By Emeka Christian Umunnakwe

Africa’s ambition to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 will remain out of reach unless young people are deliberately positioned at the centre of food system transformation—not as beneficiaries of agricultural programmes, but as leaders across the entire value chain.

For more than two decades, Africa’s food security agenda has been shaped by continental frameworks designed to reposition agriculture as an engine of inclusive growth, economic resilience, and human development. Among the most significant is the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), adopted by African Union member states in 2003.

CAADP emerged from a shared recognition that agriculture is central to Africa’s development trajectory and that sustained investment, policy coherence, and political will are essential to ending hunger and poverty. This commitment was reinforced through the Maputo and Malabo Declarations, which called on governments to allocate at least 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture while prioritising food security, nutrition, climate resilience, and inclusive growth.

Yet despite these commitments, progress towards Zero Hunger has been uneven and, in many countries, distressingly slow. As the global community moves closer to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, it has become increasingly clear that structural gaps in implementation, financing, and inclusion continue to undermine Africa’s food system transformation agenda.

The Kampala Declaration and the Youth Imperative

It was against this backdrop that the Kampala Declaration of 2025 emerged as a pivotal milestone. The Declaration explicitly recognised that without the active participation, leadership, and agency of young people, the realisation of SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) would remain aspirational.

The Kampala Declaration underscored a fundamental truth: Africa’s youth are not peripheral actors in food systems; they are the critical mass upon which long-term transformation and sustainability depend. This recognition shaped the focus of the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum in Senegal, convened by AGRA and its partners, under a theme that centred youth as leaders of innovation, collaboration, and implementation in agri-food systems.

The urgency of this focus cannot be overstated. Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with more than 60 percent of its population under the age of 25. Each year, millions of young Africans enter the labour market seeking meaningful livelihoods. Yet agriculture—Africa’s largest employer—remains largely unattractive to them.

This is not because young people lack interest in food systems. Rather, agriculture is widely perceived as high-risk, capital-intensive, poorly remunerated, and constrained by weak infrastructure, limited access to finance, and inconsistent policy environments.

From Participation to Leadership

If Africa is serious about achieving Zero Hunger by 2030, these perceptions must be confronted through deliberate and coordinated action. Young people must be repositioned not merely as programme participants, but as leaders of food system transformation across production, processing, distribution, and governance.

As agripreneurs, young people can drive productivity, value addition, and market integration through innovation, technology, and climate-smart practices. As farmers, they can redefine primary production using modern methods that increase yields while protecting ecosystems. As innovators, they can develop solutions tailored to local realities—from digital extension platforms to post-harvest loss reduction and nutrition-sensitive food products. As policymakers and community leaders, they can shape governance systems that are accountable, inclusive, and responsive to both rural and urban needs.

However, leadership without leverage is ineffective. One of the most persistent barriers facing young agripreneurs is the risk profile of agriculture. The sector requires long investment horizons, yet most financing available to young entrepreneurs is short-term, expensive, and inflexible.

To change this, financiers must embrace patient capital, recognising that food system transformation cannot be rushed without compromising sustainability. Equity investors, development finance institutions, and impact-oriented organisations must invest intentionally in youth-led agribusinesses. Concessional finance, blended funding models, and risk-sharing mechanisms are essential to enable young people to move from subsistence activities to scalable enterprises.

The Role of Government and Institutions

Governments must also recommit to their long-standing budgetary obligations. More than two decades after the Maputo Declaration, many African countries—including Nigeria—continue to allocate far less than the agreed 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture. Nigeria’s agricultural allocation, for instance, has remained below two percent in recent years, revealing a persistent gap between policy rhetoric and fiscal priorities.

This underinvestment constrains agricultural productivity, research, extension services, youth programmes, and rural infrastructure. Without adequate public investment, private capital alone cannot deliver the systemic change required to end hunger on the continent.

Education and capacity building are equally non-negotiable. Africa cannot rely indefinitely on imported technologies or external research to feed its population. There is an urgent need to train and retain local agronomists, food scientists, researchers, and innovators capable of strengthening food system resilience from within. Investing in the formal, technical, and experiential education of young people is not optional—it is central to long-term food security and sustainability.

Beyond Tokenism: Co-Creation and Accountability

Youth engagement must move beyond tokenism. As emphasised by leaders within the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) youth and women constituencies, meaningful transformation requires institutions to stop talking about young people and start working with them.

Young people must be educated, financed, mentored, and entrusted with real decision-making power. Without alignment between education, mentorship, financing, and agency, the Kampala Declaration risks becoming another well-intentioned but unfulfilled promise.

Reducing bureaucracy, upholding meritocracy, and enforcing accountability in youth-focused interventions are critical. Action must be localised to ensure that young people in both rural and urban communities are included in rebuilding Africa’s food systems.

Equally important is intergenerational collaboration. Food system transformation will not be achieved by replacing one generation with another, but by combining the experience and institutional knowledge of seasoned stakeholders with the creativity and technological fluency of youth.

As noted by Agnes Kalibata, former President of AGRA and UN Special Envoy for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, food systems transformation is not about empowering a future generation—it is about enabling today’s generation to act now.

Africa’s food systems are already being shaped by its young people. What remains is for governments, investors, institutions, and society at large to intentionally equip them with the resources, trust, and enabling environment required to lead. With sustained investment, inclusive governance, and resolute political will, youth-led food system transformation can accelerate Africa’s progress toward achieving Zero Hunger by 2030.