Click on flag to visit member site:
ESAFF Burundi     ESAFF Lesotho          ESAFF South Africa    ESAFF Eswatini      ESAFF Zambia  ESAFF Zimbabwe  ESAFF Zimbabwe
coordinator@esaff.org
+255782486183 | +255 23 261 4008

Article details

Sustainable Climate Sensitive Agriculture takes footing in SADC

11/08/2016

 Sustainable Climate Sensitive Agriculture takes footing in SADC 

*Indigenous knowledge, new technologies, knowledge sharing key to success

Johannesburg, South Africa

Continuous dissemination of diverse agriculture researches  that care for mother earth in the advent of climate change have taken a footing in Southern Africa region coupled with progressive dialogue.

According to the centre for coordination for agriculture Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) the fruits of the dissemination and dialogue are eviden1 Sustainable Climate Sensitive Agriculture takes footing in SADCt in the approved SADC Regional Agriculture Policy Investment Plan.

The Centre Senior Manager, Dr. Baitsi Podisi said the SADC region is encountering adverse effect of climate change that has impact on agriculture productivity.  SADC, he noted was taking agri-research and dialogue seriously, in seeking salutations.

The impact necessitates climate smart agriculture – a combination of agricultural practises that are geared to “sustainably ensure increase of productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces or removes greenhouse gasses (mitigation), and enhances achievement of national food security and other development goals”.

Addressing one-day Climate Smart Agriculture Conference in Johannesburg, Dr Podisi said CCARDESA seeks to ensure research and information reaches smallholder farmers all over the region to help them increase productivity, adapt and mitigate climate change effect.

The conference was organised by CCARDESA, FANRPAN and NAMC with the support of GIZ and German cooperation.

On her part Ms. Sarah Beerhalter, Programme manager of GIZ, ACCRA informed that Climate Smart was not all about new technologies.

“It includes indigenous knowledge as well as new technologies, knowledge and information sharing.”

She said ACCRA is a programme for Climate Change Adaptation in Rural Areas in Southern Africa hosted by CCARDESA and funded by GIZ.

The project involves capacity building and online and offline information exchange, financial access and proposal writing skills.

Stakeholders shared climate smart agriculture experiences from Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa.  The experiences included utilisation of green manual, intercropping, drip irrigation, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, rainwater harvest, suitable fertilizers and crop varieties, diversifications, knowledge transfer framework, Vermiculture (A science of breeding earthworms)  among  others.