Page 17 - 41st Summit Brochure

v The SADC Business and Investment Promotion Strategy was adopted in October 2019 by the Investment
Subcommittee and recommended for approval by the MTF. The Strategy allows SADC as a regional body
to explore opportunities to showcase its programmes and regional projects around the world.
v A SADC Investment Portalthat is linked to Member States’ investment portals was developed in 2018. The
portal facilitates the sharing of information among Member States, and access to information by investors.
v Collaborative Initiatives focusing on capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and regional-benchmarking
initiatives are in place, including peer-to-peer learning that are organized every year to allow Member
States to share their experiences in facilitation and promotion of investment.

g Food Security and Management of Natural Resources. The progress of work since August 2013 in the area
of agriculture, food security, natural resources, environment and tourism, focused initially on,
v The Regional Agricultural Policy (RAP) development and approval in 2014 as an overarching regional
policy framework (the SADC Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)
Compact) that guides agriculture sector development; and
v The Regional Agricultural Investment Plan (RAIP) 2017-2022development and approval in April 2017. The
RAIP outlines priority programmes and sub-programmes, identified from the RAP Results Framework,
where investments in the agriculture sector need to be focused. For the 3-year period that the RAIP has been
operational, 2017-2020, progress has been achieved in operationalizing of 88 percent of the 25 key result areas
while implementation of activities is underway to achieve 70 percent of the 55 intermediate outcomes.

g Agricultural Production, Productivity and Competitiveness
v The Crop Production Development Programme was approved in 2019 to improve production,
productivity and competitiveness, and regional and international trade of crop products, as per the RAP,
and addresses six mutually reinforcing components.
v The SADC Harmonized Seed Regulatory System (HSRS), approved in 2008, entered into force in 2014, as
part of regional efforts to boost agriculture by promoting the use of high and known quality seeds. Access
to quality seeds facilitates diversity to food resource diversification, and prevention of genetic erosion in
rural agriculture. The region has approved, since 2014 to date, 84 crop varieties to be registered and
released through the SADC Harmonized Seed Regulatory System (HSRS), and eligible to be produced
and traded throughout the region. These include maize, wheat, beans, groundnuts, sorghum and soya 15
beans. To support the implementation of the SADC HSRS, the Regional Guidelines for Seed Certification
and Quality Assurance, and the SADC Seed Sustainability Strategy, were approved in 2019.
v The SADC Guidelines for Pesticides Managementwere approved in 2019 to facilitate an increase in the use of
pesticides to improve crop production and productivity in the region, and to ensure the proper use of
pesticides.
v The Regional Livestock Development Programme (LDP) was approved in November 2017, to address the
objectives of the RAP as far as the livestock sector is concerned, and Member States are currently
incorporating components of the LDP into their National LDPs, including reviewing their Livestock
Production, Animal Conservation and Rangeland Management Strategies. Other components of the
LDP, such as the SADC Animal Genetics Resources Conservation and Utilization Strategy were approved
in May 2020. A plan for its Implementation is currently under development, starting from the
FY2021/2022.
v A Regional Framework for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Controlwas developed and approved in 2021 to
address the rise of AMR organisms, which are threatening to render existing treatments ineffective against
many infectious diseases and thus reverse the gains that have been achieved using antimicrobial agents.
v The SADC Plant Genetic Resource Centre(SPGRC), established in 1989 in recognition of the importance of
conserving plant genetic resources in Southern Africa to secure adequate crop production, was integrated
into the SADC Secretariat in 2017, and has progressed significantly in conserving and preserving the genetic
diversity and viability of Southern African plant stocks. The base collection is currently at 18,500 accessions
from the SADC Member States. Duplication at Svalbard Global Vault in Norway (a secure backup facility for
the world’s crop diversity that is located in the remote Arctic) has increased significantly from 8 percent to 42
percent of accessions held at the regional gene bank at SPGRC.
v The SADC Regional Aquaculture Strategy and Action Plan 2016-2026 was approved in 2017 to provide
strategic direction for the rapid, environmentally responsible development of aquaculture in SADC
Member States, while simultaneously safeguarding the ecological integrity of aquatic ecosystems,
conserving common genetic resources and supporting the maintenance of regional aquatic biosecurity;
and to advance the development of cross-border value chains that better enable the utilization of aquatic
and human resources within the region. Most Member States are implementing the regional aquaculture
strategy and are at different levels and stages.