Claver Gatete, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has called for urgent action to transform Africa’s food systems.
Gatete addressed the presidential summit plenary on Tuesday at the 2025 Africa food systems forum in Dakar, Senegal, according to a statement from the commission.
The executive secretary said the continent, having imported $115 billion worth of food in 2024, is facing a pressing reason for change.
He said hunger continues to rise across Africa, despite more than a decade of implementing the comprehensive Africa agriculture development programme (CAADP).
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Gatete stressed the need for accelerated and coordinated action to transform Africa’s food systems, as evident in the newly adopted CAADP strategy and action plan (2026–2035).
The executive secretary said the plan aims to increase agrifood output by 45 percent, halve post-harvest losses, and boost local food processing by 35 percent.
The ECA chief said Africa must mobilise domestic resources and attract private investments, including pension funds, remittances, and green bonds, to finance agricultural transformation.
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He also emphasised the importance of investing in rural infrastructure and placing young people at the centre of agricultural transformation.
“Transforming food systems is not just about feeding people,” the executive secretary said.
“It’s about dignity, sovereignty, and securing Africa’s rightful place in the global economy.”
Gatete called for the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to remove trade barriers and increase intra-African agrifood exports by nearly 60 percent by 2045.
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He outlined six key recommendations to drive food systems reform, including aligning national budgets with food system commitments and scaling up innovative financing for women and youth.
In August, Abubakar Kyari, the minister of agriculture and food security, said Nigeria spends $10 billion annually on food imports.
