AGRA President Alice Ruhweza has called on African governments to scale up public investment in agriculture to strengthen food systems and unlock the continent’s potential.
Speaking at the opening of the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Dakar, Senegal, she stressed the need for countries to meet and exceed commitments under the Maputo, Malabo, and Kampala CAADP Declarations, which require allocating at least 10% of GDP to agriculture and mobilising $100 billion in public and private investments.
She warned that Africa continues to import over $70 billion worth of food annually while millions of young people face unemployment, climate challenges, and underutilisation of two-thirds of the world’s uncultivated arable land.
Ruhweza highlighted ambitious targets for the continent, including a 45% increase in agrifood output through sustainable practices, halving post-harvest losses, tripling intra-African trade in agricultural products, boosting local food processing to 35% of agrifood GDP, and achieving zero hunger by 2035.
She underscored the importance of empowering women, youth, and marginalised groups, reducing child malnutrition, and enabling 60% of Africans to afford healthy diets.
This year’s AFSF, themed “Africa’s Youth Leading Collaboration, Innovation, and Implementation of Agri-Food Systems Transformation,” brings together more than 6,000 participants from 113 countries—including heads of state, policymakers, researchers, and agribusiness leaders—for high-level discussions on the future of food systems across Africa.
