African Agenda 2063 and the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offer a unique opportunity for Africa to achieve inclusive, transformative and sustainable development, aspirations that are urgent in order to put the continent on a sustainable development path. The imperative of adopting an integrated and coherent strategy for the effective and coordinated implementation of the two is therefore, compelling.
Africa proactively contributed to the global agenda by formulating a Common African Position (CAP) on the Post-2015 Development Agenda which was preceded by broad consultations across the continent. Africa was the only region that had developed a document which represented a united African voice in the formulation of the SDGs. This document greatly influenced the work of the Open Working Group on the SDGs and the Intergovernmental Negotiations on the post-2015 development Agenda. As a result, there is a high degree of convergence between the continent's priorities, as embodied in the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2013, the African Union adopted the “Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.” It is the common framework for African countries, how they aspire to be 100 years after the creation of the Organization of African Unity, which transformed itself into the African Union in 2001. The vision of this framework is “to become an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in international arena.”
Africa’s population is projected to double to 2.5 billion people in 40 years putting pressure on governments to deliver more food and jobs in addition to better livelihoods.
The good news is that Africa’s economic growth is rising and expected to register 3.9 percent in 2020 and 4.1 percent in 2021, according to the AfDB’s 2020 African Economic outlook report.
According to the World Bank, African agriculture and agribusiness could be worth $1 trillion in the next ten years. But Africa must overcome several barriers to agricultural development from poor infrastructure, limited credit access for farmers and low use of improved inputs and mechanisation.
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has estimated that Africa needs to invest up to $400 billion in agriculture over the next ten years to meet its food needs.
To date, 44 African countries have signed the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Compact to spend 10 percent of their budgets on agriculture and increase their productivity by at least 6 percent. This follows the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security made by African Heads of State in 2003.