Uganda Fails on Key Goals of the Malabo Declaration

President Museveni opening the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) meeting that was held in Entebbe in 2018. Controlling Aflatoxin in foods and grains in one of the ways through which AU hopes to reduce PHL and boost intra-state trade. Unfortunately, Uganda is yet to ratify the Malabo protocol to enforce the commitment

The Heads of States and Government of the African Union meeting in June 2014, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea adopted two (2) Decisions and two (2) Declarations which directly relate to CAADP and Africa’s agricultural transformation and food security agenda in the 2015-2025 decade.

1. The Malabo Declaration on the Comprehensive Africa’s Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) and commitment to accelerate Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods has a number of goals – a.k.a Commitments geared towards accelerated Agricultural Growth
and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods.

They include:

1. Recommitment to the Principles and Values of the CAADP Process

2. Recommitment to enhance investment finance in Agriculture by:

a) Upholding 10% public spending target. Uganda government’s investment in the agriculture has been a matter of great concern. In the 2019/2020 budget, Government allocated UGX893bn to agriculture, (About 2.4% of the UGX37.2 trillion budget). This sad tale of inadequate budget allocation to agriculture has become a constant feature of Uganda’s agricultural budget, despite the sector’s importance to the economic stability, jobs and food security.

The government insists that agriculture funding is scattered in other sectors such as roads, electricity, youth livelihood programme etc, but critics argue that the African leaders were full aware of the fact that there would be other investments in such key sectors as roads, when they signed up to the Malabo declaration.

b) Operationalization of Africa Investment Bank

3. Commitment to Ending Hunger by 2025 by;
a) At least double productivity (focusing on Inputs, irrigation, mechanization)
b) Reduce Post-Harvest Losses (PHL) at least by half.
c) Nutrition: reduce stunting to 10%

4. Commitment to Halving Poverty , by 2025, through inclusive Agricultural Growth
and Transformation through:

a) Sustaining Annual sector growth in Agricultural GDP at least 6%. Uganda’s agricultural sector has largely lagged behind the country’s population growth rate of 3% as well as the CAADP target of 6%. Only last year (2018/19 Budget,) did the country record a slight improvement when agriculture recorded a 3.8% growth. This was still considered a strong recovery from the previous three years, including 2016/17 when agriculture recorded negative growth.

b) Establishing and/or strengthening inclusive public-private partnerships for at least five priority agricultural commodity value chains with strong linkage to smallholder agriculture.
c) Create job opportunities for at least 30% of the youth in agricultural value chains.
d) Preferential entry & participation by women and youth in gainful and attractive
agribusiness

5. Commitment to Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural Commodities
& Services
a) Triple intra-Africa trade in agricultural commodities
b) Fast track continental free trade area & transition to a continental Common External
tariff scheme

6. Commitment to Enhancing Resilience in livelihoods & production systems to
climate variability and other shocks

7. Commitment to Mutual Accountability to Actions and Results
a) Through the CAADP Result Framework – conduct a biennial Agricultural
Review Process

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