Ethiopia’s Agri-Transformation Strategy Provides Blueprint for African Food Security

Addis Ababa — Ethiopia’s comprehensive approach to enhancing agricultural productivity, achieving self-sufficiency, and mobilizing smallholder farmers presents important insights for African nations striving to reinforce food security, according to officials from the African Union (AU) and the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System.

Clement Adjorlolo, Principal Programme Officer for Agriculture and Rural Transformation at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA), told ENA that African countries must intensify collaboration to overhaul their food systems and enhance their capabilities to satisfy rising domestic demand.

In this context, Ethiopia’s experience holds broader relevance as nations across the continent endeavor to construct food systems capable of sustaining their expanding populations, he observed.

“We must be able to produce and feed ourselves. We cannot continue to delegate our food requirement to anyone else,” Adjorlolo emphasized.

He emphasized the importance of addressing the entire food value chain—from production and distribution to consumption—rather than focusing solely on agricultural output.

Adjorlolo stated that engaging local communities and smallholder farmers in the transformation process is crucial to enhancing self-reliance, raising output, and minimizing reliance on food imports.

“Some of the initiatives that Ethiopia is undertaking, bringing smallholder farmers together to participate in production, is an example that we need to share with other member states,” he remarked.

He pointed out that Ethiopia’s experience in wheat production also underscores the importance of strengthening domestic agricultural output as African countries aim to meet a larger portion of their food requirements from within the continent.

The official also highlighted Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative as a model of integrating agricultural and food system transformation with environmental conservation and climate resilience.

He noted that tree planting supports not only environmental restoration and carbon sequestration but also strengthens livelihoods and generates economic opportunities for local communities.

“The Green Legacy program, in my view, has been a truly exemplary initiative that many other African countries are emulating,” Adjorlolo said.

He added that the initiative aligns with broader continental environmental efforts, including the African Union’s Great Green Wall and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, known as AFR100.

Meanwhile, Paul Guthiga, Head of the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) at AKADEMIYA2063, stated that Ethiopia’s ongoing agricultural transformation offers valuable lessons for other countries across the continent.

Guthiga emphasized efforts to strengthen food security, promote value addition and agro-industrialization, and increase farmers’ incomes as key areas where other African countries can draw relevant experiences.

“I think even looking at the kind of transformation we are witnessing in Ethiopia, it is quite remarkable that within a short period, we see numerous government-led initiatives across the country to ensure that all communities achieve food security,” he said.

He added that promoting value addition and agro-industrialization can generate additional employment opportunities while increasing farmers’ incomes.

Guthiga also noted that Ethiopia’s agricultural investment experience offers an important lesson for other African countries, particularly as Ethiopia was among the nations that fulfilled the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) commitment to allocate at least 10 percent of public spending to agriculture.

CAADP is the African Union’s continental framework for agricultural transformation, food security, and sustainable development.

He said Ethiopia’s experience demonstrates the importance of increasing agricultural investment to accelerate transformation and tackle food security challenges.

Guthiga also commended Ethiopia’s ongoing development of a new National Agrifood Investment Plan aligned with the Kampala CAADP Declaration.

The Kampala CAADP Declaration represents one of the continent’s key strategies to advance agricultural transformation and food security.

He further emphasized that sustaining this momentum can help address remaining challenges, boost agricultural productivity, and enhance food security and nutrition across the country.

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