Southern Africa

The SADC Futures project creates tailored foresight training to equip users in the practical appliation of a range of foresight tools and methods for innovative strategic planning and policy formulation for climate resilience.  »

This study examines the sociocultural drivers of gendered household decisions to produce and sell or consume nutritious crops. The findings provide an in-depth understanding of diet patterns and preferences in the study population. »

Changing climates will require African farmers to adjust which crop varieties they grow in order to adapt to changing patterns of weather, pests and diseases. Delivering more suitable, climate-smart crop varieties requires well-functioning seed systems in which actors work in harmony across the supply chain. Although a great deal of previous development funding has been used to breed new varieties and to encourage farmers to adopt them, the availability of early-generation seed (EGS) continues to be limited by bottlenecks in the supply chain.
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This report provides an overview of the evidence of the economic potential of food systems for the poor for the next ten years. Evidence shows that only the upper tier of small-scale farmers can access the more modern and commercialised food channels. For policy it is of importance to get the mix right in relation to the ability of smallholder farmers in the food system to “stepping up” or “hanging in” (farmers not able to scale up and commercialise) farming activities. »

This report presents an examination of the recent trends, current status, and future outlook of African agricultural trade in global and regional markets. The report finds that while growth in Africa’s agricultural imports has continued to outpace export growth, the agricultural trade deficit has been on the decline since 2012. »

This discussion paper explores the reasons for the lack of agricultural diversity from the perspectives of smallholder households, market actors and extension officers. Zambia’s diversification agenda should be based on  the priorities and requirements of farming households. To succeed it will require the collective efforts of key players, and a range of co-ordinated policy changes. »