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Government has emphasized the need to scale up investment and financing for accelerated agri-food systems transformation in line with the Kampala Declaration.
The declaration seeks to mobilize US$1 billion in public and private sector investment in African agri-food systems, allocate 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture, and reinvest 15 percent of annual GDP into the sector.
Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary, John Mulongoti, gave the assurance in Lusaka on Thursday in a speech delivered on his behalf by Mwendalubi Msoka, Director of Agribusiness and Marketing, during the Agriculture Finance Conference jointly hosted by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
The conference, themed “Zambia’s Translation of the Kampala Ambition on Access to Agriculture Finance: What is in it for Smallholder Farmers in View of Climate Change”, highlighted government’s commitment to building a resilient food system.
Mulongoti said the ministry was scaling up financing to transform the country’s food systems in line with the African Union’s Kampala Declaration.
“The government has continued to increase budget allocations while implementing reforms to attract private sector investment in the sector,” he stated.
He explained that Zambia was implementing reforms aimed at creating a more attractive business environment for private sector participation, which had already led to significant investments in key value chains.
Mulongoti further revealed that government recently approved the Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Support Programme (CATSP), the primary instrument to operationalize the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) at national level.
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He said CATSP was being implemented using an agri-food systems approach, consistent with the AU’s Kampala CAADP agenda which required collaboration across sectors such as energy, transport, infrastructure, climate, trade, and health to support agricultural transformation.
Mulongoti noted that this strategy would enable Zambia to reach the 10 percent budget allocation target within a reasonable timeframe.
Meanwhile, Acting Secretary to the Treasury, Nsandi Manza, reaffirmed government’s commitment to mobilizing additional investments, particularly in green and climate-resilient finance, to ensure smallholder farmers are not left behind amid increasing climate shocks.
“Access to affordable and timely financial services remains a critical barrier for rural farmers and enterprises,” Manza said.
She disclosed that Zambia was finalizing the Rural and Agriculture Finance Strategy 2025–2030, which aimed to expand access to finance through tailored financial products, digital platforms, insurance schemes, and stronger public-private coordination.
Manza stressed that agricultural finance remained a critical pillar for Zambia’s broader economic transformation agenda.
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