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BrochureAssessing and advancing phytosanitary capabilities in Eastern and Southern Africa
A pathway to resilient agriculture
2025Also available in:
No results found.Plant pests pose significant threats to agricultural production, food security, and economic stability in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region, with annual crop losses estimated at 30–60 percent. This study, conducted under the EU-funded project “Strengthening Food Control and Phytosanitary Capacities and Governance” (GCP/GLO/949/EC) and coordinated by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, assesses phytosanitary capacities in eleven COMESA countries through phytosanitary capacity evaluations (PCEs). The findings reveal that countries prioritize core operational activities particularly pest diagnostics, surveillance, pest risk analysis, and import and export systems with six countries selecting at least 11 of 13 PCEs. Governance areas, such as stakeholder engagement, remain under-addressed. Key challenges include outdated legislation, limited diagnostic infrastructure, weak surveillance systems, and inadequate risk analysis capacities. To address these gaps, the study recommends modernizing legal frameworks, strengthening technical capacities, adopting digital solutions like the IPPC ePhyto Solution, and enhancing regional coordination through COMESA and the Inter-African Phytosanitary Council of the African Union in collaboration with IPPC Secretariat. Establishing regional training hubs and fostering partnerships will support sustainable phytosanitary systems aligned with global standards and regional strategies. Strengthened systems are vital for improving trade, ensuring food security, and supporting sustainable economic growth across Africa. -
Technical studyBaseline survey on emerging pests in Eastern Africa
Programme support to the establishment of the Eastern African Emerging Pests Programme on Early Warning, Preparedness and Response System
2024Also available in:
No results found.Globalization, trade, and climate change, as well as reduced resilience in production systems due to decades of agricultural intensification, have played roles in the spread of pests. One of the significant threats to sustainable crop production across Eastern African countries is the increasing phenomenon of the introduction and spread of emergent pests.FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE), in collaboration, with the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) undertook a survey and assessment to review the status of early warning, preparedness, and response capacities of NPPOs and agriculture extension services in the Eastern African countries. The survey involved a desk review of emergent pests, including insects, diseases, nematodes, and weeds. This report describes the status of their distribution in Eastern Africa, biological characteristics, description of hosts and symptoms on hosts as well as their economic importance and associated phytosanitary risks. The Intervention is designed to gather baseline information for developing fit-for-purpose initiatives to safeguard productivity and reduce vulnerabilities to shocks affecting food and nutrition security caused by pests and strengthen the relevant capacities of stakeholders to cope with these threats. The overall output is to develop a roadmap for surveillance, monitoring, and early response to emerging pests in Eastern Africa. Review of the existing plant protection acts and legislation; pest-listing activities for countries to develop lists of quarantine and non-quarantine pests and undertaking national contingency planning for prioritized pests are among the major recommended interventions. -
Working paperCropping system diversification in Eastern and Southern Africa: Identifying policy options to enhance productivity and build resilience 2018
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No results found.Crop diversification is an important policy objective to promote climate change adaptation, yet the drivers and impacts of crop diversification vary considerably depending on the specific combinations of crops a farmer grows. This paper examines adoption determinants of seven different cropping systems in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, and the impact of their adoption on maize productivity and income volatility – using a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model. These cropping systems consist in different combinations of four categories of crops: dominate staple (maize), alternative staples, legumes, and cash-crops. The study finds that relative to maize mono-cropping systems, the vast majority of systems have either neutral or positive effects on maize productivity, and either reduce or have neutral effects on crop income volatility. In particular, cropping systems that include legumes produce better outcome in most cases than those that feature cash crops. From a policy perspective, three recurrent determinants of diversification are found. First, private sector output market access is an important driver of diversification out of maize mono-cropping. Policies crowding in private output market actors can help to promote a wide range of more diverse cropping systems. Second, proximity to public marketing board buying depots discourages the adoption of more diverse cropping systems. Therefore, reforms to these institutions must be part of any diversification strategy. Finally, in all countries and for all systems, land size is a key determinant of adopting more diverse systems. Thus, land policy is an integral element of any boarder diversification strategy.
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