Posted on May, 5, 2025 at 10:12 pm
Kenya’s Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has called on African nations to unite in transforming the continent’s food systems, warning that failure to act collectively will perpetuate cycles of poverty, dependency, and malnutrition across the region.
Speaking at the UN Food Systems Summit +4 (UNFSS+4) Africa Regional Summit in Nairobi, Kagwe described Africa’s food systems as being at a critical inflection point.
He urged governments to scale up investments in agro-processing, climate resilience, youth-driven innovation, and cross-border trade to achieve sustainable food sovereignty.
“Despite Africa’s immense agricultural potential, we still spend billions of dollars importing food. This is not just a policy challenge—it is a matter of survival,” said Kagwe during the summit held at the UNON Complex in Gigiri.
Kagwe highlighted Kenya’s own reforms under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), where technology, data, and grassroots involvement are central to boosting productivity.
Key initiatives include the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Program (NAVCDP), e-extension services, and a school feeding program currently serving 2.7 million children, with a goal of reaching 10 million by 2030.
“We have digitized over 6.5 million farmers under the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS), helping distribute subsidized fertilizer and seeds. This is increasing productivity, incomes, and resilience,” he said.
To scale climate resilience, Kenya is expanding drought-tolerant crop varieties, livestock insurance, feedlot programs, and disease control campaigns, including a national livestock vaccination initiative targeting Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR).
Kagwe also stressed the importance of regional cooperation in leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), removing trade barriers, and unlocking climate finance to support frontline farmers battling the adverse effects of climate change.
“Africa deserves its fair share of global climate finance. Smallholder farmers need affordable credit and renewable energy solutions to withstand shocks and adapt sustainably,” he stated.
He urged African countries to align their policies with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the post-Malabo Declaration, while encouraging the private sector to co-invest in transforming the continent’s agriculture.
“Food is not just economic—it is dignity, it is health, it is the foundation of every thriving society,” said Kagwe. “Let us rise as Africa—not just to feed ourselves, but to nourish the world.”
The UNFSS+4 summit brings together governments, development partners, the private sector, and civil society to review progress made since the inaugural 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and to accelerate food systems transformation across Africa.
Source: Capital FM