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At the Senior Policy Seminar XXIV, held on 30 March 2022, on a Virtual Platform and hosted by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), on the theme: Climate Change and Economic Development in Africa, Senior Policy Makers from Africa and other stakeholders, private sector, international organizations, academia, and civil society, from around the continent adopted a declaration as an affirmation of their strong commitment to confronting climate change in African economies.

Declaration, March 30, 2022

We, African Senior Policy Makers and other stakeholders, private sector, international organizations, academia, and civil society actors assembled at the AERC Senior Policy Seminar XXIV,

Recognizing that although Africa accounts for less than 3% of the world’s total greenhouse-gas emissions, it will bear the brunt of climate change. And that the region is already experiencing more frequent climate-induced natural disasters, hotter weather, erratic rainfall, and rising sea levels. 

 Further recognizing that Climate change has adverse implications for Africa’s development, from health systems to agriculture, ecosystems, water resources, energy resources and physical infrastructure, and threatens the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Noting that there is a need for African governments to scale up the availability, access, and affordability of digital agricultural technologies which are the key drivers of climate-smart agriculture interventions.

Also noting that for Africa to become a major player, it needs to urgently address the issues of lack of capacity and poor institutional frameworks.

Recalling that in their 2014 Malabo Declaration, African leaders pledged to spend at least 10% of their annual budgets on agriculture. However, to date, only a handful of countries have kept their promise. 

Mindful that despite the high returns to African agricultural investments, Africa’s agricultural expenditure as a share of total public expenditure averaged only 4% over the period 2000–2014 compared to 13% for East Asia and the Pacific, and 8% for Latin America and the Caribbean,

Appreciating that there is the need for increased financial support to build the capacity of national agricultural research systems, including meteorological agencies,

Acknowledging that most Africans depend on the agricultural sector for their income and livelihoods, a climate-induced decline in agricultural productivity leads to a significant decline in household income and therefore a massive fall in welfare,

1. Affirm that protocols and programs for supporting adaptation to climate change are designed to directly target the poor and most vulnerable in providing the needed assistance.
2. Commend the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and partner development agencies and institutions for strengthening the evidence base for policy and program design and implementation to improve agricultural productivity and address climate risk.
3. Take note that Africa’s agricultural sector requires greater government support given its role in poverty reduction. 
4. Commit to promoting the diffusion of climate-smart agriculture as well as strengthen national agricultural research and extension systems to provide information to farmers.
5. Further, commit to removing existing structural inequalities besides gender disparity in African agriculture by increasing the resilience of vulnerable ecosystems and social groups to the hazards of Climate Change and pandemics.