Africa Urged to Boost Agriculture Spending Amid Mounting Food Import Bill

African governments have been urged to raise investments in agriculture, with most countries still falling short of the 10 percent annual budgetary allocation pledged under the Malabo Declaration, amid growing concerns over hunger and rising food import bills.

The call comes as the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) warned that underfunding of the agriculture sector has left the continent vulnerable to food insecurity, even as conflicts and climate shocks disrupt food production and distribution.

Signed in 2014 by African Union member states in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the Malabo Declaration reaffirmed earlier commitments made under the 2003 Maputo Declaration, where countries pledged to dedicate at least 10 percent of public spending to agriculture and achieve 6 percent annual agricultural growth. Over a decade later, most countries are still falling behind.

“Despite the centrality of agriculture to livelihoods and economies across the continent, we are still witnessing low budget allocations and even lower absorption rates,” said Senait Regassa, IGAD’s Food Systems Programme Coordinator, during a regional forum held to review agricultural investment plans.

In Kenya’s 2025/26 financial year, the National Treasury allocated 47.6 billion shillings ($367 million) to the agriculture sector, representing just 1 percent of the total budget—far below the Malabo threshold.

IGAD noted that beyond allocation, the slow disbursement and underutilisation of available funds has further impeded efforts to improve agricultural productivity.

The organisation urged governments to leverage digital tools to monitor fund uptake and ensure targeted investments reach intended beneficiaries.

The Horn of Africa has been particularly hard-hit by conflict, drought and poor infrastructure, all of which have undermined food systems and forced countries to rely heavily on food imports. IGAD warned that unless regional states step up spending and cooperation, the region’s food import bill will continue to balloon.

The regional bloc also called on member states to resolve conflicts through dialogue, harmonies tariffs, and enhance cross-border trade to boost food security.

Under IGAD’s Regional Agriculture Investment Plan, the bloc aims to increase agricultural production by 45 percent and raise value addition by 35 percent over the next decade.

gandae@businessdayafrica.org