Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System for Eastern and Central Africa (ReSAKSS-ECA), on the 11th June, 2012, held a regional workshop under the theme, “Strategic Analysis to Inform Agricultural Policy”.
The workshop brought together fifty participants (38 males and 12 females) representing a wide range of agriculture and rural development stakeholders including: regional economic communities, private sector, researchers, development agencies, government agriculture and related ministries, national statistical authorities and civil society. The participants were from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia; East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency. Among these were ReSAKSS-ECA Steering Committee members.
The objective of the meeting was to: i) disseminate key ReSAKSS knowledge products; and ii) Brainstorm on how to strengthen strategic partnerships and collaborations for effective implementation of ReSAKSS agenda and sharing lessons.
Among the papers presented and discussed at the workshop were:
a) Report on trends and outlook of key agriculture and rural development indicators in the COMESA region. The report reviewed progress on the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in the COMESA region and the progress made toward achieving CAADP targets and other development goals. The paper recommended increased targeted funding to agriculture and rural development, not just to meet CAADP targets but also to alleviate poverty, hunger and nutritional insecurity in the region. View the Presentation >>
b) Trade openness in COMESA region which illustrated that efforts to make trade freer among COMESA countries are bearing fruit, albeit gradually. The paper recommended reduction or eradication of trade barriers to enhance intra-regional trade. View the Presentation >>
c) Tracking intra-regional trade in food staples in COMESA region. This paper explored availability and quality of data on intra-regional trade. It noted that, although many organizations are involved in tracking of intra-regional trade, the data available are quite unreliable and/or, in some cases, contradictory. It recommended harmonization of data collection methodologies and tools, and increased investment in trade data collection infrastructure. View the Presentation >>
d) Synthesis of literature on climate change, agriculture and food security in the COMESA region. The paper observed that the symptoms of climate change were already being experienced among COMESA countries, and that climate change would compromise realization of food security and human development targets in the region. The paper observed that individual governments and the regional trading block were already putting in place adaptation and mitigation measures but doubted if these were guided by sound empirical evidence. View the Presentation >>
e) Enhancing resilience to climate change in the horn of Africa. This paper observed that pastoralism is highly dynamic and any efforts to address resilience to climate change must address this dynamism while focusing on long term rather than short term interventions. Resilience building should be mainstreamed in development planning for the Horn of Africa. View the Presentation >>
ReSAKSS ECA is working with various partners to strengthen capacity for Strategic Agricultural Policy and Investment Planning and Implementation in Africa. As one of the interventions in addressing data quality issues, the node is already working with countries to harmonize indicators for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the agricultural sector across the region for ease of peer review and learning.
This newsletter was prepared by: Maurice Ogada (m.ogada@cgiar.org), Stella Massawe (s.massawe@cgiar.org) and Joseph Karugia (j.karugia@cgiar.org) at ReSAKSS-ECA.