Gaborone, Botswana: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will on 13th May, 2022 hold a Joint Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Agriculture and Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture in Lilongwe, Republic of Malawi.

The objective of the meeting is to follow up on the decisions of SADC Summit, Council of Ministers and the Sectoral Committee of Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture. The meeting will specifically review the food security situation following challenges experienced by the region with regards to excess rains that caused flooding in some parts, cyclones and drought in others; outbreaks of transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases; and developments in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

The meeting will review the implementation of the Regional Agricultural Policy (RAP) and its related programmes including food security, livestock, crops and fisheries and aquaculture; as well as review programmes of work of the SADC Plant Genetics Resources Centre (SPGRC) and Centre for Coordination of Agriculture Research and Development in Southern Africa (CCARDESA).

Ministers will also deliberate on programmes of regional dimension in support of the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 and the SADC Vision 2050 particularly programmes for the development of Agriculture and Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture sectors.

The Joint Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Agriculture and Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture, will be preceded by the meeting of the SADC Senior Officials responsible for Agriculture and Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture to be held from 10 – 12 May 2022.

Source: Southern African Development Community