“The launch of the support to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme’s Ex-Pillar 4 (CAADP-XP4) institutions could not have come at a better time than this when Africa is grappling with the effects of climate change”, said Zambia’s Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Michael Katambo. He was speaking in Lusaka, Zambia when he officially launched the CAADP-XP4 project on 27th February 2020.
The minister further said that climate change is a cross-cutting issue which transcends national boundaries and therefore calls for concerted efforts as a region. He was happy to note the efforts that CCARDESA with other actors are making in facilitating the necessary collaboration and cooperation to deal with climate change in the region and beyond.
The CAADP-XP4 Programme intends to boost the agricultural transformation agenda through innovations in agriculture and food systems in partner countries which will make them resilient to climate change and to better respond to the development demands. The CAADP-XP4 Programme is being implemented in 7 countries (Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) from 2019 to 2024. The CAADP-XP4 Project is supported by the EU and IFAD. IFAD was represented at the meeting by Dr Malu Ndavi from Rome, Italy who shared his contentment to finally see the birth of CAADP-XP4 which a few years ago was a dream in the pipeline. Speaking at the same event was the FAO Zambia Country Representative, Mr George Okech who acknowledged the need of research and innovation which CAADP-XP4 is fostering as being at the centre stage of reversing the current narrative on the impact of climate change.
The CCARDESA Acting Executive Director, Dr Simon Mwale also gave his speech where he recognized the threat posed by climate change to agriculture and its impact on food production and food security. He reiterated that the threat has given CCARDESA the impetus to invest great efforts in implementing a number of climate-relevant activities. He cited the German Government-funded project on “Adaptation to Climate Change in the Rural Areas in Southern Africa (ACCRA) which CCARDESA co-implemented with GIZ which promoted the mainstreaming of climate change in agricultural policies and strategies of SADC member countries.
The meeting was well attended by project target country representatives from the SADC region who presented on the projects they are currently implementing and how they can be aligned to the CAADP-XP4 Project. The meeting also had youth representation including partner organizations and other key stakeholders notable among them were IFAD, EU, SIDA, AFAAS, ASARECA, CORAF and FARA. Other participants were heads of international development agencies, research organizations, and farmer organization among others. The launch of CAADP-XP4 was received well with the partners looking forward to engaging in the implementation of the project in their respective countries.
