SADC D ECLARATION ON P OVERTY E RADICATION AND S USTAINABLE D EVELOPMENT ,

This aims at achieving food security and provides for the establishment of a Regional Poverty Observatory and a SADC Development Fund to support actions in the priority areas of poverty eradication and sustainable development.

• promote the objectives of multilater- alism, facilitate implementation of politically difficult domestic policies; and

• strengthen multilateral bargaining power in international fora.

Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA)

This is a new sub-regional research insti- tution that coordinates the implementa- tion of agricultural research and development in the SADC region. CCARDESA’s goal is to sustainably re- duce the food insecurity and poverty in the region, including the Zambezi Basin states, as pronounced in the SADC RISDP, the Dar es Salaam Declaration on Food and Agriculture, and the AU’s Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Pro- gramme (CAADP). The strategic objective of CCARDESA is to increase smallholder productivity and competitiveness through the implementation of Pillar 4 of CAADP on “Agricultural research, technology dis- semination and adoption” for the SADC region, based on the Framework for African Agricultural Productivity. This will define and coordinate the research agenda in various aspects for southern African countries including the ZRB states.

SADC Seed Centre

Building on the achievements of the for- mer SADC Seed Security Network (SSSN) project, a SADC Seed Centre has been established with the objective of fa- cilitating the co-ordination and imple- mentation of the regional Harmonised Seed Regulatory System. The SADC Seed Centre has the following functions: • Quality assurance for regional variety release, certification and phytosanitary regulations;

• Coordination and quality assurance of seed-related capacity development; • Development of an effective infor-

mation exchange system;

• Coordination of seed programs in SADC region; and,

• Resource mobilization.

This is addressing the challenge of seed quality and availability among mem- ber states including the ZRB countries.

SADC Plant Genetic Resource Centre

The SADC Plant Genetic Resources Centre (SPGRC) is a SADC institution whose objectives are to:

• conserve and guarantee safe conser- vation of crop and wild plant genetic resources;

• document the plant genetic resources of the region to ensure their efficient and sustainable use;

• provide a forum for exchange of scien- tific, cultural, traditional and in- digenous knowledge and experiences; • train personnel in plant genetic re-

sources management; and,

• co-ordinate plant genetic resources activities in the SADC region.

SPGRC was set up as a network activ- ity to promote and coordinate a regional network for plant genetic resources man- agement through the National Plant Ge- netic Resources Centres. The activities of the network include the collection, conser- vation, documentation, evaluation and uti- lization of regional plant germplasm, thereby contributing to raising the stan- dard of living and welfare of people in the region and the Basin.

SADC / COMESA Regional Projects

SADC and COMESA through their rele- vant institutions and with support from cooperating partners coordinate a number of regional projects and programmes in livestock development, crop development, wildlife, forestry and fisheries, and in en- vironment and sustainable development. Some of the livestock initiatives include: • Promotion of Regional Integration in

the Livestock Sector;

• Strengthening institutions for man- agement of Transboundary Animals Diseases (TADs); and

• SADC Foot and Mouth Disease pro- gramme.

Other projects are in crop production, early warning systems, forestry and envi- ronmental education. Jointly COMESA,

SADC and the East African Community are implementing a Tripartite Climate Change Programme that will look at sustainable land-management practices including conservation agriculture.

The Agricultural Productivity Pro- gramme for Southern Africa (APPSA) that seeks to promote a regional ap- proach to agricultural technology gen- eration and dissemination is supported by the World Bank, and currently being implemented in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Another regional initiative is the promotion of conservation agri- culture, driven by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for ca- pacity building, research and extension through the National Conservation Agriculture Task Forces in SADC mem- ber states, including the Zambezi Basin states.

Projects in the Zambezi River Basin

Due to the economic importance of the Zambezi River Basin, there are a num- ber of projects addressing various as- pects in the riparian countries. In Malawi for example, which is almost en- tirely in the Zambezi Basin, there are a number of basin-wide initiatives that in- clude the Sustainable Land Management Project supported by UNDP/GEF, the Shire River Basin Management Pro- gramme supported by the World Bank, the Environment Management Action Plan supported by the United States and implemented by the Millennium Chal- lenge Account –Malawi. Other projects in the Zambezi Basin include the Zam- bezi Watercourse Commission (ZAM- COM), Zambezi Basin Development Project in Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Zambezi Basin Initiative, and many oth- ers. These projects address the chal- lenges in food security, environmental degradation and climate change at basin level. ZAMCOM is an institution set up by countries that share the Zambezi River Basin with the objective of pro- moting the equitable utilization, efficient management and sustainable develop- ment of the shared water resources.

Gazetted and Protected Areas

There are many protected conservation areas in the Zambezi Basin states, includ- ing national parks, game reserves and for- est reserves. In Tanzania, for example out of 94.3 million hectares of the total land surface, almost 30 percent (29.44) is re- served. Benjaminsen and others (2007) conclude that as much as 40 percent of the land area of Tanzania is under some form of environmental protection, in- cluding more recently announced areas under community-based conservation. These are established by most Basin states to partner local communities in conser- vation of resources and avoid encroach- ment into these protected areas. Tanzania is one of the top countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with the largest extent of land re- sources allocated as reserves. However, as a proportion of total land area, Tanzania is surpassed by Zambia and Botswana registering 36.6 percent and 31.7 percent respectively on reserved land (FAOSTAT, 2013). See Table 3.12.

The Zambezi Basin has several Trans Frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) incorporating some of Africa’s finest national parks and safari areas. These include:

• Kavango/Zambezi TFCA involving Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe;

• Malawi/Zambia TFCA;

• ZIMOZA TFCA covering areas in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia; • Selous/Nyasa TFCA covering parts

of southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique;

• Lower Zambezi Mana Pools between Zambia and Zimbabwe; and, • the Liuwa Plain Kameia TFCA

which includes areas in Angola and Zambia.

National Initiatives

National Land Policy and Law Reforms

A number of basin countries have de- veloped or are developing national land policies and laws that aim to address the inequalities in land distribution and also improve land administration systems.

Most reforms are towards improving food security, regulating access to land, addressing gender inequalities and im- proving transparency and accountability in land transactions. These reforms are at different stages in the Zambezi River Basin countries. Most national land pol- icy reforms undertaken in the last decade recognise the legitimacy of cus- tomary land rights and provide for some form of registration, and a role for local and community-based institutions in land management, alongside that of the state. They also try to address the gen- der inequalities in access and control over land and land-based resources.

Agriculture and Related National Policies ANGOLA

Angola is endowed with vast reserves of oil, diamond, iron ore, copper, gold and other minerals. However, 60 percent of its population lives in the rural area and depends on agriculture for survival (SADC 2012c) which means that attain- ment of food security and poverty re- duction cannot be achieved if the agricultural sector is ignored. Govern- ment is giving priority to development of the agricultural sector and good progress has been made. However, there are still challenges such as lack of access to credit and insecurity over land tenure. The major policy document that contains the objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture is the 2009 Executive

Programme on the Agro-Sylvio and Forestry-based Activities in Angola. Its objective is to promote sustainable and integrated socio-economic development of the agricultural sector taking advan- tage of its potential for increased production, productivity and competi- tiveness while at the same time creating employment and income to ensure food security. There are a number of pro- grammes in support of this policy in areas of food security, irrigation, and emergency and disaster preparedness.

BOTSWANA

The Government of Botswana supports diversification of the agricultural sector and has put in place a number of sup- porting policies and programmes. All agricultural programmes and projects are aimed at achieving the objectives of the 1991 National Policy on Agricultural De- velopment which was elaborated in the later National Development Agricultural Plan 9 that includes objectives on main- streaming gender and youth issues into agricultural programmes.

Other supporting policies include the National Land Policy; Tribal Graz- ing Land Policy; Arable Land Develop- ment Programme; Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture De- velopment; and the National Master Plan for Arable Agriculture and Dairy Development, which has a component to promote irrigated crop production.

87 FAOSTAT 2013

Table 3.12 PProtected Terrestrial Areas as % of Total Land Area

Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Angola 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 12.48 Botswana 31.72 31.72 31.72 31.72 31.72 31.72 31.72 31.72 31.72 31.72 31.72 Malawi 18.93 18.93 18.93 18.93 18.93 18.93 18.93 18.93 18.93 18.93 18.93 Mozambique 14.91 14.91 15.92 15.92 15.92 15.92 15.92 15.92 15.92 15.92 15.92 Namibia 14.53 14.53 14.53 14.53 14.53 14.53 14.53 14.53 14.53 15.01 15.01 Tanzania 28.87 28.87 29.02 29.02 29.03 29.05 29.05 29.44 29.44 29.44 29.44 Zambia 36.64 36.64 36.64 36.64 36.64 36.64 36.64 36.64 36.64 36.64 36.64 Zimbabwe 18.31 18.31 28.42 28.42 28.42 28.42 28.42 28.42 28.42 28.42 28.42 Average 22.05 22.05 23.46 23.46 23.46 23.46 23.46 23.51 23.51 23.57 23.57

Other related policies include the Revised National Policy for Rural De- velopment; the National Strategy for Poverty Reduction; and the revised Na- tional Food Strategy. These have objec- tives relevant to agriculture in general and crop production in particular.

MALAWI

The agriculture sector in Malawi con- tributes significantly to national devel- opment in several ways – as an economic activity, source of livelihoods and provider of environmental services. The sector contributes about 36 percent (value added) to the GDP, employs about 85 percent of the work force, and contributes about 70 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings through exports.

The agricultural sector is guided by the Agricultural Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp) which is a framework for in- vestment in the sector. The ASWAp identifies three focus areas, two key sup- port services and two cross-cutting is- sues. The focus areas are:

• Food Security and Risk Management; • Commercial Agriculture, Agro-pro-

cessing and Market Development; and, • Sustainable Agricultural Land and

Water Management.

The two key support services are:

•• Technology Generation and Dis- semination; and,

• Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building.

The cross-cutting issues are:

• HIV Prevention and AIDS

Impact Mitigation; and,

• Gender Equity and Empower-

ment.

Other agricultural programmes being implemented in the country include: the Farm Input Subsidy Programme; Institu- tional Development Across Agrifood Sector Programme; Improving Coordina- tion of ASWAp in the Ministry of Agri- culture (ICAM); and, the Green Belt Initiative (GBI) that aims to increase area under irrigation to one million hectares. The land subsector is guided by the 2002 National Land Policy that aims at address- ing the challenges in that sector but im- plementation is hampered by the lack of a supporting legal framework.

MOZAMBIQUE

The key challenges in the agricultural sector include:

• Low productivity;

• Limited access to improved seeds; • Limited access to fertilizers;

• Limited access to credit and financial services; and,

• Poor input distribution network. Within the present agricultural policy framework the emphasis is on addressing some of these bottlenecks and the strate- gies aim at improving production and productivity, rehabilitation of service such as roads and communication, rehabilita- tion of irrigation schemes, and providing training to extension officers, among oth- ers. Policies, strategies and institutional arrangements have been put in place to address agricultural problems and support services to promote fertilizer availability, mechanization, research, extension and trade-related issues.

NAMIBIA

The National Agricultural Policy of 1995 has provided guidance to agricultural de- velopment but suffered a number of set- backs including weak implementation mainly due to the lack of appropriate budgetary provisions for that purpose.

The third National Development Plan (2007/2008-2011/201212) is a systematic translation of Namibia’s Vision 2030 and is aimed at accelerated economic growth and deepening rural development. There are a number of land-related laws in sup- port of the land reform initiatives that aim at broadening access to productive land. These laws include the Agricultural (Com- mercial) Land Reform Act of 1996, the National Land Policy of 1998, the Com- munal Land Reform Act No. 5 of 2002 and the National Land Policy of 1995.

TANZANIA

The Tanzania Vision 2025 aims at achieving a high quality of livelihood for its people. The national organizing framework focusing on economic growth and poverty reduction is the Na- tional Strategy for Growth and Reduc- tion of Poverty, and agriculture is firmly anchored in this strategy.

The Agricultural Sector Develop- ment Strategy aims at achieving agricul- tural sustainable growth rate of 5 percent per annum through the trans- formation from subsistence to commer- cial agriculture. The current land policy and strategies aim to:

• Promote equitable distribution of and access to land;

• Ensure existing rights to land; and, • Improve land management.

ZAMBIA

Vision 2030 is Zambia’s general frame- work of all developmental planning in the different sectors of the economy includ- ing agriculture. Specifically for agriculture there are a number of policies, but incon- sistencies in their implementation is the major constraint. Examples include sub- sidy provision, poor marketing strategies, poor irrigation and infrastructure, and low financial support to key areas such as re- search and extension.

The Poverty Reduction Strategy fo- cuses on the need to reduce poverty and food insecurity. To go with this strategy the Agricultural Commercialization Pro-

gramme was developed to promote tar- geted agricultural growth, but was not fully implemented. The National Agri- cultural Policy provides guidelines for the period 2004 to 2015 and emphases liberalization, commercialization and provision of effective services. Another policy instrument is the Fifth National Development Plan that clearly identifies irrigation development, agricultural in- frastructure and land development as key areas for investment.

ZIMBABWE

The Zimbabwe agricultural sector went through major changes following the Fast Track Land Reform Programme of 2000 that sought to address the inequal- ities in land resources emanating from the colonial era. The widely accepted Land Review report of 2003 recognises the need to enhance agricultural produc- tion in resettled areas and communal areas by suggesting various strategies that involve strengthening of institu- tions such as banks, state-owned enter- prises, research centres and capacity building at all levels. This involves irri- gation, mechanisation and the appropri- ate technologies required to boost production; and encouraging gender equality in land ownership. Another key driver to production is the pricing policy and the need to create a robust market that does not constrain investment. This has seen several initiatives through the national economic development blue- print for 2013-2018, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Eco- nomic Transformation (ZIM ASSET).

Policy Options

Land and agriculture will continue to form the basis for the social and eco- nomic development of countries within the Zambezi River Basin. However, the land and agriculture sectors face a num- ber of challenges that threaten their ability to sustainably contribute towards economic growth, poverty reduction and food security in the riparian coun- tries as well as in the SADC region. Based on some of the issues discussed in this report, the following policy op- tions have been advanced:

• Basin-wide initiatives to strengthen and transform agriculture through implementation of regional initiatives that promote sustainable production and intensification of both livestock and crops to reduce food insecurity while at the same time diversifying the economies away from agriculture to services and manufacturing so as to relieve pressure from the land re- sources.

• Support innovative land-tenure re- forms that improve land-tenure secu- rity and ownership among vulnerable groups, particularly women who con- tribute significantly to agricultural production in the riparian states. • Implement the various conventions,

protocols, declarations and guidelines agreed upon at different levels with the aim of improving land gover- nance, gender equality and food se- curity, while at the same time providing strategies for addressing is- sues of biodiversity loss, climate change, land degradation, desertifica- tion and mitigation of the effects is of drought.

• Despite the existence of huge irriga- tion potential in the Basin, crop pro- duction continues to rely on rain-fed agriculture and is therefore vulnera- ble to the impacts of climate variabil- ity and climate change. Countries in the Basin should endeavour to in- crease areas under irrigation by pro-

moting irrigation infrastructure de- velopment and supporting research and extension in irrigation agriculture. • Agriculture production continues to be constrained by non-accessibility to various factors which include pro- duction-enhancing improved tech- nologies such as inputs because of their scarcity and high pricing. There- fore, the riparian countries through relevant regional economic blocks should continue to explore ways of increasing fertilizer production in the SADC region with the aim of mak- ing it affordable to smallholder farm- ers and reduce barriers in improved seed production.

• Systems of agriculture that aim to minimize soil disturbance and maxi- mize soil cover have the potential to improve the resilience of food produc- tion systems from the negative impacts of climate change, however the adop- tion is still low in the Zambezi Basin. Given the vulnerability of the SADC region, the riparian countries should continue to increase efforts in promot- ing conservation agriculture and other climate-smart agricultural practices through deliberate policies that sup- port research and extension in conser- vation agriculture.

• Policies and strategies for addressing gender gaps exist at Continental, SADC, COMESA, National and Basin levels. Most constitutions enshrine gender equity, yet gender disparities continue unchanged. Therefore, na- tions and regional bodies should inten- sify implementation of measures to bridge the gender gaps including affir- mative actions in the achievement of poverty eradication and sustainable de- velopment objectives;

• The Zambezi Basin riparian states should document and disseminate in- digenous knowledge in agriculture and land management that con- tributes to sustainable environmental management.

91

Box 3.2 CCase Study

LINKING AGRICULTURE AND LAND TO BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN THE ZAMBEZI VALLEY, ZIMBABWE

The Zambezi Valley area in Zimbabwe is located in the middle-Zambezi between Lake Kariba and Cahora Bassa. The area is generally characterised by a dry tropical climate, with low and very variable annual rainfall. Two seasons are clearly defined: a rainy season from December to March and a long dry season from April to November.

Natural land cover throughout the Valley is typified by deciduous dry savannah, dom- inated by Mopane trees with the presence of a rich flora and great species diversity (Gaidet and others 2003; Poilecot and Gaidet 2010). It is an area of global importance for the emblematic mega-fauna of Africa with large portions of its ecosystem being set aside in protected areas, which has been altered over the past 30 years by various agricultural ac-