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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sub-regional office for southern Africa (SFS) is set to put its 2022 implementation plan in motion as it holds its 15th Multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting for the Southern Africa sub-region. The SFS MDT meeting is an annual event which provides a platform for different FAO offices, SFS country member states, Regional Economic Communities and other key stakeholders to discuss, dialogue, exchange information and knowledge on pertinent development and partnership issues on FAO’s work in Southern Africa. The meeting will be held from 7 to 9 December 2021 as a hybrid event hosted from Harare. Honourable Minister Dr Anxious Masuka, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MoLAFWRD) of Zimbabwe will officially open the meeting.
The 15th SFS-MDT meeting discussions will focus on critical issues facing programming and delivery in the sub-region and the country representations; in particular the coherence between the articulated priorities at the level of countries and relevant regional economic communities and policy and technical support requirements. This year’s MDT meeting will be held under the theme: “Towards Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive Food Systems - Positioned for delivery in the face of multiple challenges.”
“Last year, the 14th MDT meeting’s theme was ‘preparing to deliver in the face of multiple challenges’ and this year, we are building on the preparations and experiences and have embarked on delivering in the face of multiple challenges including COVID-19,” said Patrice Talla, FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Southern Africa and FAO Representative for Eswatini, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
The 15th SFS-MDT meeting is being held following a reorganization of teams and processes aimed at making the sub-regional office fit-for-purpose in achieving the Four Betters (better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life) as well as Programme Priorities enshrined in the FAO Strategic Framework (2022-2031).
“The Sub-regional Office, with support from the Regional Office for Africa and FAO Head Quarters, is more than ever positioned to support member countries with innovative solutions to the impending challenges and to reach SDG 1 (ENDING POVERTY) and SDG 2 (ENDING HUNGER) in southern Africa,” added Talla.
FAO Assistant Director-General Dr Abebe Haile-Gabriel and FAO Regional Representative for Africa will deliver a remark on FAO’s work and priorities in the Africa Region. Also in attendance will be Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives of SADC countries to Rome-based Agencies; Permanent Secretaries and Principal Directors from FAO Partner Ministries in the 15 member states, resource partners and representatives of SADC, COMESA, IOC, AU-NEPAD.
Ahead of next year’s Africa Regional Conference (ARC32) to be hosted by Equatorial Guinea in April 2022, the meeting will discuss progress made on ARC 31 and undertake consultations on ARC32 priorities. The meeting will also deliberate on FAO’s achievements from the previous year and plans and priorities for the next biennium.
“The next three days are at our disposal to plan, interact and learn as well as document and share experiences. The deliberations will inform how we strategically coordinate our efforts for effective implementation and successful delivery of our programmes in the next 12 months,” concluded Patrice Talla.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of FAO Regional Office for Africa.
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