The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and Farrelly & Mitchell today held a high-level strategic meeting at the FARA Headquarters in Accra, Ghana, to advance discussions on a forthcoming Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at jointly mobilising resources to technically advance projects that address high-priority challenges and opportunities with a special focus on the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) Programme.

The meeting brought together Dr. Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director of FARA, Mr. Malachy Mitchell, Co-founder and Managing Director of Farrelly & Mitchell, and Mr. Stephen Awuah the Regional Director of Farrelly & Mitchell in West Africa. They exchanged views on the strategic, technical, and financial contours of the proposed cooperation.

Responding to a Critical Project Preparation Challenge

The CAAPs Programme, endorsed by the African Union, is a flagship initiative designed to accelerate agro-industrial transformation through integrated, corridor-based agro-parks linking agricultural production zones with processing, energy, logistics, and regional markets under the AfCFTA framework.  By advancing bankable agro-industrial corridors, CAAPs aim to reduce Africa’s food import dependence, create decent jobs—particularly for youth and women—and strengthen intra-African trade.

While eleven priority CAAPs corridors have been identified across Africa, the CAAPs Secretariat—hosted by FARA—faces significant upstream constraints, particularly the limited availability of grant and concessional resources required to finance robust prefeasibility and feasibility studies. These studies are indispensable to translate political commitment into technically sound, investment-ready projects that meet international environmental, social, governance, and bankability standards.

Against this backdrop, both leaders recognised the urgency of strengthening structured partnerships capable of bridging the gap between strategic vision and implementable investments.

A Strategic Framework for Resource Mobilisation

The envisaged MoU between FARA and Farrelly & Mitchell will establish a strategic partnership framework to jointly engage development finance institutions, foundations, climate funds, private equity funds, and advisory platforms. The cooperation will focus on mobilising technical assistance, grant funding, and blended-finance instruments to support CAAPs prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and subsequently investment into CAAPs projects.

Farrelly & Mitchell brings experience in structuring and coordinating development finance and advisory engagements with international partners, while FARA provides continental policy anchoring, and coordination with African Union institutions, Regional Economic Communities, Member States and coordination bodies of agri-food system stakeholders e.g. research and innovation, extension, farmers, agribusiness.

The Parties confirmed their joint commitment to finalise the MoU and commence coordinated outreach to prospective funders in early 2026.

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Continental and regional research, education, extension organisations, development partners, policymakers, and agricultural stakeholders from across Africa convened in Kampala, Uganda, for a high-level Multistakeholder Workshop on Strengthening Research, Education, Extension,and Development (R-E-D) from 21 to 23 December 2025. The workshop was anchored in the World Bank–funded Food Systems Resilience Programme (FSRP) and convened by the African Union Commission (AUC).

Opening the workshop, Dr Lilian Lihasi, Executive Directorof the Africa Forum for Agricultural Advisory Service (AFAAS), underscored the urgency of collective action to transform Africa’s food systems. She emphasised that the workshop provided a unique multi-stakeholder platform for shared learning, dialogue, and joint problem-solving, noting that meaningful engagement among continental, regional, and national actors is essential to deliver the change Africa urgently requires.

Speaking on behalf of the CAADP-XP4 Programme, Dr Aggrey Agumya reflected on Africa’s persistent challenge of translating commitments into action, observing that nearly 93 per cent of continental declarations remain unimplemented. He explained that the African Union has resolved to change this trajectory by ensuring that future declarations are grounded in realistic and attainable targets. He affirmed that CAADP-XP4 represents a progressive shift toward results-oriented implementation and stressed that the effective deployment of science, technology, and innovation is a prerequisite for achieving FSRP objectives.

Dr Agumya highlighted CAADP-XP4’s role in strengthening agricultural research for development through enhanced institutional collaboration and the establishment of the African Agricultural Research, Innovation and Education Institutions (AARIEIs). He cautioned, however, that knowledge systems alone are insufficient to drive transformation at scale, emphasising the need to work closely with farmers, academia, extension services, education institutions, and the private sector to translate research into practical solutions. He commended the AUC for convening the meeting and urged XP4 partners to align more deliberately with the FSRP, while thanking AFAAS and ASARECA for hosting.

The Executive Director of ASARECA, Dr Sylvester Dickson Baguma, reinforced the critical role of Subregional Research Organisations (SROs) as institutions closest to countries and communities. He described SROs as “down-to-earth” actors who operate where implementation occurs. He emphasised that strengthening partnerships across research, extension, and education is central to achieving Agenda 2063 and the CAADP Kampala Declaration. He reaffirmed ASARECA’s commitment to working with the AUC through the RECs, as well as fellow SROs, to deliver a measurable impact, noting that the actions taken today will determine how far Africa progresses.

Delivering a keynote address on behalf of AUC Commissioner H.E. Moses Vilakati, Mr Kennedy Ayason, FSRP Programme Coordinator at the AUC, highlighted the immense pressures facing Africa’s food systems, including conflict, climate change, droughts, and market disruptions. He also pointed to the opportunities presented by rapidly advancing digital technologies. He explained that the World Bank-funded FSRP, a USD 3 billion programme launched in 2024 across Eastern, Southern, and Western Africa, offers a strategic vehicle for aligning continental, regional, and national efforts.

Mr Ayason outlined three imperatives underpinning the FSRP approach: recognising SROs as the backbone of implementation, ensuring research outputs reach farmers and extension systems rather than remaining on shelves, and mainstreaming artificial intelligence, interoperable digital systems, and modern data platforms as essential tools. He further explained that FSRP focuses on building resilience, mitigating post-harvest loss, conducting research and development, integrating markets through harmonised seed systems and trade, and enhancing trade-related capacities, while also supporting deeper continental integration and the implementation of the CAADP Kampala Declaration (to 2035).

During plenary discussions, Ms Beatrice Egulu of the AUC called on AARIEI partners to move beyond general discussions and clearly demonstrate what they expect to contribute to the implementation of the FSRP and CAADP Kampala Declaration. She emphasised that clarity of roles, practical demonstrations, and accountability are essential for translating continental frameworks into measurable national and regional impact. Participants raised candid concerns around visibility, coordination, and accountability, calling for clearer frameworks to track who is doing what, where, and with what results. Executive Directors and representatives from RUFORUM, FARA, CCARDESA, CORAF, and partner organisations agreed on the need to move away from fragmented, project-driven approaches toward coherent, systems-based models that deliver sustained impact.

Representing the CCARDESA Executive Director, Dr Majola Mabuza, FSRP Programme Coordinator for Southern Africa, emphasised the shift from fragmented knowledge to structured, accessible systems capable of driving scale and accountability. He highlighted efforts to develop a continental digital technology catalogue and standardised scorecards to track technology performance, adoption, and impact, noting that these tools will strengthen evidence-based decision-making and mutual accountability across institutions. AFAAS Executive Director Dr Lilian Lihasi urged participants to focus on strengthening system functions rather than isolated projects, stressing that without effective extension and coordination, policies cannot be translated into practice or scaled.

Mr Emmanuel Okalany of RUFORUM called for a structured framework that clarifies responsibilities and aligns institutional mandates. He highlighted RUFORUM’s commitment to ensuring student research responds to continental priorities and emphasised the importance of accountability to the African Union, alongside enterprise and entrepreneurship training to translate research into agribusiness solutions. CORAF’s Senior Scaling Specialist,Dr Caroline Sobgui, stressed the need to move away from siloed approaches and embed CAADP achievements fully within the FSRP to ensure continuity and scale. Mr Paul Ochuna of the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) emphasised the importance of harmonised information platforms, scaled-up partnerships, and market-focused platforms, such as agribusiness expos, to link researchers, seed companies, and farmers while facilitating trade.

A dedicated session on knowledge systems and digitisation under CAADP-XP4 showcased platforms and tools used by FARA, ASARECA, CCARDESA, CORAF, and AFAAS, highlighting digital advisory services, interoperable knowledge platforms, communities of practice, and virtual learning systems. Discussions emphasised that digitisation and knowledge management must be treated as core system functions, supported by shared standards and strong governance, to ensure seamless integration into FSRP implementation. Mr Anselme Vodounhessi, Coordinator of the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) Programme and Monitoring & Evaluation Expert at FARA, introduced the AfricAgriTradeLink Programme, examined resource mobilisation and investment pathways, and identified anchor pipelines and public–private partnership opportunities to sustain R-E-D initiatives beyond project cycles.

The workshop concluded with the presentation of key outputs and the endorsement of the R-E-D Communiqué to the African Union. Participants reaffirmed their collective commitment to transparency, accountability, and coordinated action, agreeing that Africa’s agricultural transformation will depend on integrated systems that connect research, extension, education, markets, policy, and farmers at scale.

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The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in close collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission and partners, has launched a project to strengthen Member State capacity to develop Regional Agricultural Value Chains (RAVCs), applying the African Union (AU) Guidelines for the Development of Regional Agricultural Value Chains in Africa. The initiative focuses on Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to boost intra-regional trade in agricultural goods and advance implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Developing competitive cross-border value chains is central to Africa’s regional integration agenda. By enabling specialisation, scale, and value addition across borders, RAVCs can unlock higher productivity, increase export earnings, catalyse technology and skills transfer, create jobs, and improve food security. The approach also aims to reduce post-harvest losses and stimulate local agro-industries through better infrastructure, standards, and market linkages.

Implemented within the African Union’s Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) programme—an AfCFTA-associated and Agenda 2063 flagship adopted in 2019—the project will support Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana as they explore a common agro-industrial park model, drawing on lessons from the Zambia–Zimbabwe collaboration. This will help build a demonstrable case for cross-border agro-poles and related policy and institutional innovations at national and regional levels.

At the opening of the workshop, Ms. Joan Kagwamja, Chief, Land and Agriculture Section, Division of Climate Change, Food Security and Natural Resources, Coordinator at the Economic Commission for Africa said: “AfCFTA is unlocking Africa’s single market. With AU-endorsed Guidelines on Regional Agricultural Value Chains, ECA and partners are powering agro-processing, diversification and intra-African trade—advancing.”

Ms. Joan Kagwamja, Chief, Land and Agriculture Section, Division of Climate Change, Food Security and Natural Resources, Coordinator at the Economic Commission for Africa

“With ECOWAS, we have prioritized cocoa and rice value chains for Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. We are validating the cross-border study to guide pre-feasibility for a joint agro-industrial park under Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs), she further added.

“The Common African Agro-Park is an African Union flagship on value sovereignty. An Agro-Park pre‑feasibility and a Green Climate Finance track will mobilise climate‑resilient investment for Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire”, said Ms. Janet Edeme, Director, Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission, in her opening remarks.

Ms. Janet Edeme, Director, Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission

“The quest for a purposeful, diversified cocoa & rice basket and value chain would increase Ghana’s strategic interests in imports substitution, nutrition & affordability for households and job. We must turn borders into bridges under AfCFTA to boost Made-in-Ghana, Made-in-Africa”, she added.

For his part, Mr. Zonon Abdoulaye, Coordinator of ECOWAS Programme of Community Development, in his welcome remarks said: “ECOWAS Commission is advancing West Africa’s integration through initiatives such as the West Africa Common Industrial Policy to move from exports to value addition”, adding that “Inclusive transformation is our priority. We will support AfCFTA rollout, align the different initiatives with the AfCFTA and scale cross‑border value chains like Côte d’Ivoire–Ghana—using e‑certificates of origin and trade portals.”

Mr. Zonon Abdoulaye, Coordinator of ECOWAS Programme of Community Development

The current phase is to:

• Assess cross-border value chains for two strategic commodities, including cocoa; and
• Examine the policy, regulatory, and institutional frameworks needed to promote those value chains.

The work responds to persistent constraints facing small-scale producers across the sub-region—such as limited access to technology, affordable finance, and adequate transport, storage, energy, and irrigation infrastructure—by proposing practical, regionally coordinated solutions that crowd in private investment and align public policy with market opportunities.

Among the participants were Ms. Janet Edeme, Head, Rural Development Division, Acting Head Agriculture and food Security Division, Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (ARBE) from the African Union Commission; Mr. Michael Kusi Appiah, Chief Analyst-Research Division, NDPC representing Director General, National Development Planning Commission, Ghana; Mr. Daniel Sowah, Principal, Industrial Officer, Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Ghana; Mr. Zonon Abdoulaye, Coordinator of ECOWAS Programme of Community Development and Joan Cuka Kagwanja, Chief, Land and Agriculture Section, Division of Climate Change, Food Security and Natural Resources, at the Economic Commission for Africa. 

Notes to editors:

AU Guidelines on Regional Agricultural Value Chains: Developed by ECA with the AU Commission and partners; endorsed at the Third Ordinary Session of the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment in October 2019.

AfCFTA: Seeks to create a single African market for goods and services, facilitating movement of capital and people and laying the foundation for a continental customs union.

CAAPs: The Common African Agro-Parks initiative promotes regional agro-industrial hubs to increase locally produced and processed foods and goods, advancing value addition and trade.

Partners: The project is implemented by ECA in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission and development partners, engaging public and private stakeholders across the value chain.

source: ECA

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Lusaka, Zambia

In a rousing address to the Ninth COMESA Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment, H.E. Moses Vilakati, issued a powerful call to action: the Zambia–Zimbabwe Common African Agro-Park (ZimZam CAAP) must be launched before the end of this year.

Speaking to Ministers and senior officials from across the COMESA region, Commissioner Vilakati underscored that the ZimZam CAAP is not a pilot, but the first operational site of a continental system of integrated, cross-border agro-industrial zones under the African Union’s Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) framework.

“This launch will be a historic milestone, not only for SADC and COMESA, but for Africa at large, as we respond concretely to the Kampala Declaration’s call to mobilize $100 billion in agri-food investments by 2035,” he declared.

Commissioner Vilakati applauded COMESA’s leadership in driving regional value chain strategies across agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and market regulation, aligning them with the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the CAADP Kampala Declaration. He pointed to the ZimZam CAAP as a blueprint for mobilizing public–private investments, boosting intra-African trade under the AfCFTA, and securing Africa’s agro-industrial sovereignty.

The Commissioner’s rallying cry came alongside a report on his first 100 days in office, during which the AU launched the African Youth Agro-Tech Fund, activated the Africa Soil Observatory in 33 Member States, and secured $55 million in early-stage funding for transformative agricultural and climate initiatives.

Vilakati urged COMESA Member States to:

• Harmonize trade and regulatory protocols to reduce non-tariff barriers;
• Transition from project-based interventions to permanent institutional products, such as a Regional Food Balance Sheet and Strategic Grain Reserves;
• Embed climate resilience as a core principle in all future agriculture, water, and energy systems.

“Africa is not poor; it is underinvested. Our soils are not barren; they are under-researched. Our youth are not jobless; they are under-valued,” he stressed.
“We will not manage poverty; we will create wealth. We will not await miracles from the North; we will cultivate our own prosperity, with our own hands, on our own terms.”

The meeting, held under the theme “Accelerating Regional Integration through the Development of Regional Value Chains in Climate-Resilient Agriculture, Mining, and Tourism,” concluded with a united commitment to accelerate CAAPs implementation and ensure that the Zambia–Zimbabwe CAAP is inaugurated before year-end 2025.

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By Happy Mulolani

In its continued efforts to catalyse Africa’s development, the Common African Agro Parks programme (CAAPs) have continued to engage with donor, member states, regional economic communities and the private sector to crowd in investments. The CAAPs are vehicles whose aim is to promote cross-border projects that leverage initiatives focusing on building their priority or strategic commodities. In essence, it focuses on agricultural value chains and agribusiness value chains. This approach is expected to spur economic development and transformation in Africa.

So far, two major agro parks have been initiated, including the Zambia and Zimbabwe agriculture value chain agreement signed in 2021, which is the first-ever Common Agro Industrial Park (CAIP) expected to stimulate regional trade in the Southern Africa region, as well as the Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana value chain.

The Forum for Agricultural Research Coordinator, Anselme Vodounhessi, explains that the CAAPS anticipates building a megacity of regionally initiated industries to meet Africa’s food demands. Currently, Africa spends over US$50billion annually on food imports to feed its population. To overcome these hurdles, the CAAPs can access finance through the Green Climate Fund (GCF), given the prevalent climatic shocks that tend to affect food production and productivity.

Pan African Agribusiness Apex Chamber Programme, Director Wisdom Adongo, explains that for CAAPs to access funds under the Green Climate Fund, country action areas need to align with the Green Climate Fund guidelines. “National Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans are required to be in tandem with climate policies to effectively work in our regional initiatives,” Mr Adongo said. He pointed out the need for a framework that takes into account the Nationally Determined Contributions each country sets to achieve. “Financing for CAAPs needs to align with NDCs, and the country’s actions and targets,” Mr Adongo stated.

While Chola Mfula of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), concurs that the NDCs are a premise every country sets targets, and needs to examine whether this approach works, given that the projects being focused on are at the regional level. Mr Mfula attests to the myriad of opportunities and markets that exist, which require tapping and exploiting within the confines of the CAAPs.

“What is required is to critically look at regional investment plans, such as the CAAPs Zimbabwe/Zambia agriculture value chain,” he stated. The CAAPS model envisages industrial Africa’s agriculture with some positive strides. The strategic relevance of DFI is to help with trade facilitation, infrastructure financing, institutional strengthening and project preparation, including financing feasibility studies, master plans, and technical assistance.

Notably, CAAPS is a flagship project to achieve NDCs and impact credit actions. This would also prompt other countries to take a leaf from this approach once it succeeds.

Source: NAIS

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By JOSIAH MPOFU

Agricultural stakeholders from across Africa reiterated the need to chart a new path for the continent’s food systems. The delegates drawn from regional bodies such as the African Union, The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), among others, are crafting the Common African Agro-Parks Programme (CAAPs) Green Climate Fund Strategy. The initiative seeks to unlock climate financing for smallholder farmers and boost agricultural productivity across Africa.

African Union Commission (AUC) Representative Kennedy Ayason, said the implementation of CAAPs is a strategic continental response to Africa’s unprecedented climatic challenges and growing food insecurity.
“Africa is endowed with immense natural resources, a vibrant youth demographic and vast agricultural potential, but it is confronted with unprecedented climatic challenges including rising temperatures, erratic precipitation, land degradation, and intensifying food insecurity. It is within this context that the CAAPs initiative emerges not merely as a project, but as a strategic continental response,” Mr Ayason said.

Mr Ayason explained that CAAPs would provide the Green Climate Fund, a strategic platform to fulfil its core mandate in Africa supporting of low emission, climate-resilient development and inclusive agro-industrialization.
He noted that the initiative would offer the paradigm shift in integrating sustainable agricultural production, regional value addition and climate-conscious trade corridors within agro-ecological zones.
“We firmly believe that CAAPs offer the GCF a strategic platform to fulfil its core mandate in Africa supporting low emission, climate-resilient development and inclusive agro industrialization. The paradigm shift will integrate sustainable production, regional value addition, and climate-conscious trade corridors within agro-ecological zones,” Mr Ayason noted.

Mr Ayason said CAAPs initiative play a huge role in driving Africa’s vision to boost agrifood production by 45%, triple intra-African trade and mobilize 100 billion dollars by 2035, as espoused in the Kampala CAADP Declaration.
He commended the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank’s) support in mobilising co-financing and investment architecture, particularly through its innovative blended finance instruments and project development vehicles.
Mr Ayason said this during the orientation workshop on the Development of CAAPs Green Climate Fund Strategy and Projects in Lusaka.

CAAPs Programme Coordinator, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Anselme Vodounhessi, stressed that the initiative would rehabilitate over 4 million hectares and enable climate services to be mainstreamed for 10 million smallholder farmers in Africa. Mr Vodounhessi, however, stated that FARA has developed an Integrated Bioenergy Network (IBN), with South Africa’s Grüner Holding aimed at tackling one of the biggest challenges facing agro-industrial zones including access to clean, reliable and affordable energy.
He further said plans are underway to roll-out decentralised bioenergy platforms across CAAPs implementation areas including Zambia.

Meanwhile, African Export-Import Bank Representative Zitto Alfayo reaffirmed the banks pledge to fund climate initiatives for Africa’s smallholder farmers in order to boost the continent’s food security.

Source: NAIS

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At the 3rd African Job Creation Forum (AJCF), held at the Adwa Victory Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Mr. Anselme Vodounhessi, Coordinator of the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) Programme and Monitoring & Evaluation Expert at FARA, delivered a compelling presentation that underscored Africa’s opportunity to transform its agrifood systems into engines of job creation through agro-industrialization and public-private partnerships.

Speaking during Parallel Session A, themed “Transforming Agrifood Systems into Engines of Job Creation: Advancing CAADP Youth Commitments and the African Agribusiness Youth Strategy (AAYS),” Mr. Vodounhessi spotlighted the CAAPs’ innovative hub-and-spoke model as a scalable solution to address Africa’s youth unemployment crisis. He emphasized that with 75% of the population under the age of 35, and 60% under 25, Africa possesses a vast demographic dividend that remains largely untapped.

Mr. Anselme Vodounhessi (far left) on the “Transforming Agrifood Systems into Engines of Job Creation: Advancing CAADP Youth Commitments and the African Agribusiness Youth Strategy (AAYS)” Parallel Session.

“The CAAPs initiative, now a Flagship Programme of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, aims to generate millions of jobs by integrating youth and women into inclusive, regional value chains powered by transboundary agro-industrial hubs,” said Mr. Vodounhessi.

His intervention drew attention to the pressing employment challenge: with 11 million young Africans entering the job market annually, only 3 million secure decent jobs. He presented CAAPs as a response mechanism that tackles infrastructure gaps, limited access to finance, and fragmented markets—challenges that have historically hindered youth participation in agriculture and agribusiness.

Facilitated by AUDA-NEPAD, the panel featured Mr. Vodounhessi alongside senior leaders from AGRA, ATI, AAIN, and the European Union Delegation. Together, they underscored the urgency of advancing policy coherence, mobilizing catalytic investments, and aligning trade systems with the AfCFTA to fully unlock the job creation potential of Africa’s agrifood sector.

The session concluded with a strong call to action for AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities, and development partners to scale up youth-responsive investments, strengthen inclusive financing instruments, and foster strategic partnerships for CAAPs implementation.

Following the panel, Mr. Vodounhessi held a high-level follow-up meeting with H.E. Moses Vilakati, African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Development, who had earlier opened the session.

During the briefing, Mr. Vodounhessi provided an update on the CAAPs implementation process, highlighted the strategic role of the AU’s new leadership in steering CAAPs forward, and drew attention to the institutional and operational challenges faced by the CAAPs Secretariat hosted at FARA. The Commissioner reaffirmed his interest and support for enhanced coordination and investment alignment to ensure CAAPs’ success, in alignment with the Soil Initiative for Africa (SIA).

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On the margins of Africa Industrialization Week 2024, a landmark side event titled “Scaling Africa’s Agro-Industrialization through the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs): What Role for Green Investments?” brought together high-profile stakeholders to discuss Africa’s agro-industrialization agenda and the transformative role of green investments.

Organized by Afreximbank with the support of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the event underscored the strategic importance of the CAAPs initiative in advancing sustainable agro-industrial development. The initiative, closely aligned with Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), focuses on establishing agro-parks to enhance value addition, foster regional integration, and promote environmental sustainability.

Mr. Anselme Vodounhessi, Coordinator of CAAPs at FARA,

The event opened with remarks from Mr. Christian Ndikumagenge, a representative of Afreximbank, who emphasized the institution’s commitment to leveraging green financing for industrial growth across Africa. Mr. Anselme Vodounhessi, Coordinator of CAAPs at FARA, followed with an introduction to the initiative, highlighting its transformative potential in addressing food security, job creation, and economic resilience while integrating technologies and circular economy approaches to maximize resource efficiency.

Dr. Dejene Tezera, Director of the Department of Agri-Business at UNIDO

A dynamic panel discussion featured Dr. Dejene Tezera, Director of the Department of Agri-Business at UNIDO, alongside other distinguished experts. The panel explored innovative green financing mechanisms such as blended finance, green bonds, and sustainability bonds. Discussions also emphasized the critical role of policy alignment, technology integration, and public-private partnerships in operationalizing CAAPs zones effectively while leveraging green financing instruments to ensure long-term sustainability.

The event concluded with a compelling call to action, urging stakeholders to prioritize investment in agro-industrial zones, starting with the flagship Zambia-Zimbabwe and Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana corridors. Participants reaffirmed the potential of CAAPs to transform Africa’s agricultural sector into a globally competitive and sustainable economic driver, addressing critical challenges such as food security, unemployment, and environmental degradation.

For more information, please contact:

Anselme Vodounhessi – avodounhessi@faraafrica.org

Benjamin Abugri – FARA – babugri@faraafrica.org

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Following the conclusion of a three-day World Without Hunger Conference, the leaders visited the successful achievements gained in household farms in the East Showa zone of Oromia region.

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio and Prime Minister Mamadou Oury Bah of the Republic of Guinea said that they have been desirous to emulate the achievements of Ethiopia, where it has tremendously embarked on activities of agricultural transformation.

The commitment of Sierra Leone and Guinea aligns closely with the CAAPs agenda, which aims to transform Africa’s agricultural sector through regional agro-industrial hubs. The CAAPs initiative, like Ethiopia’s agricultural reform, focuses on leveraging Africa’s natural resources, modernizing agriculture, and increasing food production to achieve food security, economic growth, ecological preservation and job creation.

Source and full report: Ethiopian News Agency

ABOUT The CAAPs
The Common African Agro-Parks Programme (CAAPs) was initiated in 2019 as one of the concrete initiatives of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Programme (CAADP) to be implemented within the framework of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 in order to achieve the CAADP Malabo commitments, particularly the commitment to “triple intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services.”

For more information, kindly visit www.faraafrica.org/caaps, join the #CAAPs Community of Practice via https://faraafrica.community/caaps/join or contact #CAAPs Coordinator Anselme Vodounhessi avodounhessi@faraafrica.org

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Kampala, Uganda – 11 November 2024: The African Union (AU) has launched the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Common African Agro-Park (CIG CAAP) under its Agenda 2063, in a bold and strategic initiative aimed at transforming Africa’s cocoa industry. Senior representatives from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, the AU, and other key stakeholders convened in Kampala to inaugurate this collaborative milestone, designed to tackle pressing challenges and optimise opportunities in Africa’s cocoa sector through an innovative agro-industrial framework.

Dr. Dejene Tezera of FAO

The CIG CAAP is part of the broader Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) initiative, a flagship AU program envisioned to reshape Africa’s agricultural landscape by establishing integrated agro-industrial hubs throughout the continent. As two of the world’s top cocoa producers, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana jointly supply nearly 60% of the global cocoa market (World Cocoa Foundation). This partnership aims to strengthen both nations by shifting their focus towards value-added production, enhancing competitive market positioning, and promoting sustainable practices while driving forward the AU’s objectives of regional industrialisation and self-sufficiency.

Dr Janet Edeme, Head of the AU’s Rural Development Division, described the CIG Cocoa CAAP as “a powerful statement of our determination to convert Africa’s natural wealth into value-added products that elevate our economies, empower our youth, and transform our societies.”

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) is actively supporting the initiative through a dedicated and specialised research agenda targeting ten specific areas of study. FARA will engage leading academic and cocoa research institutions across Africa to recruit PhD candidates focused on advancing critical studies in cocoa production and processing, thereby fostering the next generation of African scientists. This focus reinforces FARA’s commitment to the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of the cocoa sector.

The AU, FARA, Afreximbank, and AfCFTA have united efforts to support the CIG CAAP through substantial investments in research, technical guidance, and innovative financing models. Anselme Vodounhessi, CAAPs Coordinator at FARA, emphasised the project’s commitment to a circular economy by repurposing cocoa byproducts such as husks and shells into environmentally friendly products like fertilisers, animal feed, and biofuels, setting new standards for sustainable industrial practices across Africa.

The meeting included a dedicated session on finalising the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Pre-feasibility Study and Regional Value Chain Study, two pivotal steps in establishing the CIG CAAP. Under the guidance of UNIDO, with technical support from UNECA, IFPRI, and FAO, the ToR will enable detailed project planning, strategic resource mobilisation, and robust stakeholder engagement, paving the way for regional economic growth.

Paul Ntim of the Ghana Cocoa Board

The Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) and representatives from both countries endorsed the CIG CAAP, recognising it as a transformative strategy to address their shared strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in the cocoa sector. Despite challenges like price volatility and limited local processing capabilities, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are leveraging this partnership to promote local value addition, enhance sustainability, and build resilience against global market fluctuations.

Leading experts emphasised collaborative efforts towards a sustainable, value-oriented cocoa industry, working in coordination with AU, AUDA-NEPAD, AfCFTA, FARA, FAO, and other significant partners to develop a Common African Agro-Parks Cocoa Industrial Zone. Technical experts, including Paul Ntim from the Ghana Cocoa Board, Whatami Vamoussa Coulibaly from Côte d’Ivoire’s Le Conseil du Café-Cacao, and Tawiah Agyarko-Kwarteng, CIGCI Technical Manager, emphasised the importance of cooperative efforts in achieving a sustainable and value-driven cocoa sector.

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