APPSA Commissions 10 New R&D Sub-projects and Endorses 28 Concept Notes for Angola and Lesotho

The Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) officially commissioned 10 new R&D sub-projects and endorsed 28 Concept Notes on the 3rd of March 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The new sub-projects, led by scientists from Angola and Lesotho, are adding on the 8 that are currently ongoing and are expected to start implementation with immediate effect. Presiding over by the event was the Executive Director of CCARDESA, Dr Cliff Sibusiso Dlamini, Director of Agricultural Research from the Republic of Angola, Dr João Ferreira Neto and Dr Lefulesele Lebesa, the Director of Agricultural Research from the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The commissioning of these R&D sub-projects is a critical milestone for the project as APPSA is driven by the need to increase the availability of improved agricultural technologies in participating countries in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.

In his opening remarks, Dr Dlamini noted that the development of these sub-projects was by no means an easy task.  Due to the COVID-19 related travel restrictions, all processes were done virtually, including the proposal writing training which was conducted by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) from South Africa and the actual write up. He applauded the Scientists for their commitment and dedication throughout the proposal writing phase. However, he was quick to caution them that the commissioning of the sub-projects was not the end result, but the beginning of the “real work” that needs to be implemented on the ground.

Dr Neto commended CCARDESA for facilitating the concept note and proposal development processes. His sentiments were echoed by Dr Lebesa who was represented by Ms Monica Lephole, the Country Coordinator for Lesotho. From a total of 46 concept notes that were received from Angola and Lesotho, 28 were recommended to proceed to full proposal development after undergoing a rigorous review process at national and regional level. These were endorsed and announced during the event. The full proposals are expected to be commissioned before end of this year.

APPSA is a six-year World Bank funded research project currently under implementation in Angola and Lesotho and regionally coordinated by CCARDESA. Despite the differences in crop priorities and language barriers, scientists from both Angola and Lesotho have been working together to generate and share agricultural technologies and innovation to benefit the entire SADC farming community. The APPSA projects follow 6 specific thematic areas: (1) Crop genetic diversity, breeding and improvement, (2) Postharvest Technologies, (3) Irrigation and Mechanization Technologies; (4) Production Systems and Management Technologies, (5) Dissemination and Technology transfer; and (6) Seed Systems.