FAO promotes access to reliable agric information

Senior Agriculture Reporter
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is working on creating opportunities for SADC states to access reliable agricultural information and create new market opportunities through its four-year project to support the operationalisation of the SADC regional agricultural policy, (STOSAR).

The project which will end in August this year is being funded by the European Union.

STOSAR is part of the 11th Economic Development Fund regional indicative programme to support the operationalisation of STOSAR).

FAO project officer, Dr Elma Zanamwe, said the project was targeted at enhancing timely access to quality agricultural information for evidence-based decision-making and improving access to markets through the sustainable management of transboundary plant pests and animal diseases that have the potential to impact food and nutrition security in southern Africa.

“The main beneficiaries of this project are the 16 SADC member states.

“The STOSAR project has three main components through which FAO is developing the long-term capacity of SADC member states.

“There is the establishment of a SADC agricultural information management system that will see the standardisation and harmonisation of agricultural data to ensure policymakers and agricultural value-chain actors have ready access to reliable information.

“The platform will stimulate agricultural intensification, improve food and nutrition security, and promote regional integration, trade liberalisation, and equitable economic growth,.

Dr Zanamwe said the project was also targeting at strengthening management of transboundary pests and diseases to facilitate access to markets and the creation of trade opportunities for plant and animal commodities and products.

This required effective management of sanitary risks, credible inspection, certification processes compliant with international standards and competitiveness in quality, price, and regularity of supply.

“The plant health component of the project is focusing on three insect plant pests of fall armyworm, oriental fruit flies, and tomato leafminer, and two plant diseases being maize lethal necrosis disease and banana fusarium wilt TR4.

“The animal health component focuses on three high-impact transboundary animal diseases of foot and mouth disease, peste des petits ruminants, and highly pathogenic avian influenza.

“While these priority pests and diseases remain important, the incursion of new threats such as outbreaks of African swine fever and the African migratory and red locusts have seen the priorities of some member states change with time.”

Dr Zanamwe said despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the project had registered some achievements including the setting up of a regional agricultural information management system comprising 12 interdisciplinary modules and providing stakeholders access to timely and reliable agricultural data.

The SADC agricultural information management system will also help in the development of regional and national management strategies or action plans for identified priority pests and diseases, procurement of equipment and reagents to support surveillance and laboratory diagnosis of transboundary pests and diseases and increased capacities of member states to access markets for their agricultural commodities and products.

“The Republic of Tanzania secured access to the Indian and South African export market for avocados through the support of the project which facilitated surveillance, pest risk analysis, and development of a pest list for the commodity.

“Multiple capacity-building workshops, online courses, and a series of webinars were held on topical areas such as strategy development, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, pest risk analysis, disease risk analysis, and mapping, and laboratory quality management systems.

“Monitoring the performance of the agriculture sector relies on having a consistent and reliable data reporting mechanism easily accessible to stakeholders and these activities aimed to strengthen regional coordination and collaboration in the prevention and management of transboundary pests and diseases for enhanced food security and trade,” she said.