Key messages:

Session Investment and Financing in Agri-food Value Chain

• Governments must provide adequate funding and supportive policies to make agri-food investments sustainable and inclusive. This includes the allocation of sufficient public funds, as highlighted by the commitment reiterated in the CAADP Kampala Declaration to allocate 10% of annual public expenditure to agri-food systems. Cooperation and alignment of policies between the AU and the EU is essential.
• Public development banks and international financial institutions are called to are called to step up their lending in the sector. Concessionality and long-term commitment (“patient investments”) are key to ensure a real uptake by stakeholders and to enable scaling-up.
• Stronger stakeholder collaboration is needed to mobilize private capital finance for agri-food SMEs, especially those led by women and youth.
• Farmers' Organisations can play a crucial role in enabling access to finance for smallholders by pooling risks, aggregating demand for services and building capacities and financial literacy
• Transformative agri-food investments must be profitable, scalable, and adapted to local contexts while respecting food sovereignty, labour and social rights, as well as environmental sustainability.
• As ODA is declining, the need for enhancing access to credits and investments that address the funding gaps is increased. The development of regional value chains for nutritious foods requires not only capital and strategic investments but also policy alignment, especially under the African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA), to harmonize standards, reduce trade barriers, and incentivize local production.

Session Sustainable practices and climate resilience

• Climate change and intense weather extremes have severe impacts on farmers. However, agriculture can be part of the solution through sustainable management, contributing to climate change mitigation, improved resource management, and long-term food security. Farmers, especially smallholders, women, and youth, play a crucial role in this.
• Political goals provide the basis for implementing regional, national and international Plans, including Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris agreement. The CAADP Kampala Declaration and the EU's Vision for Agriculture and Food offer a shared roadmap for achieving such goals.
• We need to mobilise public and private money to enable food system transformation and promote international cooperation and knowledge sharing. Enhanced investments are needed, such as those championed under the Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA). Healthy soils are also foundational to climate resilience.
• Climate change is global and needs global efforts and solutions. AU-EU cooperation is already strong, but more efforts are needed. The Food and Sustainable Transformation (FAST) initiative and the €26 million EU—IFAD capacity-building programme to support African Farmers' Organisations are examples of concrete actions were AU and the EU are effectively collaborating

Session Research, innovation and technology

• Research and innovation (R&I) are key enablers to achieve competitive, resilient and sustainable agriculture. R&I must contribute to scaling up innovative solutions through place-based innovation and making results accessible and actionable to all stakeholders. The Global Gateway can mobilise investments, foster partnerships, and bridge the gap between knowledge and implementation.
• The AU-EU Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) has been essential for addressing the challenges faced by food systems. Ensuring food security is a common objective of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the European Commission's Vision for agriculture and food. The new FNSSA Roadmap beyond 2026 can address future challenges by learning from past experiences and building on current initiatives such as the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, the current FNSSA Roadmap, the International Research Consortium on FNSSA, international research networks like CGIAR, and projects like PANAP, DeSlRA and DeSlRA+
• Farmers and indigenous knowledge as well as place-based methodologies such as living labs and lighthouses enable scaling of sustainable practices and approaches, including on agroecology. The opportunities offered by neglected and underutilised crops and value chains should be strengthened with new knowledge and innovation at local and regional levels.
• To address the complex challenges of agriculture and food systems requires holistic, multidisciplinary approaches through. Robust results should be complemented by the ability to communicate key findings in a clear, actionable, and timely manner. In this context, context-specific knowledge management and knowledge synthesis are essential to bridge the science-policy gap.
• Sustainable soil management is integral to achieving food security, combating climate change, and enhancing resilience across Africa and Europe. The African Union and the European Union reaffirm their commitment to deepening cooperation in research and innovation for sustainable soil management. The objectives of initiatives such as the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe,” cam foster knowledge exchange and strengthened AU-EU collaboration on the topic.

Session Market Access and Trade Facilitation

• Commitment to multilateralism and rule-based Trade: Strategic autonomy and increased food sovereignty, far from being vehicles to market closure, should help boost trust among partners, in a spirit of complementarity, reciprocity and openness. The EU and AU reaffirm their support for multilateralism and rule-based trade as essential for economic growth, innovation, and climate-friendly technology adoption.
• Private Sector and Inclusivity: The private sector, especially SMEs, is a vital partner in AU-EU cooperation. Both Parties recognise that there is a need for strategic investment in logistics infrastructure, in particular transport and conservation, with opportunities for public- private partnerships. Trade facilitation must focus on reducing barriers to trade and improving finance access and supporting women and youth entrepreneurs.
• AfCFTA Implementation: Together with the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) concluded between the EU and African countries/regions, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to contribute to the development of regional value chains through trade complementarities and economies of scale, aiming at safeguarding food security and food sovereignty. It offers a historic opportunity to harmonise standards, support digital and logistics innovation, and expanding regional markets. Alignment with AU’s Agenda 2063 and CAADP is critical to its success.