CAADP Kampala Conference: Museveni Urges Africa to Harness Agriculture for Economic Transformation

1. By Andrew Irumba 

<strong>MUSEVENI FULL SPEECH AT CAADP 11th Jan

Munyonyo: At the opening of the CAADP Summit on Saturday, January 11, 2025, held at SpekeResort Munyonyo in Kampala, Uganda’s President H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni passionately called on African nations to embrace commercial agriculture and value addition as pathways to economic prosperity. Speaking to an audience of heads of state, diplomats, and stakeholders, the Ugandan President emphasized the need to transform Africa’s subsistence economies into thriving commercial enterprises.

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), established in 2003 under the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), seeks to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty through agriculture. With a focus on increasing investment in agriculture, improving food security, and boosting economic growth, CAADP aims to ensure at least 10% of national budgets for member states are allocated to the agricultural sector.

President Museveni linked CAADP’s objectives to the continent’s historical potential. Drawing on Uganda’s colonial past, he noted how Africa’s agricultural wealth was historically undervalued, relegated to producing raw materials like coffee, cotton, and tea for export. This, he argued, perpetuated dependency and limited the continent’s economic self-reliance.

Agriculture as a Pillar of Development

Museveni traced Uganda’s journey from a subsistence-based economy to one increasingly engaged in commercial agriculture. His administration’s strategies include:

1. Commercializing Agriculture: Encouraging farmers to move beyond subsistence farming to enterprises that ensure food and income security.
2. Value Addition: Highlighting the stark difference in revenue between raw and processed products, Museveni called for investment in value chains. “A kilogram of raw coffee fetches $2.50, but processed coffee earns $40,” he explained.
3. Integrated Systems: He championed the integration of agriculture with manufacturing and services, ensuring that locally grown products fuel other economic sectors, such as hospitality and tourism.

Museveni also addressed the structural challenges hampering African agriculture. He criticized the practice of exporting raw materials and the imposition of non-tariff barriers among African nations, which stifle intra-continental trade. To counter these, he urged for:

• Enhanced regional cooperation under the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA).
• Investment in research for improved seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation technologies.
• Discouraging land fragmentation to preserve agricultural viability.

In a broader appeal, he called for innovative solutions to Africa’s water crises, including harnessing underutilized resources like the Congo River and exploring desalination technologies.

Museveni’s speech was both a celebration of Africa’s potential and a call to action for collective efforts. He highlighted Uganda’s achievements, where 67% of households are now part of the money economy—a significant leap from the 9% at independence. Through CAADP, he envisioned a future where Africa’s rich resources fuel its own development, rather than enriching foreign economies.

“The Africa of no food and begging is not the real Africa,” Museveni declared. With continued commitment to CAADP’s principles, he affirmed, “Africa will be a superpower economically.”

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