Supply chain disruptions partly caused by COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis have made it difficult for African farmers who feed the population on the continent to have enough access to inputs such as fertilizer, it said.

"But the continent cannot continue to be defined by these shocks. We must focus on developing and strengthening the entire value chain of agriculture to ensure food security," noted the statement.

"The current and future effects of climate change are a wake-up call for Africa to reorient its agriculture development agenda. Many best practices that have transformed the African agriculture sector are available to learn from and scale up," it added.

The statement also called for interventions, including country-specific technologies, climate-smart technologies, and diversifying farming systems to ensure a robust agriculture sector to withstand internal and external shocks.

Organized by the African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat and the UONGOZI Institute, the two-day forum, under the theme of "Promoting intra-African trade to unlock agricultural potential in Africa," brought together former and current African leaders to discuss and exchange ideas on ways to address pertinent challenges facing Africa.

Farmers grouped in Duhingire Isoko Ruheru Cooperative in Ruheru Sector of Nyaruguru District watering irish potatoes using engine powered water pump. Photo Théophile Niyitegeka