FROM KAMPALA COMMITMENTS TO INVESTMENT-READY AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS: REFLECTIONS FROM THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN CAADP DOMESTICATION WORKSHOP

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AUDA-NEPAD convened the Southern African Cluster of SADC Member States in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from the 15th – 18th June 2026, to support the domestication of the Kampala Declaration and its integration into National Agricultural Sector Investment Plans (NASIPs). The workshop brought together country delegations, the SADC Secretariat, technical partners and knowledge institutions to reflect on how countries can move from continental commitments to practical implementation, financing and accountability.

A key message emerging from the workshop was that Southern African countries are not starting from zero. Many already have agricultural investment plans, food security strategies, flagship programmes and coordination structures. However, countries are at different stages of their planning cycles. Some, such as Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar, are developing new NASIPs and can directly embed Kampala priorities. Others, including Namibia, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Mauritius, have recently launched or advanced plans that now require retrofitting through implementation roadmaps, results frameworks, investment annexes and financing strategies.

The discussions underscored that Kampala domestication is not merely about inserting new language into existing plans. It requires countries to strengthen governance, diagnostics, investment design, financing architecture and mutual accountability. A recurring theme across the different countries was the common gaps that have emerged around fragmented data systems, weak results frameworks, limited investment packaging, uneven Joint Sector Review processes and insufficiently structured financing strategies.

The workshop also focused on how countries can structure financeable agrifood systems programmes. Delegates noted that many countries already have subsidies, agricultural development funds, guarantees, credit lines, PPPs and donor-funded projects. The challenge is to transform these instruments into coherent, sequenced and de-risked investment portfolios that can attract public, private, concessional, blended and institutional capital.

Finally, the meeting moved the conversation further towards implementation engineering. Countries were encouraged to bundle interventions rather than pursue isolated projects. Priority packages included productivity and production systems, technology and enabling environments, enterprise growth and inclusion, value addition, sustainability compliance, and trade facilitation. The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program’s (GAFSP) 9th Call for Proposals also provided an immediate opportunity for eligible countries to prepare government-led, Kampala-aligned and investment-ready proposals.

For ANAPRI, the workshop reaffirmed the importance of its technical and strategic role. As a network of African policy research institutes, ANAPRI is well positioned to support ministries, RECs, AUDA-NEPAD and the African Union with data, evidence and policy insights. This includes value-chain diagnostics, modelling, investment case analysis, results frameworks, policy reform tracking, and support to mutual accountability processes. As countries move from aspiration to implementation, ANAPRI can help ensure that Kampala domestication is evidence-based, investment-ready and responsive to national and regional transformation priorities.