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Technical Update April 2019 Issue

Countries
Botswana
+ 13 more
Sources
SADC RVAA
+ 1 more
Publication date

Improving the availability of crop production and food supply data and information

In efforts to improve the monitoring and assessment of crop production and food supply in the SADC region, the RVAA Programme team is supporting the SADC Secretariat’s Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate to implement a capacity building programme targeting the Member States.

The programme involves tailor-made technical support in the construction, use and the institutionalization of food/ cereal balance sheets and crop monitoring remote sensing products.

From 24 – 30 March 2019, 30 participants drawn from relevant Member States’ government ministries attended a training workshop in South Africa aimed at improving skills in the construction of food/cereal balance sheets and remote sensing products that can be used for seasonal crop and rangeland monitoring. The workshop was co-facilitated by representatives of the FANR Directorate, Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and the RVAA Programme.

Food/cereal balance sheets are used in analyzing the production, availability and consumption of various food items; critical information that feeds into vulnerability assessment and analysis reports.

RVAA Programme participates in the Africa Evaluation Conference

The RVAA Programme, represented by Tebogo Ngoma - a Monitoring and Evaluation expert - participated in the 9th African Evaluation Association (AFREA) Conference from 11 to 15 March 2019 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Themed “Accelerating Africa’s Development: Strengthening National Evaluation Ecosystems,” the AFREA conference laid the foundation for promoting and advocating for “Made in Africa” evaluation approaches, and allowed knowledge sharing, collaboration and networking with a wide range of professionals.

The Vulnerability Assessments and Analysis (VAA) system was central in the roundtable discussion on food security data and indicators in Africa: challenges and opportunities. The RVAA Programme’s presentation focussed on the experiences in introducing minimum common assessment indicators in Southern Africa, as well as the diverse vulnerability assessment approaches and methods currently being used by Member States. The Programme’s contribution was well-received and provided the conference participants with a regional perspective on food security data and indicators. The participants also appreciated the rationale for the Programme’s “One product principle” of harmonized reporting.