Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) welcomes the approval of the National Resilience Strategy by Cabinet as this has been long standing. The approved National Resilience Strategy is in line with CISANET priorities and interventions under the AFRICAP project currently being implemented in Malawi by CISANET in collaboration with the University of Leeds and FANRPAN and designed to build the resilience of African food and agriculture systems. At a time when Malawi is considered as one of the world’s most hungry nations, and given the extent of vulnerabilities among smallholder farmers, the need for a long-term resilience strategy cannot be overemphasized.
The bridging of development and humanitarian interventions as well as the proposed multi-sectoral approach outlined to achieve the objectives are features of the strategy that CISANET greatly appreciates. CISANET however notes the existing challenges associated with implementation of this strategy, particularly those related to (1) Government commitment and budget allocation and (2) collaboration and coordination.
CISANET therefore appeals to Government to prioritize the operationalization of the strategy as an effective tool for responding to chronic food and nutrition insecurity. The Network asks Government to take a strong lead by ensuring the coordination of processes and adequate budgetary allocation towards the four pillars of the Strategy, one of which is resilient agricultural growth.
CISANET also appeals to stakeholders to align their interventions with the strategy, and to closely collaborate towards the achievement of the strategy’s objectives. CISANET believes that if effectively implemented the strategy has potential to permanently address the challenge of hunger in Malawi.
About AFRICAP
The Agricultural and Food-system Resilience: Increasing Capacity and Advising Policy (AFRICAP) programme is a four-year research programme focused on improving evidence-based policy making to develop sustainable, productive, agricultural systems, resilient to climate change. The programme is being implemented in Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and the UK led by the University of Leeds, a leading Russell Group university in the north of England, in partnership with the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), a pan-African multi-stakeholder policy network. The programme is funded by the UK Government from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), which aims to support research that addresses critical problems in developing countries across the world. It is administered by the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) – UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Implementing Partners: FANRPAN; University of Leeds; University of Aberdeen; the UK Met Office; Chatham House – Royal Institute of International Affairs; the Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET), Malawi; Department of Agriculture Research Services (DARS), Malawi; National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC), South Africa; Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), Tanzania; and the Agricultural Consultative Forum (ACF), Zambia.
About the Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET)
Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) is a locally registered lead policy advocacy network of civil society organizations in Malawi working on agriculture and food security policy issues affecting not only the smallholder farmers but generally the poor people and their livelihoods. Policy advocacy is the central part of CISANET work. CISANET works with its members at both national and district level to share information on food security issues as well as undertake policy advocacy initiatives which affect the poor. CISANET is the FANRPAN Node coordinating institution in Malawi
For further information contact:
Pamela Kuwali
National Director
Civil Society Agriculture Network
Tel: +265 99 4 232 842
Email: Pamela@cisanetmw.org