively tackle agricultural challenges to achieve the CAADP strategy and action plan 2026–2035.
HE Jessica Alupo, while addressing the agriculture and foreign affairs ministers on January 10, 2025, at the ongoing CAADP Kampala Summit 2025 at Speke Resort Munyonyo, urged ministers to focus on other sectors and follow a value-chain-based approach in order to solve agricultural challenges.
“I wish to also note that agriculture should not be looked at in isolation because complementarity is key. Without energy, for instance, value addition will be affected and without the appropriate transport infrastructure, market access will be impeded,” Alupo said.
Alupo identified limited public sector investment by member countries in the development of the agricultural sector and limited adoption and use of new agricultural mechanization technologies and over-reliance on nature amidst climate change as some of the different agricultural challenges.
“We also still lack affordable quality agricultural inputs like fertilizers, seed, and breeding stock; we have limited involvement of youth and those with large chunks of unutilized land, inadequate supportive infrastructure like energy, roads, markets, cold-chain facilities, among others and importantly limited intra-Africa trade in agricultural products,” Alupo added.
Alupo asked delegates to have agricultural bottlenecks on top of the summit agenda which she said, ‘should be dealt with holistically.’
The state minister for foreign affairs, John Mulimba proposed solutions to the different agricultural bottlenecks that should be considered if the challenges are to be mitigated.
“There is need for significant investments in raising agricultural productivity, provision of affordable finance, and incentives for the private sector to establish food processing and agro-allied industries in rural areas,” Mulimba said.
Mulimba stressed the need to promote the development of rural and market infrastructure, including appropriate structures to reduce post-harvest losses and also improve weather information and its dissemination and intensify environmental control measures to halt the decline in soil fertility.
According to him, there was a need to strengthen cooperatives in order to build the capacity of farmers in management, entrepreneurship and group dynamics which will enable them to engage in value chain activities especially collective marketing.
The CAADP Kampala summit is yet to adopt the strategic plan 2025-2036, which member states are to use to revamp the agricultural sector in their respective countries to enhance food security.
