From Commitment to Implementation: Is East Africa Ready to Finance the Kampala CAADP Declaration?

By JONATHAN LUBEGA [ AUG 31 2026

KAMPALA, Uganda [SHIFT MEDIA] — For millions of smallholder farmers across East Africa, government promises on agricultural transformation ultimately come down to a simple question: Where is the money?

That question took centre stage on July 30, 2026, when policymakers, parliamentarians, researchers, farmers’ organisations, civil society groups and development partners from across the East African Community (EAC) met virtually to examine whether the region’s newly approved 2026/27 national budgets are capable of turning the commitments of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration into reality.

The regional webinar, held under the theme “Financing the CAADP Kampala Declaration: Assessing Budget Readiness in the EAC,” exposed a familiar challenge — governments continue to make ambitious agricultural commitments, but public financing remains far below what is required to transform the region’s agrifood systems.

Participants argued that the true test of the Kampala Declaration will not be the number of commitments signed by governments, but whether those commitments are backed by adequate resources, sound policies, effective implementation and accountability.

For more than two decades, the debate around agricultural financing in Africa has largely revolved around the target of governments allocating at least 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture.

But participants said this measure alone is no longer sufficient.

Implementation readiness, they argued, must also consider the quality of investments, policy coherence, transparency, disbursement of approved funds, monitoring and the participation of farmers and other non-state actors in decision-making.

A regional analysis by the EAC CAADP Non-State Actors Group, covering Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, found that the 10 percent expenditure benchmark remains largely unmet.

Burundi has exceeded the benchmark, while Rwanda has demonstrated strong investment momentum. However, countries such as Tanzania, Uganda and the DRC continue to allocate only about 3–4 percent to agrifood systems, according to the analysis presented during the webinar.

The competing demands on national treasuries are partly responsible. Governments are directing substantial resources towards debt servicing, security, infrastructure and macroeconomic stabilisation, leaving agriculture competing for a relatively small share of public expenditure.

But the problem may run deeper than simply inadequate allocations.

Participants pointed to weaknesses in the way agricultural spending is classified and measured under the Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG).

COFOG largely approaches agriculture as a conventional sector, while the Kampala Declaration adopts a broader agrifood systems approach, encompassing production, processing, distribution, trade, nutrition, markets and consumption.

Experts therefore called for the budgeting methodology to be reviewed during the early stages of implementing the Kampala Declaration so that governments can accurately capture and track investments across the entire agrifood system.

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) also reaffirmed the importance of parliamentary oversight in ensuring that regional agricultural commitments are reflected in national legislation, budgets and accountability mechanisms.

Among the regional priorities is the finalisation of the Regional Agrifood Sector Investment Plan (RASIP) 2026–2035, alongside efforts to develop and pass the EAC Agroecology Bill, 2025.

At national level, Partner States are also working towards finalising their respective National Agrifood Systems Investment Plans, which are expected to provide a framework for translating regional commitments into country-level action.

Yet financing agriculture is only one part of the challenge.

Participants stressed that governments must also create an environment in which farmers can produce, process and sell competitively.

Trade policy, in particular, will be critical.

The Kampala Declaration includes an ambitious commitment to triple intra-African trade in agrifood products and inputs by 2035, building on implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Currently, intra-African trade accounts for only about 14 percent of Africa’s total trade, while agrifood products constitute roughly 20 percent of intra-African export flows. At the same time, African countries continue to import an estimated $50 billion worth of agricultural products annually, much of it from outside the continent.

For East Africa, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

The region has millions of farmers capable of producing food for expanding domestic and regional markets, but weak market linkages, inadequate infrastructure, inconsistent policies and limited access to finance continue to constrain their potential.

Participants therefore urged EAC governments to rethink the traditional approach of agricultural handouts, particularly the repeated distribution of fertilisers and seeds, and instead invest in farmer-led and sustainable agricultural development mechanisms.

These include strengthening and retraining agricultural extension workers, developing farmer-friendly laws and policies, improving access to information and markets, increasing awareness among smallholder farmers and expanding public-private partnerships.

The central message from the webinar was clear: a declaration without financing risks becoming another unfulfilled promise.

The Kampala Declaration offers East Africa an opportunity to rethink how public money is invested in agriculture and how farmers are brought into the centre of agrifood policy.

But that Transformation Will Depend On More Than Budget Speeches.

It will require governments to allocate adequate resources, release the money on time, measure where it goes, involve farmers in decision-making and ensure that every investment produces measurable improvements in productivity, incomes, food security and livelihoods.

For the smallholder farmer, the success of the Kampala Declaration will ultimately not be measured in conference halls or policy documents.

It will be measured in the field — by whether the farmer has affordable inputs, reliable extension services, access to finance, a functioning market and a fair price for the food produced.

The author is Policy Analyst working with Souther and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiation Institute (SEATINI-)