IGAD Experts Validate Decade-Long Agrifood Plan, Pivoting from Farm Focus to Full-System Resilience
By John Toris
A high-level regional forum kicked off in Nairobi on Sunday for two- days of intensive technical discussions that aim to culminate in the expert validation of a transformative 10-year strategy for the Horn of Africa. The gathering will focus on the IGAD Regional Agrifood Systems Investment Plan (RASIP) 2026-2035, marking a decisive shift from a narrow focus on agricultural production to a food systems approach aimed at building climate resilience, enhancing trade, and tackling food insecurity.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Mohy Tahoma, Director of IGAD Economic Cooperation and Regional Integration, framed the validation meeting as a critical final step. “This validation meeting is critical because it provides us an opportunity to review, revise, and collectively validate a plan that reflects our shared priorities,” he stated. Emphasizing the strategic evolution from the previous Regional Agricultural Investment Plan (RAIP), Dr. Tahoma noted, “RAIP was focusing on agricultural growth but now we are moving to agribusiness, and agribusiness is clearly broad.” He outlined the expected outcome as “a validated RASIP that strengthens regional cooperation, enhances coherence with national investment plans, and lays the foundation for resource mobilization and effective implementation.”
Dr. Sylvia Henga, IGAD's Policy and Food Security Expert explained that decades of focusing solely on farm inputs and yields had revealed a critical flaw: agriculture does not operate in isolation. “The challenge was noted that agriculture cannot stand alone,” Dr. Henga said. “Agriculture depends on infrastructure, on the energy sector, industrialization, and the finance sector is critical.”
“Because of this we realized that focus alone on agriculture was quite limited, and therefore there was a need for us to broaden it so that we look at the entire system,” she continued. This new "Food System Approach" scrutinizes the entire value chain from production and processing to transportation, trade, and market access. Dr. Henga offered a stark example of the current disconnect: “In one area there's excess production of milk and people are even pouring the milk because they cannot transport it to another area that is lacking, So this is where the system's approach now helps us. So we link, for example, the producer to the market.”
The urgency for a robust, actionable plan was underscored by Dr. Hesbon Otinga, Director of Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. He connected the RASIP to continental frameworks while highlighting the IGAD region’s acute vulnerabilities. “IGAD region suffers regular catastrophes related to weather, floods, land and mudslides, runoff, drought, and resurgent transboundary pests,” Dr. Otinga stated. “This means food and nutrition security and environmental conservation should always be at the center of our plans.”
He positioned the RASIP as the regional instrument to domesticate the new continental agenda, the Kampala CAADP Declaration, learning from the past. “For the past 20 years, CAADP has focused on transforming agriculture. However, the failure to achieve these objectives motivated the deliberate focus on attaining sustainability and resilience in the entire agrifood system,” Dr. Otinga explained. “RASIP 2026-2035 aims to domesticate the Kampala CAADP, as well as address our regional specific challenges.”
The official validation exercise will be conducted next month and it will ensure the plan is in line with the national strategies and continental agendas, including the African Union's post-Malabo agenda and the Kampala Declaration. After the validation exercise, the Regional Agenda Strategic Investment Plan (RASIP) will be submitted to the ministers to influence and shape policies and investments and build partnerships in the Horn of Africa region during the next decade.
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