Coordinating and Advocating for Conservation Agriculture Policies in Southern Africa

Agriculture plays a dominant role in the economic development of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite problems associated with productivity growth, agriculture is a key for spurring growth, getting large numbers of people out of poverty, and is a principal route to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) (World Bank, 2009). Agriculture is to be considered more than simply an economic activity – it is a key for food security and thus for survival, a means of livelihood and culture, and a provider of environmental services but also a major source of environmental degradation if unsustainable practices are used. Agriculture currently accounts for about 30 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) gross domestic product (GDP), at least 40 percent of export value, and approximately 70-80 percent of employment (FAO, 2006; IMF 2006; World Bank, 2006; World Bank, 2007b). More than 75 percent of the total population in Southern Africa live in rural areas and the majority of them are smallholder households involved in agricultural activities (FAO, 2006; ILO, 2007)