Introduction
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations defines Food Security as “existing when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. It describes a situation in which people do not live in hunger or fear of starvation.”

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is fully cognizant of the need for sustainable food security in the region in order to achieve its vision of economic well-being, improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice, and peace and security for the peoples of Southern Africa. The mandate of SADC’s Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate is consequently to develop, promote, coordinate and facilitate policies and programmes aimed at increasing agricultural and natural resources production, and productivity and trade with the overall goal of improving food security and fostering economic development.

Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in the SADC Region
In view of the overarching role of food security in the region and to buttress SADC’s efforts towards regional development, Heads of State and Government of the SADC Member States met at an Extra-Ordinary Summit in the United Republic of Tanzania on 17 May, 2004, and committed themselves to promote agriculture as a pillar in national and regional development strategies and programmes in order to attain short, medium and long-term objectives. The leaders adopted and signed the “Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in the SADC Region”, reaffirming their commitment to accelerate agricultural development, upon which most people in the region depend for food, income and employment.

The multi-sectoral Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration’s strategy contains an agreed set of short-term (2004-2006) objectives. These include the provision of key agricultural inputs; agro-industrial development and processing; control of crop and livestock pests and diseases; crop, livestock and fisheries production; and water management and irrigation. Progress of the short-term targets is to be reviewed at the end of every two years. In the medium to long-term commitments (2004-2010), SADC leaders agreed to address the sustainable use and management of natural resources; disaster preparedness; research, technology development and dissemination; agricultural financing and investment; training and human resources development; gender equality; and human health and mitigation of HIV and AIDS, and other chronic diseases.

As Member States have stepped up the implementation of the Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration and Plan of Action, there has been a marked improvement in the regional food security situation. Overall cereal production for 2006 is estimated at 21.18 million, and although this is 21 percent lower than the 25.99 million harvested in 2005, distribution of production among Member States has been much better. Initial estimates from the vulnerability assessments conducted in several Member States indicate that the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance will drop significantly from 9.71 million in 2005/2006 to around 3 million during the 2006/2007 marketing year.

The required leadership and the coordination of collective and timely actions in response to the SADC region’s challenges in agriculture and natural resources management in general, and food security in particular, is provided for by the FANR Directorate of the SADC Secretariat. The Directorate also plays a significant role in creating a conducive environment for regional integration and prosperity through the establishment of institutional and policy frameworks and harmonisation of rules and regulations for the conservation of the region’s plant and animal genetic resources.

Ensuring Food Security
SADC envisages a region in which all people have access to adequate nutritious food for an active and normal life. This goal can partly be achieved through production of adequate quantities of crops and removal of trade barriers. The dominant staple food crop in the SADC region is maize. Other important cereal crops are wheat, rice, sorghum and millet. Collectively, cereals account for more than 52 percent of the calorie intake in the SADC region. Increase in human population and food demand, however, outstrips the rate of increase in the production of staple cereals in the SADC region, resulting in ever-increasing import of cereals.

The SADC FANR Directorate plays a facilitating role in various ways to increase production of maize and other cereals in order to increase crop production and thereby improve food security. These include the efficient delivery of inputs, increased use of fertiliser, promotion of irrigation, sharing of best practices and harmonisation of policies in Member States. Additionally, the Directorate’s forestry, fishing and livestock development programmes also play a significant role towards sustainable regional food security at both artisanal and commercial levels.

Crop Production
Commercial Farming
Agriculture is an important sector for the economic growth and development for the majority of the SADC Member States. For the 228 million people of the SADC region agriculture contributes over 70 percent of employment. It is also at the heart of national income generation as it contributes about 35 percent to the GDP of the Member States.

Commercial farmers play a significant role in food production as well as in foreign exchange earnings through export of agricultural products. Tea, coffee, tobacco, flowers, and fruits and vegetables are among the major crops that commercial farmers grow and export to outside markets, thereby contributing to foreign exchange earnings. Some subsistence and emerging small-scale farmers are involved in the production of export crops through contract-growing schemes operated by commercial farmers. The scale of production of commercial farmers contributes to employment and income for quite a large number of people.

Development of a Harmonised Seed Regulatory System
The availability of good quality seeds is critical in setting the production potential of a crop. Both subsistence and commercial farming require the use of quality seed as a key input for high productivity. Farmers in the SADC region, however, continue to be seed insecure because the regulatory systems in Member States are not harmonised. Seed trade between countries is, therefore, complicated and difficult, even in times of emergency seed needs.

To address these obstacles, the SADC FANR Directorate has developed a harmonised seed regulatory system for the region, which was approved by the Permanent Secretaries of Agriculture in September 2006. The system harmonises the regulations for seed variety release, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and seed certification. The system will facilitate production and marketing of good quality seed, which will contribute significantly to increased yields and productivity in the region.

Reducing Dependence on Rain-fed Agriculture
The SADC region experiences large inter-annual rainfall variability with respect to quantity and seasonal distribution. Crop production in the region is predominantly dependent on rain-fed agricultural systems. Only 3.5 percent of the region’s arable land is currently under irrigation. Therefore, the region experiences acute food shortages and hunger whenever there is a drought.

The SADC FANR Directorate is embarking on increasing the land under irrigation by both small-scale and commercial farmers through irrigation schemes such as flooding and drip irrigation. Irrigation by small-scale farmers is critical for ensuring food security because it enables farmers to produce crops throughout the year.

The irrigation programmes being developed follow a river-basin concept and aim at utilising the shared watercourses in a sustainable manner. SADC is currently conducting feasibility assessments on three river basins, covering eight countries, with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and FAO of the United Nations. The three river basins are the Upper Okavango Sub-basin in Angola and Namibia, the Middle Zambezi Sub-basin in Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and the Lower Zambezi/Shire Sub-basin in Malawi, Mozambique and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Promoting the Use of Fertiliser
Over the past decade, both fertiliser consumption and crop yields have not shown any increase in the SADC region. The SADC region presently accounts for only 1 percent of the world consumption of fertiliser nutrients, and 33 percent of the African consumption. The current use stands at 8 kg per hectare against the world average of 98 kg per hectare. Meanwhile, soils in the region continue to be depleted of nutrients annually, resulting in low yields and food insecurity.

The main obstacle to the use of fertiliser is the prohibitive prices since most of the fertiliser is imported. The SADC FANR Directorate has developed a Regional Fertiliser Strategy in conjunction with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), aimed at increasing the availability, affordability and utilisation of fertilisers in the region. The need to increase fertiliser use is most critical for subsistence farmers who have limited resources and experience difficulties in accessing the commodity. The strategy outlines interventions addressing the economic, infrastructural, production, policy and market constraints of the region. The interventions in the strategy pay special attention to the plight of subsistence farmers and aims at achieving the targeted 6 percent growth in the national economies by 2015.

Bulk procurement and distribution of fertilisers operated under Public Private Partnerships and supported by a good information network is planned to commence in the region. In addition, centralised fertiliser blending and bagging close to ports and other strategically located inland sites are to be initiated under the regional strategy.

Research and Development, and Information Dissemination
The SADC FANR Directorate is an active facilitator and promoter of agricultural and natural resources research, technology development and dissemination. The Directorate is at present facilitating information sharing of best practices through regional programmes on semi-arid crops, irrigation technologies, biotechnology, and biofuels. The SADC regional research activities are normally demand driven, targeting both commercial and small-scale farmers by designing programmes that cater for the needs of the two categories.

The Implementation and Coordination of Agricultural Research and Training (ICART), one of SADC’s primary programmes, is a five-year project worth Euro15 million funded by the European Union. The project provides institutional support to agricultural research and training networks through Competitive Research and Training Grant Funds.

Timely collection, analysis and dissemination of credible information are the key to effective and accurate decision-making and action to avert or circumvent food insecurity and disasters. The SADC FANR Directorate, through the Agricultural Information Management Systems (AIMS) Unit, has developed a network for timely collection of information for early warning of disasters, vulnerability assessments, food security and monitoring of weather patterns in the region. The main programmes implemented under AIMS include the Regional Early Warning System (REWS), Drought Monitoring Centre (DMC), Regional Remote Sensing Project (RRSP), Vulnerability Analysis (VA), and Regional Food Reserve Facility.

Livestock Development
Indigenous Breeds
The SADC strategy for livestock development identifies as one of its objectives the sustainable use and improvement of farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) and breeding methods, with an emphasis on indigenous livestock.

In order to contribute effectively to ensuring household food security, the FANR Directorate of the SADC Secretariat and national governments provide an enabling environment by developing and implementing appropriate policies and programmes necessary for sustainable management, conservation and utilisation of the natural resource base, of which FAnGR is an important component. Numerous studies have shown the potential of indigenous breeds to enhance livestock production and productivity, if well managed. Various guiding principles are considered when working with indigenous breeds, i.e. do the natural resource bases contribute substantially to food and agricultural production, amongst others.

Pasture Development
Animal husbandry is one of those smallholder systems that have enormous potential to overcome hunger, poverty and environmental decline in the region. Animals generally reproduce under difficult conditions, but convert grasses and other vegetation into food of the highest quality. They are the nutrient banks and financial backbone of the smallholder farming systems.

The FANR Directorate encourages sound pasture management in Member States, in accordance with their carrying capacities in order to ensure that the emerging livestock industry is environmentally sound. The focus is also on promoting rotational grazing where possible, as well as improving animal nutrition through harmonised regional livestock policies, strategies and programmes in order to avoid unsustainable management and production systems.

Small-Scale and Commercial Livestock Production
Livestock development in the region aims to promote regional integration and sustainable livestock production by a broad range of means, including improved livestock products utilisation. At present, only four out of 14 Member States have well-developed commercial farming sectors, and generally sales of livestock remains limited due to ill developed markets and lack of infrastructure.

The livestock sub-sector offers the SADC region an opportunity for accelerated growth, diversification, and increased trade. Low market sales from the traditional sector is one of the main problems that needs to be addressed. Increased market integration will contribute to creation of wealth in the rural areas, leading to increased livestock productivity and quality. SADC, therefore, seeks to establish the technical and structural basis for successful implementation of future large-scale project interventions which will address the gaps that will lead to increased commercial livestock production.

Animal Disease Control
Recurrent animal diseases, including transboundary diseases, constitute a significant threat to the livestock industry of the SADC region. They impact on the productivity of the livestock sub-sector as well as on trade in livestock and livestock products. Concerted efforts are thus required to make the region disease-free through zoning and compartmentalisation in order to enhance regional and international trade and avert massive loss of livestock resources.

The SADC FANR Directorate is developing a Livestock Information Management System which will include a Regional Animal Health Databank. This will form a critical input for the control of livestock diseases and will comply with the standards required by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

In addition, SADC in collaboration with technical organisations is also implementing various projects and programmes on the surveillance and control of animal diseases. The Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) is a new programme approved in July 2006 developed with support from AfDB covering Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia. The main objective of the project is to enhance animal health through improved capacity for detection, identification, monitoring and surveillance of TADs in the region.

Natural Resources
Small-Scale and Commercial Fishing
Fisheries represent a critical natural resource asset for most SADC Member States. Sustainable use of this resource provides the means for millions of people to reduce poverty and vulnerability, strengthen livelihoods, and find and improve food consumption and health. The fishery sector is estimated to represent some 2.5 million metric tons in annual output valued at several billion USD and directly employs over half a million people.

With good strategies, the fishery sector has strong potential to retain and expand its benefits. In response to this, the SADC Protocol on Fisheries has been developed and some Member States have started implementing it. The Protocol seeks to promote effective management of fish stocks, protect and preserve fish resources, promote aquaculture and mariculture development, and promote trade in fish.

Sustainable Use of Forests
Forestry also contributes significantly to regional food security. Forest cover in the region is estimated at 357 million hectares or about 33 percent of total land area. Forests of the SADC region provide a wide range of products and services that are important to the socio-economic well-being of the region’s communities.

Poverty reduction for the people highly dependent on forests and environmental protection are of major concern in the region. The Forestry Programme hence deals with conservation, sustainable management and enhancement of the forest resources of the SADC region.

The basic regional policy framework on forestry is provided by the Forestry Protocol which aims at promoting regional cooperation through aspects such as raising awareness, promoting trade in forest products, forest research and training, and harmonisation of approaches to the management and safeguarding of forest resources.

The Way Forward
Both, SADC’s Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Action Plan from the Dar-Es-Salaam Extra-Ordinary Summit on Agriculture and Food Security provide a sound framework for achieving strong and sustainable growth in agriculture and indeed the overall rural economy in the region.

As its way forward, the FANR Directorate aims to devote its efforts to improving access to key inputs, water and irrigation management, and increasing investment in agriculture.

In addition to on-going programmes, several new programmes and projects have accordingly been initiated with special focus on achieving food security in the region as their priority. The Promotion of Regional Integration in Livestock (PRINT) aims to contribute to poverty reduction through sustainable increase in productivity and trade flows in the livestock sector, as well as the establishment of a Livestock Information Management System (LIMS).

The Multi-Country Agricultural Productivity Programme (MAPP) is a five-year project formulated under the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). The project is funded by the Japanese Trust Fund through the World Bank and aims to empower farmers and improve access to markets.

The SADC FANR Directorate has also been developing strategies for disaster preparedness. The five-year Vulnerability Analysis Programme funded by the World Food Programme is expected to strengthen regional and national capacity for vulnerability analysis. In addition, the Secretariat is in the process of developing a Memorandum of Understanding which would elaborate a framework for the management of a Regional Food Reserve Facility.