SANF 04 no 42
The leaders of 13 countries in southern Africa have committed themselves to addressing the issue of food security on a sustainable and regional basis, rather than rely on food aid from outside the region.
The leaders and representatives of member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreed to a multi-sectoral strategy to speed up agricultural development and sustainable food security.
Meeting in Dar es Salaam on 15 May, following a week of meetings by officials and ministers, the leaders adopted and signed the Dar es Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security, reaffirming their commitment to accelerate agricultural development, upon which 70 percent of the population of the region depends for food, income and employment.
The tone was set by an impassioned opening address by the SADC chairperson, President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, whose regional term of office over the past year has been notable for his insistence on results and timebound targets.
Urging his colleagues to ensure that the region can feed itself on a sustainable basis, Mkapa said bluntly, “unless we, the leaders of SADC, feel ashamed of having to beg for food – sometimes receiving it with all manner of conditions – we cannot bring honour to our countries. Let us work together to bring honour, not shame to independent southern Africa.”
He reminded the Summit participants, who included three Presidents and one Deputy President, two Vice-presidents, three Prime Ministers and four Ministers that, “We are here to help each other build the political will to put the question of agriculture and food security at the heart of our national and regional priorities.”
He stressed that lasting solutions must be found to the pressing questions of food security and of sustainable poverty reduction. The problems are already known, he said, “the solutions have been debated for years”.
Mkapa called for a Plan of Action to focus on short and long-term activities “that are specific, that have measurable targets, and that are time bound,” with clear delineation of responsibilities and activities at national and regional levels.
The Dar es Salaam Declaration identifies a number of priority areas on which SADC will focus in the next two years, as well as medium to long-term actions to achieve sustainable food security in the region.
Member states have agreed to ensure availability and access of key agricultural inputs to farmers, to support vulnerable farmers with key inputs, and to vigorously embark on water management programmes including flood control and implementation of the Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses.
They have undertaken to accelerate the use of irrigation technologies such as treadle and motorized pumps, canalisation and water-saving technologies, as well as to mobilize resources for agro-processing and increase the use of savings, credit schemes and rural mobile banks.
SADC leaders also agreed to consider establishing a regional agricultural development facility, and a regional food reserve facility to strengthen capacity for disaster preparedness.
The Summit called on all SADC governments to progressively increase financing to agriculture by allocating at least 10 percent of national budgets within five years, in line with their commitment of a year ago under the African Union’s Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security.
Summit noted the prevalence of gender inequality in access to land ownership, credit and agricultural inputs, and agreed to advance gender mainstreaming by enacting non-discriminatory laws on finance, credit and land. Member states were urged to promote gender-sensitive technologies, particularly for agro-processing.
The regional leaders also stressed the need to mainstream in agriculture and natural resources, policies and programmes, their efforts to combat HIV and AIDS and other chronic diseases.
Other priorities cover the development of rural infrastructure including electrification, water and sanitation; information and communications technology; acceleration of land policy reform initiatives and eradication of crop and livestock pests and diseases.
Ensuring sustainable use and management of natural resources; increasing production of crop, livestock and fisheries resources; strengthening market access; and engaging the private sector, will also be prioritised.
Agriculture is a major sector in the SADC region, contributing 35 percent to the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 13 percent of total export earnings. The final communiqué notes the potential for expansion: “Given the huge land mass available in SADC suitable for the production of food crops and livestock farming, agricultural productivity remains at very low levels.”
Mkapa stressed the need to encourage training in sustainable methods, the use of traditional technologies for agro-processing and food storage, and to focus on food security at the family and community level. He said SADC countries need to learn from each other and from regional best practices – “best not in terms of theory, but in terms of practicality, results and impact.”
He quoted his inspirational predecessor, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, as saying in times of apparently insurmountable opposition such as that confronting the region when apartheid was still in place in South Africa: “It can be done, play your part”. (SARDC)
