Document

Food Systems provide a direct pathway to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) achievement in particular in regard to food insecurity and poverty. Therefore, transforming Food Systems – making them more productive, competitive and resilient is key. At the same time, Food Systems resilience is threatened by conflicts, climate change, inflation (rising food, fertilizer, fuel prices) and also pandemics e.g. Covid 19. More crucially we are now in a “VUCA” world characterized by Volatility as reflected in the speed and turbulence of change, Uncertainty which means that outcomes, even from familiar actions are less predictable, Complexity due to the growing vastness of interdependencies in globally connected economies and societies and Ambiguity as conveyed in the multitude of options and potential outcomes from the many forces buffeting the world.

The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) is a SADC subsidiary dedicated to coordinating regional cooperation in agricultural research and development. As part of its mandate, CCARDESA is implementing the CAADP-XP4 Programme on Gender, funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) from 2019 to 2023. This program emphasizes the critical role of women and youth in achieving a science-led, climate-resilient agricultural transformation in Africa. It aims to empower women and youth-led organizations to actively participate in global climate issues, fostering stronger partnerships and enhancing the capacities of implementing countries to achieve gender equality and the program's intended outcomes.

The meeting brought together a diverse group including government officials, researchers, media, agriculture specialists including farmer representatives and the private sector, development partners and academia to discuss and learn more about the African Union Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the Malabo Declaration commitments and the Biennial Review Reporting, SADC regional frameworks on agriculture and knowledge management.

The Workshop Moderator, Mr. Louis Chikopela from the Ministry of Agriculture asked for a volunteer to open the day’s proceedings with a word of prayer. Following the opening prayer, the Moderator then took the participants through the workshop programme and then requested participants to introduce themselves. Annex 3 provides the full list of workshop participants. Also present at this workshop was Dr. Frank Kayula, a representative of the National Association of Smallholder Farmers and a Board Member of the CCARDESA Board of Directors. The Moderator welcomed everyone to the workshop and called upon Mr. Mwanza for the welcoming remarks

16 – 18 April 2024

Happy Valley Hotel & Conference Centre

Ezulwini, Eswatini

The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) is a SADC sub-regional organization created by member states to coordinate regional cooperation in agricultural research and development. It is implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme EX Pillar 4 (CAADP XP 4) Programme. The CAADP-XP4 Programme is financed through the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for a period of five (5) years, 2019 – 2024. The CAADP-XP4 seeks to deliver five key outputs, one of which is to raise awareness of Foresight for food systems, including sensitisation on the use of relevant tools in foresighting. Foresight methods can be used to investigate the future, incorporating climate change implications, thereby allowing for the creation of resilient agricultural development policies and strategies

The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), a SADC subsidiary, is mandated by Member States to coordinate regional cooperation in agricultural research and development. It is currently implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme EX Pillar 4 (CAADP-XP4) under the EU’s "Development Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture" (DeSIRA) initiative. The CAADP-XP4 Programme is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for five years (2019–2024).

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) region faces significant challenges in the agricultural sector, primarily due to lack of reliable, accurate, and real-time farm data. This data gap hampers effective decision-making at the farm, country, and regional levels

The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) was founded by SADC member states to harmonise the implementation of agricultural research and development (R&D) in the SADC region. CCARDESA intends to address agricultural research and design issues in the SADC region. CCADERSA is executing its mandate through the four main interventions i.e. coordinate, facilitate, promote and improve agricultural technology generation, dissemination and adoption in the region through collective efforts, training and capacity building.

Agriculture plays a vital role in producing food and ecosystem services in the East and Southern African (ESA) region and is central to fostering regional economic growth, reducing poverty, and improving food security. Agriculture contributes between 4% and 27% of GDP and approximately 13% of overall export earnings, with about 70% of the region's population depending on agriculture for food, income, and employment. However, the region is facing numerous challenges from slow agricultural transformation, growing populations and increasing demand for food, urbanization, and climate change.