By Kaleb Nghishidivali
OTJIWARONGO, August 03 – Distinguished figures from the agriculture, academia, and international development sectors will gather in Otjiwarongo on 2-3 August 2023 to participate in the validation of the next phase of the Comprehensive Conservation Agriculture Programme (CCAP II). This landmark initiative aims to enhance the resilience of small-scale farmers to climate change.
The workshop, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will bring together stakeholders to review and endorse the CCAP II document. This document will outline the program’s direction from 2022/2023 to 2027/2028.
CCAP II is built upon the achievements of its predecessor, CCAP, which was funded by the European Union (EU) and FAO and operated from 2015/16 to 2020/21. The initial project, “Strengthening the capacity of farmers to manage climate-related risks in Northern Namibia,” aimed to promote climate-smart Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) among Namibia’s crop-growing farmers to reduce vulnerability to climate change’s potential negative impacts.
The first phase, “Strengthening Coordination, Scaling Up, and Governance of Conservation Agriculture in Southern Africa (SUCASA),” was launched in 2019. This project covered all 14 regions of Namibia and aimed to expand CA among smallholder farmers in Southern Africa in line with the 2014 Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Malabo declaration. The declaration sought to have 25 million farmers adopt climate-resilient production systems by 2025 to ensure food and nutrition security, as committed by African Heads of State.
Representatives from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), farmers, academia, and other stakeholders will participate in the validation workshop. Following the workshop, the consultants will finalize the CCAP 2021/22-2026/27 program for Namibia, seeking endorsement from FAO and MAWLR.
The workshop aims to present and validate the new CCAP document to stakeholders, providing updates on the implementation of CA interventions in Namibia. The expected outcomes include a finalized CCAP document for 2021/22-2026/27, a clear CCAP logical framework guiding current and future CA work in the country, and contributions to enrich food security interventions and the country’s overall agricultural program.
This move is widely recognized as a significant step forward in Namibia’s commitment to sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, playing a critical role in regional and international efforts to combat the impacts of climate change on food and nutrition security.- Namibia Daily News
