ReSAKSS 2015 Annual Conference in Addis Ababa
Thu, 10/01/2015

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), participated in the ReSAKSS 2015 Annual Conference, which was held at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on September 1-3, 2015. The theme of the conference was “Beyond a middle income Africa: Transforming African economies for sustained growth with rising employment and incomes.”

The conference, organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), brought together researchers, policymakers, donors, advocacy groups, farmers’ organizations and the private sector throughout the continent to review the progress made in supporting evidence-based policy planning and implementation under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). The team from Southern Africa comprised of representatives from the following countries: Mozambique, Botswana, Swaziland, Malawi and South Africa. Greenwell Matchaya (Researcher - Economics/ReSAKSS-SA Coordinator), Charles Nhemachena (Regional Researcher – Agricultural Economics), Sibusiso Nhlengethwa (Research Officer - Statistics) and Thokozani Dlamini (Communications Officer) from IWMI-SA participated in the conference.

The conference was aimed at reviewing the progress made in implementing the CAADP agenda and, in particular, (i) achieving key CAADP goals and targets, as well as creating capacities and adopting effective modalities for evidence-based policy planning and implementation; (ii) assessing mutual accountability, review processes and associated capacities as well as their effectiveness for implementing the CAADP agenda; (iii) assessing progress and challenges in establishing country SAKSS platforms and agriculture joint sector reviews (JSRs); (iv) bringing clarity on the technical support required by AUC and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) in supporting the roll out of the Malabo Declaration implementation strategy and roadmap (IS&R), the CAADP Results Framework and Guidance Note on Government Agriculture Expenditures; and (v) discussing the findings and recommendations of the 2014 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR).

During the conference, the ReSAKSS-SA team, led by Greenwell Matchaya, hosted two parallel events focusing on experiences, lessons learned and recommendations for JSRs in the Southern Africa region. On September 4, 2015, teams from IWMI-SA/ReSAKSS-SA also participated in the annual planning meeting with other ReSAKSS nodes at the East Africa office of IFPRI. This meeting allowed the teams to engage in strategic planning for the year ahead.

This article is written by Thokozani Dlamini, communications officer at IWMI/ReSAKSS-SA.