Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture in Southern Africa

On 11th of August 2016, the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) with support of the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and in collaboration with the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) and the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) of South Africa convened a regional Climate Smart Agriculture Conference at Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nearly one hundred participants from the SADC region and beyond attended the conference, coming from Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as from Kenya and Somalia. Participants included senior officials from national ministries and extension services, researchers and development partners.

The conference provided participants with great examples of the potential of climate smart agriculture to help farmers in southern Africa increase their agricultural yields and at the same time adapt to climate change. Feedback of the participants showed the continued high demand for further information and training on climate change adaptation in agriculture and climate smart agriculture. The current drought conditions in southern Africa highlight the urgency for improved adaptation to climate shocks and longer term climate change in African agriculture. An increasing number of international, regional and national stakeholders need to get involved in creating awareness and promoting the benefits of climate smart agriculture as a strategy for successful climate change adaptation across the SADC region.