The Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System for Southern Africa (ReSAKSS-SA), facilitated by the International Water Management Institute – Southern Africa Office (IWMI-SA), convened the 8th Regional Methodology Workshop on March 19–20, 2015, at the O. R. Tambo Garden Court Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2014 ReSAKSS-SA commissioned country-level data collection for monitoring the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Southern African Development Community – Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (SADC-RISDP) in the following countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Angola, Madagascar, Mauritius and Botswana. The workshop provided the opportunity for consultants to present the data they collected as commissioned by ReSAKSS-SA in 2014, and to also highlight the challenges they faced and lessons learned during the data collection process.
Participants: Front row (left to right): Mr. Tarcisio Baptista (Ministry of Agriculture - Madagascar), Mr. Sibusiso Nhlengethwa (IWMI-SA), Mr. Readwell Musopule (Ministry of Agriculture - Malawi), Ms. Thinah Moyo (University of Pretoria), Dr. Greenwell Matchaya (IWMI-SA), Ms. Mamolemo Pomela (Lesotho), Ms. Martha Nandi (University of Namibia) and Ms. Gamuchirai Musamadya (Ministry of Agriculture - Zimbabwe)
Back row (left to right): Dr. Haward Sigwele (Delta Dairies - Botswana) , Dr. Charles Nhemachena (IWMI-SA), Dr. Joao Mutondo (Research Centre for Agriculture Policy and Agr – systems- Mozambique), Mr. Nicholas Chikwenya (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock - Zambia), Ms. Angela Faria (Ministry of Agriculture - Mozambique), Mr. Anand Sookun (Soft Sustainable Services Research and Consultancy - Mauritius) and Mr. Auckland Kuteya (Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute - Zambia)
Opening the workshop, Greenwell Matchaya, Researcher-Economics/ReSAKSS-SA Coordinator, highlighted the objectives of the workshop which included: (i) presenting preliminary national-level data trends; (ii) strengthening the capacity to monitor and evaluate agricultural sector performance in Southern Africa in the context of the CAADP and SADC-RISDP; and (iii) preparing a work plan for gathering missing data that is crucial, especially in view of Malabo commitments.
Based on the country presentations, the challenges seemed similar for most countries – consultants indicated that some categories of data were unavailable or available in a different format than required by the questionnaire. In ensuring that consultants are assisted and guided while gathering the required data, the ReSAKSS-SA team provided them with possible national-level data sources and websites which they could use to triangulate the data. The ReSAKSS-SA team also guided consultants and made recommendations on how to properly capture, analyze and present data to enhance effectiveness and ensure that it is well presented. The current survey is part of a monitoring and evaluation system developed by ReSAKSS-SA to monitor the progress being made by SADC countries in implementing the CAADP, and other regionally shared policies and goals.
The workshop was put together by the ReSAKSS-SA team comprising Greenwell Matchaya, Researcher-Economics/ReSAKSS-SA Coordinator, IWMI, Charles Nhemachena, Regional Researcher – Agricultural Economics, IWMI, Sibusiso Nhlengethwa, Research Officer – Statistics, IWMI, and Thokozani Dlamini, Communications Officer.
This article is written by Thokozani Dlamini, Communications Officer at IWMI-SA.