Online Reporter
Richard Muponde
Zimpapers Politics Hub
THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene a high-level Joint Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Agriculture, Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture in Victoria Falls this Tuesday, as the region intensifies efforts to confront food insecurity, climate shocks and unlock the vast potential of the blue economy.
In a statement, the SADC Secretariat said the strategic gathering will bring together ministers and senior officials from across the 16-member bloc to deliberate on measures aimed at “accelerating transformation of food systems, strengthen resilience, and harness the blue economy in the SADC region.”
The meeting will be chaired by Mr John Henry Steenhuisen in his capacity as Chairperson of the Joint Committee of SADC Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Senior officials from member states are meeting ahead of the ministerial summit from yesterday to Tuesday, to fine-tune policy positions and review implementation of previous regional resolutions.
The regional bloc said ministers will receive critical updates on “the current food and nutrition security situation, review the 2025/26 rainfall performance and production outlook, and consider the season forecast for 2026/2027” as Southern Africa battles the growing threat of climate variability and food production disruptions.
Top on the agenda will also be the latest findings from the Fifth Biennial Review of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), progress under the Support Towards the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy project, and strategies to empower youths in agribusiness.
Ministers will tackle the spread of Foot-and-Mouth Disease following a directive by the March 2026 SADC Council of Ministers meeting in Pretoria calling for “strengthened cross-border surveillance, harmonised vaccination strategies, enhanced information sharing, and resource mobilisation” to protect livestock livelihoods, trade and regional food security.
The summit will also review progress in fisheries governance, aquaculture development and implementation of the Programme for Improving Fisheries Governance and Blue Economy Trade Corridors (PROFISHBLUE), including genetic improvement of tilapia and revision of the SADC Aquaculture Strategy and Action Plan.
SADC said outcomes from the Victoria Falls meeting will feed into the bloc’s Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030, the SADC Food and Nutrition Security Strategy and the broader SADC Vision 2050 agenda aimed at building a resilient, industrialised and food-secure Southern African region.
