Hon. Peter Chibwe Kapala – Minister of Fisheries and Livestock for Zambia at the Poultry Futures Forum in Lusaka Zambia. Photo Credit: AGRA
By Murimi Gitari, November 27, 2025, The Poultry Futures Forum 2025 opened in Lusaka today with a strong call from AGRA for Southern African governments, producer organizations, and private sector partners to adopt a coordinated regional approach to strengthen poultry value chains. The forum, convened under the Southern Africa Poultry Initiative (SAPI), seeks to move beyond fragmented national efforts to expand production, lower feed costs, improve climate resilience, and unlock private investment while embracing innovation and youth leadership.
Bringing together representatives from SADC Member States, commercial poultry operators, grain and feed processors, financiers, researchers, and agri-preneurs, the forum aims to accelerate collaboration to address structural challenges that continue to constrain the sector’s growth.
The Lusaka gathering builds on the inaugural Poultry Futures Forum held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 2024, where countries committed to a shared roadmap for poultry sector growth. Since then, several nations have aligned their national priorities with the regional poultry agenda.
AGRA Board Chair, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, highlighted progress in his opening remarks: “Over the past year, we have seen encouraging momentum. Several countries have developed national poultry action plans. Youth entrepreneurs are bringing new digital solutions to production and marketing. Most notably, we have launched the Poultry Feed Accelerator Grand Challenge – a direct response to the number one constraint identified by producers across our region: the high and volatile cost of feed.”
The Feed Accelerator invites innovators, researchers, and investors to present breakthrough ideas that can reduce feed costs while improving quality and sustainability.
The forum places youth and women at the center of sector transformation, featuring a Youth Poultry Forum and Innovation Pitch. AGRA will spotlight young entrepreneurs and women-led enterprises developing solutions in feed innovation, disease control, market access, and climate resilience.
Zambia’s Minister of Fisheries and Livestock, Hon. Peter Kapala, underscored his country’s leadership role in poultry development: “The government of Zambia has prioritized poultry development under the eighth National Development Plan and the Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Support Programme. Zambia takes pride in its position as a regional leader, particularly in the export of day-old chicks and specialty birds such as quails.”
Kapala emphasized inclusive policies to empower smallholder farmers, women, and youth, alongside improved access to feed, veterinary services, and climate-smart practices.
Discussions at the forum will focus on expanding regional feed manufacturing capacity, strengthening input supply chains, and testing climate-resilient production and disease management practices. These include adopting improved genetics and animal health solutions to build a competitive and resilient poultry sector.
Alexander Stewart, Technical Lead for SAPI, noted that high-level discussions are centered on aligning policy and regulatory frameworks to improve cross-border trade and market integration across SADC. “Through this coordination, partners aim to help countries draft and refine national poultry action plans that align with regional goals for food security and economic growth,” he said.
The forum also features Deal Rooms where AGRA is catalyzing partnerships between agribusinesses, investors, and development financiers. The platform is designed to accelerate enterprise growth and financing opportunities across the poultry value chain, from feed production and processing to packaging and cold chain logistics
