Technology changes region’s food security outlook || The Southern Times

Lilongwe - The Centre for Co-ordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) is mitigating COVID-19’s impact on the region’s food and nutrition security through climate smart technologies.

Climate smart projects have already been launched in eSwatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia in that order.

The profile of beneficiaries is diverse and includes women and youths.

In Zambia, it was revealed that land use change and foresry (LUCF) and agriculture are widely recognised as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and contribute significantly to climate change, whereas forests are critical in carbon sequestration.

CCARDESA projects are being funded by the European Union through SADC and with technical support from Bembani Group. The project is an extension of the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) programme.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted on the food and nutrition status of millions of households worldwide, and this has been acutely noticeable in a Southern Africa region that was already reeling from the effects of successive droughts and floods, in addition to fighting crop pest infestations.

According to a recent SADC Regional Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis Programme Synthesis Report on the state of food and nutrition security and vulnerability in Southern Africa, the region was on course to reach levels of food insecurity similar to the previous year even before the COVID-19 lockdowns.

"Based on available data, an estimated 44.8 million people in 13 SADC member states countries are food insecure this consumption year. Compared to 2019, food insecurity increased by almost 10 percent in 2020", reads part of the report.

SADC adds, "As more restrictions have been put in place by member states, diverse varieties of food have become unavailable, inaccessible and unaffordable to the most vulnerable households. There is a risk that households will be forced to adopt negative eating practices, including reducing frequency, quantity and quality of foods, to adapt to the lockdown measures."

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