From Soil To Plate: The Kigali Declaration & Africa's Fight To Fix Its Food System

Africa's Plan To Feed Itself

Africa has a new $10 billion plan to feed itself by 2030. But at the 20th Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) held in Kigali, 5,000 delegates from Algiers to Cape Town admitted the continent’s biggest problem is not ideas — it’s keeping promises. From 31 August to 5 September 2026, Kigali, Rwanda hosted the Forum. Over 5,000 delegates from 50 countries attended — Heads of State, policymakers, scientists, farmers, pastoralists, traders, and private sector leaders. Africa argued, agreed, and left with homework.

The Kigali Theme

The theme was direct:

“Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience.”

From Maputo to Kigali

This was not Africa’s first food declaration. In 2003, the Maputo Declaration promised 10% of national budgets to agriculture (1). Malabo 2014 set 7 commitments (2). Dakar 2022 focused on food sovereignty. Kigali 2026 is different. It links financing, youth, and climate in one compact. But the challenge remains the same: turning communiques into tractors, cold rooms, and markets at village level.

What Is AFSF?

The Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) is Africa’s premier meeting on food. 5,000 leaders, farmers, youth, and the private sector come together yearly to stop talking and start fixing our food systems — from soil to plate.

The Vision

Healthy, inclusive, resilient, and equitable food systems for all Africans.

The Mission

To inform, influence, and catalyse Africa’s shift to sustainable food systems.

Strategic Objectives

1. Agenda Setting Define continental, regional, and national priorities. One Africa, one plan.
2. Evidence-Based Policy Reform Push policies backed by data, not speeches. Unlock growth through real agricultural transformation.
3. Investment & Finance Build a pipeline of bankable agri-projects. Unlock private money for small, medium, and large players.
4. Knowledge Sharing & Learning Share what works, what fails, and what to scale. Stop reinventing the wheel in 54 countries.
5. Accountability & Delivery Track promises. Name progress. Move communiques into budgets, tractors, and markets.

Why Food Systems Matter

A food system is everything from soil to plate to waste. It covers production, processing, transport, retail, consumption, and disposal. When it works, people eat well and economies grow. When it fails, health, jobs, and the environment suffer. Africa’s food system is under pressure. An estimated 309 million Africans are food insecure — 20% of the continent, according to the 2026 UN Hunger Report (3). Poverty, inequality, climate shocks, and unsustainable practices are to blame.

By the Numbers

• 309 million Africans are food insecure (4)
• 60% of Africans are under 25 years of age (5)
• 30% — and even higher in Sub-Saharan Africa — of food produced is lost after harvest. That is $4 billion worth of food we grow but never eat, per FAO estimates (6)
• Only 6 countries met the 10% agriculture budget target in 2024, according to African Union (AU) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) data (7)

The Kigali Declaration: What Was Agreed

The Forum’s main outcome was the Kigali Declaration. It commits to five areas: financing, soil health, youth and digital agriculture, climate resilience and nutrition, and intra-African trade.

Key Targets by 2030

1. Mobilize $10 billion for smallholder-led value chains
2. Create 10 million youth jobs in agri-food
3. Cut post-harvest losses from 30% to 15%
4. Increase intra-Africa agri-trade by 50% under Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
5. Triple fertilizer use efficiency through 100 million soil tests by 2030
6. A new “Africa Food Systems Investment Facility” backed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and 6 development finance institutions will manage the fund. A Youth Agripreneurship Accelerator with a $500M seed fund was also launched.

What This Looks Like Across Africa

The targets are already being tested.

• West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal are piloting joint fertilizer procurement to cut costs.
• East Africa: Kenya and Rwanda are scaling digital extension and irrigation for youth farmers.
• Southern Africa: Zimbabwe and Zambia are rolling out bio-fortified maize to fight malnutrition.

“My children were always sick,” says Mai Tariro from a rural area near Harare in Zimbabwe. “Now the new maize has vitamins. But we need the seed on time.”

For Zimbabwe, Kigali means the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) must pay farmers on time and cold rooms must work.

• North Africa: Morocco and Egypt are investing in climate-smart irrigation.

Kigali is not just a Rwanda story. It is a continental test.

Who Must Act Now?

For Kigali to work, four groups must move:

1. Governments: Put commitments into 2025/26 national budgets
2. Private Sector: Lend to SMEs and cooperatives, not only big firms
3. Youth: Apply for and scale the new Accelerator funds
4. Citizens: Track CAADP reports and demand accountability

Commentary

Kigali is Africa’s 4th major food declaration in 23 years. The difference this time is who was in the room: 60% youth and women, with a financing quota attached. That is progress. Africa’s median age is 19. Ignore them and we fail. The focus on soil health and cutting food loss is also overdue. We cannot claim food security while losing 1 in 3 bags of grain.

But progress without punishment is public relations (PR). The Declaration sets big targets but has no penalties for the 37 countries that failed to submit CAADP reports on time, according to 2025 AU data. We have had Maputo, Malabo, and Dakar before.

“We don’t need another speech. We need a tractor that starts and a buyer who pays on time,” said Esther Mwaura, smallholder farmer, AFSF Delegate, Nakuru, Kenya.

Three things must happen:

1. Domesticate: Move the 10% budget pledge from paper to treasury.
2. De-risk: Ensure the new facility lends to a woman in Gokwe, not just firms in Harare — in rural areas where need is greatest, not only in capital cities.
3. Measure: Make biennial reviews public and name underperformers.

Africa does not need another forum to tell us what to do. It needs systems that deliver. If we fail, 309 million food insecure will become 400 million by 2030. The test will be felt in silos or ignored in archives.

Conclusion

The Kigali Declaration is a strong policy signal. It is ambitious and inclusive. But it is weak on binding accountability. Without enforcement and domestic funding, it risks becoming another document. Kigali gave Africa a blueprint and a deadline: 2030. The choice is now simple. The answer will not be written in Kigali. It will be written in budgets in Abuja, Harare, Cairo, Nairobi, and in many budgets of African nations. Or not written at all — or archived.

Fortune Madondo (African Teacher)

[email protected]

References

1. AUDA-NEPAD, AU 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security. Available at: http://www.nepad.org
2. AUDA-NEPAD, AU, 2014, Malabo Seven (7) Commitments To Mutual Accountability. Available at: http://www.nepad.org
3. 2026 UN Hunger Report, FAO. HLPE, FAO 2020. AU CAADP Biennial Review 2025.
4. Ibid
5. UNFPA, 2017, The Demographic Dividend Atlas for Africa: Tracking the Potential for a Demographic Dividend. Available at: http://www.unfpa.org
6. FAO Report, 29 September, 2025, Post-Harvest Loss Management and Food-Waste Transformation: Senegal Draws on Côte d’Ivoire’s Circular-Economy Practices. Available at: http://www.fao.org
7. AU-CAADP Report, January 11, 2025, CAADP Strategy & Action Plan, 2026-2035, (Building Resilient & Sustainable Agrifood System In Africa). Available at: http://www.au.int