The programme is expected to contribute towards the improvement of rural household food security and livelihoods in the COMESA region. It is expected that over the next two years, the project will improve smallholders’ access to agro inputs and will improve the regional legal frameworks so as to increase agricultural productivity.
“The project will alleviate the constraints faced by smallholder farmers who want to access seeds, fertilisers and financing in order to increase the volume of their staple crop production,” said Comesa secretary general, Sindiso Ngwenya.
The project finds its origins in the decisions taken by the COMESA Council of Ministers in 2008 to facilitate regional seed trade and provide farmers with more crop and variety options at lower prices.
It will be implemented by the newly created Agricultural Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), a COMESA mechanism to support and coordinate agricultural markets and food security activities at regional level.
Post published in: Economy