The general trend in the food security situation in COMESA region is of an increase in cereal production with a number of countries registering positive growth.

According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Crop Prospects and Food Situation, July, 2014, Zimbabwe will have the highest increase registering a high value of 77 percent followed by Sudan at 74.2 percent by the end of 2014.

Other countries with a positive forecast include Madagascar (1.6 percent), Zambia (24.5 percent), and Malawi (5.4 percent). On the other hand, Kenya and Uganda are expected to register a decline at 8.1 percent and 4.5 percent respectively.

The statistical report was presented during the 6th Joint COMESA Technical Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources that took place in Kinshasa, D R Congo from 11-14 November 2014. The three days meeting addressed among others, the food security situation in the COMESA Region including the regional food balance sheet.

The report estimated that agriculture contributes more than 32% of COMESA region’s Gross Domestic Product and employs about 80% of its labour force.

“The sector is also important for its contribution to food security, contributes more than 50% of raw material to industrial sector and generation of about 65% foreign exchange for a greater part of the region,” the report said.

In order to sustain the growth in production, COMESA has developed a number of regional policy harmonization programmes and initiatives especially towards national policy frameworks. “The programmes are aimed at addressing the regional challenge facing the COMESA region in ensuring food security and how to stimulate strong and dynamic agriculture-industry link through sustainable increases in overall agricultural production,” the report said.

Among them is the harmonization of fertilizer policies and regulations. Working through its specialized agency, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa Region (ACTESA) and the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) COMESA has formulated a program on the harmonization of fertilizer policies and regulations in the ESA region.

The program comes in six phases including the review of the national fertilizer policies and regulations, validation of the national fertilizer policies and regulations, and harmonization of technical standards and regulations. Other phases involve the drafting of harmonized COMESA fertilizer policies and regulations and approval through COMESA policy organs and their domestication.

The other is the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). This is an initiative of the African Union that encourages at least 10% budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector in order to achieve 6% annual growth rate.

So far 14 COMESA countries have signed their national CAADP Compacts which commits them to implement the identified priority programmes. These include Burundi, Djibouti, D R Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The regional CAADP Compact was signed Friday 14 November 2014 between COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya and various cooperating partners involved in diverse aspects of its implementation. The regional compact focuses on trans-boundary programmes that benefit more than one Member State.