By Winifred Bulus
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Kingdom of Swaziland have signed a five-year $19 million Country Programming Framework (CPF).
The document defines the following priorities for collaboration and the outcomes to be achieved between 2016 and 2020.
Food and nutrition security; market–led agricultural production and processing; and sustainable use of natural resources and climate change adaptation are the main priority.
The Minister of Agriculture of the Kingdom of Swaziland, Moses Nsizwa Vilakati, who was at the signing ceremony in Mbabane 9the country’s capital) said, “The CPF represents the commitment of FAO to assisting the Government in its efforts to achieve national development objectives and to achieve food and nutrition security for the population.”
The CPF is in tune with Kingdom of Swaziland’s national development objectives that are articulated in the National Development Strategy, the National Agricultural Investment Program (SNAIP), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme CAADP, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and FAO’s global, regional and sub- regional objectives.
The programme is to be carried out by the government of the country and FAO with backing from broader range of stakeholders within the private sector, semi government institutions and civil society.
Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of the Kingdom of Swaziland, and a major source of employment for more than 70 percent of the population. However, the sector has been obstructed by the incidence of weather-induced crop failures, pests and diseases and limited access by especially smallholder farmers to financing instruments and technology.
Over 640 000 people – more than half the population who became food insecure as a result of the El Nino – induced drought in 2015/16 are yet to recover from the effects of the disaster.
Moses Vilakati said the execution of CPF would lead to an increased productivity and food security as well as growth in employment creation for socio-economic development.
The Framework will promote the establishment of food and nutrition gardens, sustainable food production techniques as well as facilitate improved nutritional standards and regulations. It will also focus on the development of agricultural value chains and programmes that are expected to attract smallholder farmers to adopt business approach towards agriculture.
The Framework also focuses on building the capacity of farmers in handling future challenges in agricultural sector and enjoy the benefits associated with agriculture.
David Phiri, the FAO Rep0resentative for the Kingdom of Swaziland and Sub-regional Coordinator for Southern Africa said, “FAO is already implementing a Climate-Smart Agriculture programme in the country, with the aim of sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes, adapting and building resilience to climate change and reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas emissions, where possible.
“$4 million out of USD19 million already mobilized and FAO has already sourced $4 million, out of $19 million that is required to implement the programmes and projects that are proposed in the Framework.
“We will continue working with the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland to mobilize the remaining $15.3 million though FAO’s Technical Corporation Programme (TCP), Trust Funds from development partners as well as from Government’s budgetary allocations.”