[Blog] The Kampala Declaration and Mauritius’s Agrifood Future

By Dharamraj Deenoo

Yaoundé, March 2026 - The African Union’s high-level dialogue in Yaoundé has set in motion a structural redefinition of agriculture across the continent. From 17–19 March, policy makers, experts, and development partners gathered to operationalise the Kampala Declaration (2026–2035), a framework that positions agriculture as a central driver of economic growth, industrialisation, and food security.

Four Pillars of the Kampala Framework

1.    Governance and Coordination — Strengthening institutional leadership and multi-sectoral collaboration through inclusive platforms uniting governments, private sector, youth, women, and civil society.
2.    Analytics and Diagnostics — Evidence-based decision making, with investment in data systems to identify priority value chains, assess risks, and guide planning.
3.    Investment Planning and Execution — NASIPs and RASIPs redesigned as dynamic, costed, and bankable portfolios aligned with national budgets and capable of attracting private financing.
4.    Mutual Accountability and Learning — Integrated monitoring and evaluation systems linked to Joint Sector Reviews and Biennial Reviews, creating continuous cycles of learning and improvement.

Immediate Priorities (First 6–12 Months)

•    Establish or strengthen national coordination mechanisms.
•    Conclude diagnostics to identify high-impact investment opportunities.
•    Develop costed and prioritised investment plans.
•    Align agricultural strategies with broader economic and financing frameworks.
Address capacity gaps in technical expertise and institutional coordination.

Agriculture as an Investment Frontier

The Kampala Agenda reimagines agriculture as an investment frontier. By focusing on commercial viability, scalability, and returns on investment, the framework aims to attract private capital and reduce reliance on donor funding. Agriculture is thus positioned not only as a tool for food security, but as a driver of job creation, industrial growth, and economic resilience.

Case Study: Mauritius Planters’ Regrouping Vision

Mauritius, 25 years ago — An innovative proposal sought to regroup planters into 500 arpent clusters, with each perche tied to a share. Out of each 500 arpents, 450 were dedicated to sugarcane and 50 to vegetables and fruits, or livestock supported by an Agri Factory on each regrouped plot for processing, canning, or freezing.

This model anticipated today’s Kampala principles:

•    Commercial viability through share-based ownership and factory output.
•    Food security resilience via diversification.
•    Collective empowerment by reducing costs and scaling production.

Though piloted at the St Pierre Farmers Services Centre at a workshop with planters, its implementation was derailed. Yet, the vision foreshadowed the Kampala Guidelines’ emphasis on bankable, costed portfolios aligned with national budgets.

Conclusion

As the Yaoundé dialogue concluded, one message stood out: the success of the Kampala Declaration will depend on how effectively countries move from planning to implementation. With coordinated effort, strategic investment, and sustained political will, the Kampala Agenda has the potential to redefine Africa’s - and Mauritius’s - agricultural future.

In Yaoundé, the seed of that transformation was firmly planted while the ploughing of the land was done in Mauritius.