AU agriculture summit in Uganda to advance new strategy for Africa’s food self-sufficiency

Africa’s agriculture ministers are meeting in Uganda this week to discuss sustainable agriculture and food production systems in light of the climate change, which comes amid warnings that climate crisis is pushing temperatures to levels never experienced by modern humans.

The extraordinary African Union (AU) summit on agriculture opened in Uganda’s capital Kampala on Thursday (9 January), as agricultural ministers and more than 2,000 delegates from across the continent seek measures to boost Africa’s development in the sector. With a sharp increase in food prices due to droughts, floods, conflict and climate change on the continent, the ministers aim to discuss the ways to adapt Africa’s farming practices to climate change and modern technology. Coinciding with the AU summit, the European Union’s climate monitor issued a warning on Friday (10 January) that 2024 was the first full year in which global temperatures exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial times.

The milestone was confirmed by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), whose director, Carlo Buontempo, described how every month in 2024 was the warmest or second-warmest for that month since records began. “The trajectory is just incredible,” C3S director said. According to the UN trade and development agency (UNCTAD), the number of people affected by food insecurity around the world soared from 512 million in 2014 to more than 790 million in 2021. Speaking at the AU summit, Uganda’s prime minister, Robinah Nabbanja, urged Africa’s agricultural ministers to provide policies and solutions within a 10-year action plan in a bid to make the continent food self-reliant given the changing weather, people’s food preferences, increased conflicts and shrinking agricultural farmlands.