APPSA Regional Steering Committee Convenes in Angola

The Republic of Angola hosted the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) Regional Steering Committee (RSC) meeting on the 5th of May 2022 in Luanda. The meeting, which was chaired by Angola’s Secretary of State from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr João Manuel Bartolomeu da Cunha, was attended by RSC members from APPSA first phase countries (Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia) and current implementing countries (Angola and Lesotho).

The Kingdom of Lesotho was led by the Principal Secretary from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security – Advocate Mole Kumalo. Republic of Malawi was led by the Director of Agricultural Research – Dr Wilkson Makumba, Republic of Mozambique was led by the Director General of Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique – Dr Olga Fafetine, while the Republic of Zambia was represented by the Deputy Director of Zambia Agricultural Research Institute - Dr Dickson Ng’uni. Also, in attendance was the Center for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), led by the Executive Director – Dr Cliff Dlamini and the World Bank, represented by the TTL for Angola – Aniceto Bila.

APPSA is a six-year World Bank funded initiative currently being implemented in Angola and Lesotho with regional coordination from CCARDESA. Angola and Lesotho are establishing Regional Centres of Leadership (RCoLs) on cassava and horticulture, respectively. APPSA has already facilitated the establishment of RCoLs on Maize in Malawi, Rice in Mozambique and edible Legumes in Zambia. The RSC is essentially tasked to provide policy guidance to improve synergy of APPSA with national and regional strategies and promote collaboration between the implementing countries.

This meeting was held at a time when APPSA is preparing for a Mid-Term Review (MTR), which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2022. The MTR will assess, among others, progress towards achieving the project development objectives (PDO), key implementation challenges, performance, effectiveness of implementation strategies, achievements and lessons learnt, and use these to recommend adjustments where necessary.

The main discussion points were based on progress reports that were presented by the two implementing countries, Angola and Lesotho, as well as regional activities that are implemented by CCARDESA. First phase countries also shared their experiences on: (i) how they have managed to integrate APPSA generated Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) technologies into their national agricultural research systems; (ii) current utilization of facilities constructed/established through APPSA; and (iii) the engagement of staff capacitated through the project.
    
On the 6th of May 2022, RSC members visited Mazozo Agricultural Research Station, about 40km from Luanda, to appreciate some of the APPSA ongoing activities in Angola.