APPSA-Angola hosts workshop on Research and Development sub-projects and Environmental and Social Safeguards in Cabinda province

For the first time, Cabinda province in Angola hosted a workshop on Research and Development (R&D) sub-projects and Environmental and Social Safeguards, organized by the Instituto de Investigação Agronómica (IIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry under the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA).

The two-day workshop was held on the 24th and 25th of August 2023, targeting high Government Officials and technical staff from the Provincial office for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in Cabinda, representatives from FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, Churches, Extension Officers, and Farmers’ associations. This workshop was aimed at sensitising and updating APPSA-Angola’s stakeholders on on-going Research and Development (R&D) sub-projects as well as environmental and social safeguards instruments. Similar workshops are expected to be conducted in other provinces.

APPSA is a six-year World Bank funded initiative currently implemented by Angola and Lesotho and regionally overseen by the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA). Angola and Lesotho are co-implementing 43 R&D sub-projects on commodities of regional importance and the results are expected to benefit both countries and the rest of the SADC region through spillover effects.

APPSA follows World Bank safeguards policies that aim to avoid, mitigate, or minimize adverse environmental and social impacts of R&D sub-projects and other related initiatives. In Cabinda, over 150 workshop participants were introduced to APPSA’s main environmental and social policies including: environmental and social diagnosis, waste management plan, environmental and social management plan, Grievance Redress Mechanism as well as Angolan and World Bank legislation on environmental and social safeguards.

The Director General of IIA, Dr João Ferreira da Costa Neto underlined that even though APPSA-Angola is establishing a Regional Centre of Leadership in Cassava and Cassava-based farming systems, their research activities include other crops of national importance, such as maize, beans, sweet potatoes, sorghum, among others.

Photo by Governo Provincial de Cabinda: Dr João Ferreira da Costa Neto addressing the media at the sidelines of the workshop.

The Deputy Governor of Technical Services and Infrastructure, Agostinho da Silva, representing the provincial governor of Cabinda, Mara Quiosa, highlighted the importance of APPSA for the development of the agricultural sector in the Province and expressed hope that the project’s objectives will be achieved.

It is worth noting that the first phase of APPSA has already been implemented in other SADC countries, namely: Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia.