by Chengetai Madziwa – SANF 05 no 01
The regional food security situation has improved since the severe shortages of the last couple of years but the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is not taking any chances and has embarked on long term strategies to avoid future recurrence.
“We are on the path to recovery in the agriculture sector,” SADC’s Executive Secretary, Prega Ramsamy said at his year-end briefing in Gaborone, explaining why food security will be a top priority for the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate in 2005.
Current food supply assessments indicate a cereal deficit of about 1.69 million tonnes which is significantly lower than the 2.96 million tonnes of the 2003/2004 marketing season.
The improvement in the food supply situation can be attributed in part to member states’ commitment to the Dar es Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security, which was adopted by heads of state and government in May 2004.
National agricultural programmes inspired by the declaration such as irrigation development and water management, pest control programmes, and the provision of key inputs, complemented by improved rainfall this season, has contributed to higher cereal production in the region.
The Declaration is a proactive strategy that seeks to boost agricultural production and address food security on a sustainable and regional basis, rather than rely on food aid from outside the region.
As a long-term solution to the food insecurity problem, SADC has developed a Strategic Plan of Action to boost food availability, promote access to food, promote trade within the region, increase preparedness and encourage member states to increase investment for long-term development. SADC has agreed on a tracking system to monitor the implementation of commitments in the Action Plan.
The implementation of the Dar es Salaam Declaration is in line with the regional blueprint for development, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), which lays out strategies and targets for achieving regional food security within a 15-year period.
Business plans meant to facilitate the implementation of the RISDP in all areas of development including food security are being prepared by the SADC secretariat staff for presentation to the Council of Ministers in the first quarter of 2005.
SADC is also establishing a Regional Food Reserve Facility, to develop strategies for preparation and rapid response in the case of food emergencies.
Under the Dar es Salaam Declaration, the Regional Food Reserve Facility is a priority. A fund for the food reserve will be governed by an advisory board whose composition, nature and governance will be determined by the SADC Secretariat.
The Dar es Salaam Declaration also recognises as a priority the improvement in control of crop and livestock pests and diseases.
“We have therefore drafted a regional migrant pest control strategy which will focus on the following pests: quelea birds, red locusts, armyworms and larger grain Borer,” Ramsamy said.
Cognisant of the fact that farmers’ lack of access to markets is a main barrier to their development, SADC is encouraging farmers to explore and open new markets through an awareness of “farming for energy”. This should help farmers to see that the production of ethanol from sugarcane, as well as biodiesel from oil-bearing crops, can create massive rural employment and at the same time increase the region’s capacity to produce power.
Commendable progress has been made in the control of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). Following a regional appeal in September 2003 to support FMD control, SADC mobilised about 13 million euros to be used to contain the spread of FMD in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and prevent it from spreading to other countries.
The FANR will continue to strengthen regional food security and is expected to work towards achieving the targets set out in the RISDP for 2005. These targets include:
- the establishment of a technical facility to support land reform programmes by 2005/6;
- development of an integrated regional agricultural information system based on existing systems by 2005; and
- completion of the annex to the trade protocol by 2005
(SARDC)
