Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Sustainability Summit, March 16–17, Lusaka, Zambia
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EmailThe Summit focused on climate change adaptation and mitigation in relation to agriculture and food security.
By IAPRI, VUNA and DST-NRF Center of Excellence in Food Security
The Summit focused on climate change adaptation and mitigation in relation to agriculture and food security. High profile personalities, policy makers and scientists from Zambia, the Region, and the international community met to learn and share research findings, highlight promising response strategies, and identify unresolved issues for future research and implementation.
Among the participants were the Zambian Minister of Agriculture, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia, traditional authorities and other high ranking government officials, representatives from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), representatives from the UK Department for International Development (DfID), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), private sector players, media houses, academics and researchers. The countries represented at the Summit included: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Over the two-day period, these experts and policymakers worked in four break out session groups that focused on the following thematic areas: Coping with Climate Variability and Change; Regional Policy; Multi-Sectoral Coordination and Climate Change Financing. For each of these topics, main issues were identified and solutions proposed. Knowledge gaps are to be addressed, at all levels, from the research and monitoring of climate change impact to the dissemination of this knowledge to adapt farming practice supported by adequate policies.
READ the entire report.
Summit background information
Summit Schedule
The Summit is co-organized by IAPRI, VUNA and the DST-NRF Center of Excellence in Food Security
IAPRI is a non-profit Zambian company limited by guarantee that works collaboratively with public and private stakeholders in the agricultural sector. IAPRI’s mandate is to utilize empirical evidence to advise and guide the Government of the Republic of Zambia and other stakeholders on agricultural investments and policies. The overarching goal of IAPRI’s policy analysis and outreach efforts is to provide advice on policies and investments in the agricultural sector that can effectively stimulate inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction.
VUNA helps farmers in East and Southern Africa adapt to the negative impacts of climate change. It exists to transform the agriculture sector so that smallholder farmers are able to improve their livelihoods in the face of current and future climate shocks. VUNA achieves this goal by strengthening the ‘climate smart agriculture’ (CSA) evidence-base, piloting ways to link famers and private companies in agricultural value chains, and improving the conditions, which enable successful farming.
DST-NRF Center of Excellence in Food Security
The Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence in Food Security, is a virtual organization that brings together the expertise of numerous South African and international institutions and over 100 researchers across
