The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) convened a two-day regional conservation agriculture (CA) expert panel discussion in Harare, Zimbabwe, earlier this month. Representatives of SADC, FAO and CA experts analysed the state of in the region with the aim of establishing national and regional task forces.
A s a first step a delegate from each country was appointed as the focal (contact) person in that country. Dr Hendrik Smith, programme manager of the ARC Institute for Soil, Climate and Water, was appointed focal person for South Africa. D avid Mfote, assistant FAO representative to Zimbabwe, said there had been a significant increase in the number of farmers in Zimbabwe over the past few years. shows great potential for increasing food security and income, and improving the livelihoods of both large- and small-scale farmers, according to Mfote. I t has taken off in many parts of Africa and the world, with often astonishing yields, just when global warming is resulting in consecutive droughts, and has a truly phenomenal potential to have a positive effect on many agriculture-based economies. “The FAO is committed to fully supporting and promoting at all levels,” says Mfote. – Peter Hittersay Contact Hendrik Smith on (012) 310 2500, 082 331 0456 or e-mail [email protected].
