Addis Ababa, August 21, 2026 (FMC) — Transforming agrifood systems requires stronger political commitment, coordinated regional action and increased investment, IGAD officials said as a high-level learning event opened in Addis Ababa to advance implementation of Africa’s new framework for resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.
The two-day event brings together the IGAD Committee of Ambassadors, the IGAD Parliamentary Forum on Agrifood Systems, national CAADP focal points and technical experts to review regional progress and strengthen political ownership of the Kampala Declaration and its 2026–2035 Strategy and Action Plan.
Opening the event, Mohammed Omar Djama, Director of the IGAD Foreign Service Institute, said agrifood transformation should not be treated as an agricultural agenda alone, given its implications for the region’s economies, societies, political stability and regional integration.
He said persistent food insecurity, climate change, conflict and low productivity make the transformation of agrifood systems an economic, social, political and regional integration imperative.
Djama also underscored the complementary roles of parliaments and diplomatic institutions in turning regional commitments into action, with parliamentarians expected to shape legislation, influence national priorities and budgets, and provide oversight, while the Committee of Ambassadors provides strategic political guidance.
Ambassador Mohamed Ali Hassan, Chair of the IGAD Committee of Ambassadors and Permanent Secretary of Djibouti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to advancing the Kampala Declaration, stressing the importance of stronger cooperation among Member States in addressing food security and agricultural challenges.
Representing Ethiopia, Solomon Lale, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Agriculture Standing Committee, highlighted the country’s experience in agricultural transformation and the importance of parliamentary engagement in addressing shared regional challenges.
He cited Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative and the major expansion of dry-season irrigated wheat production as examples of the country’s agricultural transformation, while also pointing to broader investments in strategic sectors including energy, infrastructure, industrialization and fertilizer production.
Lale said IGAD countries face common challenges, including poverty, food insecurity and factors undermining peace and stability, calling for stronger unity, coordinated action and shared purpose to address them.
Dr. Mohyeldeen Eltoahmi, IGAD Director for Economic Cooperation and Regional Integration, stressed the need to move beyond conventional agricultural growth toward a broader agrifood systems approach encompassing production, trade, climate resilience and economic integration.
He emphasized that policy institutions and parliamentarians are indispensable to implementing the Kampala framework, particularly through the newly established IGAD Parliamentary Forum on Agrifood Systems.
The Kampala Declaration seeks to guide Africa’s transition toward resilient, inclusive, productive, sustainable and prosperous agrifood systems over the 2026–2035 period. The learning event is examining implementation modalities, investment opportunities, policy reforms and accountability mechanisms needed to translate the continental commitments into national and regional action.
Participants are also reviewing findings from the Fifth CAADP Biennial Review, discussing ways to align national budgets and legislation with agrifood priorities, strengthen support for smallholder farmers and pastoralists, improve oversight, and facilitate cross-border trade and regional food security.
The discussions are expected to strengthen national advocacy and lobbying for increased agricultural investment and generate practical action plans for accelerating agrifood systems transformation across the IGAD region.