At the 3rd African Job Creation Forum (AJCF), held at the Adwa Victory Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Mr. Anselme Vodounhessi, Coordinator of the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) Programme and Monitoring & Evaluation Expert at FARA, delivered a compelling presentation that underscored Africa’s opportunity to transform its agrifood systems into engines of job creation through agro-industrialization and public-private partnerships.
Speaking during Parallel Session A, themed “Transforming Agrifood Systems into Engines of Job Creation: Advancing CAADP Youth Commitments and the African Agribusiness Youth Strategy (AAYS),” Mr. Vodounhessi spotlighted the CAAPs’ innovative hub-and-spoke model as a scalable solution to address Africa’s youth unemployment crisis. He emphasized that with 75% of the population under the age of 35, and 60% under 25, Africa possesses a vast demographic dividend that remains largely untapped.
Mr. Anselme Vodounhessi (far left) on the “Transforming Agrifood Systems into Engines of Job Creation: Advancing CAADP Youth Commitments and the African Agribusiness Youth Strategy (AAYS)” Parallel Session.
“The CAAPs initiative, now a Flagship Programme of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, aims to generate millions of jobs by integrating youth and women into inclusive, regional value chains powered by transboundary agro-industrial hubs,” said Mr. Vodounhessi.
His intervention drew attention to the pressing employment challenge: with 11 million young Africans entering the job market annually, only 3 million secure decent jobs. He presented CAAPs as a response mechanism that tackles infrastructure gaps, limited access to finance, and fragmented markets—challenges that have historically hindered youth participation in agriculture and agribusiness.
Facilitated by AUDA-NEPAD, the panel featured Mr. Vodounhessi alongside senior leaders from AGRA, ATI, AAIN, and the European Union Delegation. Together, they underscored the urgency of advancing policy coherence, mobilizing catalytic investments, and aligning trade systems with the AfCFTA to fully unlock the job creation potential of Africa’s agrifood sector.
The session concluded with a strong call to action for AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities, and development partners to scale up youth-responsive investments, strengthen inclusive financing instruments, and foster strategic partnerships for CAAPs implementation.
Following the panel, Mr. Vodounhessi held a high-level follow-up meeting with H.E. Moses Vilakati, African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Development, who had earlier opened the session.
During the briefing, Mr. Vodounhessi provided an update on the CAAPs implementation process, highlighted the strategic role of the AU’s new leadership in steering CAAPs forward, and drew attention to the institutional and operational challenges faced by the CAAPs Secretariat hosted at FARA. The Commissioner reaffirmed his interest and support for enhanced coordination and investment alignment to ensure CAAPs’ success, in alignment with the Soil Initiative for Africa (SIA).
Source: FARA Africa