By Paul Matthew, Global Cold Chain Alliance Director for Africa
May 2025 saw the launch of the new Strategy and Action Plan (2026 – 2035) as part of the AADP is a continental initiative aiming to help countries throughout Africa to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, by raising economic growth through agriculture-led development. The launch of the Strategy and Action Plan was described as ‘the ignition of a decade of acceleration’. It aims to mobilise USD100-billion, lift agrifood output by 45%, triple intra-African trade in farm goods and cut post-harvest losses in half.
The role of temperature-controlled logistics in achieving these aims, and those of the CAADP more widely, cannot be overstated.
The new CAADP Strategy and Action Plan includes multiple areas of direct alignment with the GCCA Africa Call to Action paper that we are taking to politicians and stakeholders across the continent. Our Call to Action sets out how authorities and industry can work together to achieve the crucial benefits of a growing, future-facing cold chain system. It underpins much of our advocacy work with governments and regional development authorities throughout Africa.
Ensuring food and nutrition security and building resilient agri-food systems are two major areas of focus in the CAADP Action Plan. Expanding and developing the cold storage network and refrigerated transportation capabilities across the continent is crucial to transforming food systems in Africa to become more productive, more efficient and better able to navigate disruptions. An effective cold chain network is central to dramatically reducing post- harvest losses, and to ensuring that more people have reliable access to quality, safe and nutritious food. We are urging governments across Africa to put in place a suite of policies that support and incentivise sustainable cold chain growth.
Another major focus in the CAADP Action Plan is the aim of intensifying sustainable food production, agro-industrialisation and trade in order to boost productivity and position African produce competitively in continental and global markets. Accelerating implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) offers huge potential to improve food trade among African nations. The cold chain must be fundamental to this vision, with temperature-controlled logistics services facilitating cross-border market access for perishable and frozen food products. We continue to meet with governments and regional development authorities to discuss how investment into the cold chain can foster regional integration and intra-African trade.
Achieving the CAADP ambition of sustainability of agriculture requires adaptation of food systems to climate shocks and environmental degradation. An effective cold chain not only supports greater efficiency in food production but modern technologies mean low-emission refrigeration and renewable-powered cold storage systems are contributing to the food industry’s longer-term resilience and sustainability. We are urging African governments to enact policies that promote investment in energy-efficient and climate-smart cold infrastructure.
Digital innovation will become increasingly central to all of the CAADP agricultural and economic ambitions. Digital platforms and data-led decisions can and must play a major role in enabling food supply chains to maximise the opportunities and overcome the challenges of today, and to prepare for the knowns and unknowns of tomorrow. In the cold chain, the integration of AI, IoT sensors, and data platforms for performance, traceability and forecasting are driving efficiency, sustainability and resilience like never before. We are calling for government policies that never before. We are calling for government policies that drive digital transformation through cold chain AI and data solutions and, these opportunities were explored with cold chain leaders and innovation experts from across Africa at the GCCA Africa conference 2025 in Durban.
There is no question that an expanded, skilled, digitally empowered cold chain network across Africa will help unlock the CAADP vision. Achieving this vision for temperature-controlled logistics growth requires important actions from government as well as from the industry. GCCA will continue our engagement with governments and regional development authorities to push for the policy environments that facilitate and support investment in our industry’s future.
This includes seeking to collaborate with CAADP leaders to ensure that the cold chain’s potential to unlock significant gains in Africa’s agri-food transformation journey is well recognised and considered a priority within the CAADP programme.