Seven years ago, SADC leaders met at an extra-ordinary summit in Dar es Salaam, in the United Republic of Tanzania, to adopt a strategy to advance the development of agriculture and food security in the region.

The Dar es Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security adopted in 2004 identified a number of priority areas on which southern Africa should focus in the short-term (2004-2006) and medium-to-long term (2004-2010) to achieve food security in the region.

Both the short-term and medium-to-long term strategies have now lapsed and SADC is expected to review the implementation process.

Short-term measures include the availability and access to key agricultural inputs for farmers, consisting of improved seed varieties, fertilizers, agrochemicals, tillage services and farm implements.

In the medium-to-long term, southern African leaders agreed to meet the African Union target to allocate at least 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture and rural development.

The leaders also identified the need to develop a regional food reserve facility, improve infrastructure such as roads and rail to promote trade and open up the market, as well as construct dams for irrigation purposes.

A recent progress report prepared by SADC Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Food Security said the implementation of the declaration has significantly contributed to food security in the region with some countries experiencing bumper harvests in the last few years.

However, the ministers also noted that a number of SADC countries still lag behind in implementing the plan – a development that could derail efforts to boost production and make the region self-sufficient.

For example, many key targets such as the construction of irrigation schemes and the establishment of the regional food reserve are well behind schedule, although research on the modalities and strategies for the development of the reserve facility was carried out in 2006.

With regard to the allocation of 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture, most SADC Member States have yet to fulfil this pledge.

This situation has made it even difficult for farmers to prepare for the farming season, particularly in the last few years when the region was affected by the global financial crisis and droughts.

Malawi and Zimbabwe were among the first SADC countries to allocate 10 percent of their budgets to agriculture, and this is credited as one of the factors in Malawi’s bumper harvests in recent agricultural seasons.

As a result of this robust turnaround in the agricultural sector, Malawi has moved from being a food deficit country to one producing surplus grain for export to other SADC countries.

Maize production in Malawi trebled from about 1.2 million tonnes in 2005 to 3.4 million tonnes in the 2007/08 season.

This phenomenal increase in maize production has saved the country US$120 million annually that it had spent in 2005 importing food aid.

In 2008, Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika was awarded the inaugural FANRPAN Food Security Policy Leadership Award for his efforts to promote food security in the region.

SADC Ministers for Agriculture and Food Security noted that a number of countries have shown significant progress in submitting regular and timely reporting on implementation of the Declaration.

These countries include Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Tanzania, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

The ministers urged countries to strengthen efforts to implement the agreement to enable the region to be food secure.

Agriculture is the backbone of most economies in southern Africa and SADC has identified the sector as a priority area for development. SADC Today
 

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