Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Sydney Simelane, on Tuesday December 16, 2025 officially opened the consultative workshop for the development of the FAO Country Programming Framework (CPF) 2026–2030, urging stakeholders to accelerate efforts towards resilient, inclusive, and sustainable agrifood systems.
He paid tribute to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations for its support during the 2022–2025 CPF, noting its alignment with Eswatini’s National Development Plan, contributions to the Eswatini Agriculture Fund, training farmers in climate-smart agriculture, and construction of shade nets and tunnels for youth farmer groups.
Among the key achievements highlighted were: alignment with Eswatini’s National Development Plan to ensure interventions respond to national priorities; support for the establishment and operationalisation of the Eswatini Agriculture Fund, a critical instrument for financing agricultural development; training farmers on climate-smart agriculture practices to enhance resilience; and construction of shade nets and tunnels for youth farmer groups, promoting youth engagement and sustainable livelihoods.
The Principal Secretary acknowledged that challenges remain, including poverty, food insecurity, youth unemployment, and limited value addition in agricultural value chains.
“The call for agrifood systems transformation to ensure food sovereignty is more urgent than ever. We must build systems that are resilient, inclusive, and capable of withstanding shocks,” he said. He encouraged participants to engage fully, share insights, and propose innovative solutions that will shape a CPF responsive to national needs.
Following the opening, Dr. Cuthbert Kambanje, Agri-Food Systems and Investment Policy Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa, outlined the strategic priorities for Eswatini’s agricultural and food systems over the next five years. “Our focus for 2026–2030 is on two strategic priorities: inclusive social well-being and shared, sustainable prosperity,” Dr. Kambanje said.
He explained that achieving inclusive social well-being involves strengthening health systems, enhancing education and skills, expanding social protection, and improving governance and service delivery.
Dr. Cuthbert Kambanje, shared and sustainable prosperity will focus on transforming agrifood systems, creating jobs, boosting climate resilience, improving disaster preparedness, and mobilizing public resources efficiently. He emphasized that aligning FAO support with national priorities is essential to delivering concrete results for farmers, youth, and vulnerable communities.
Dr. Kambanje highlighted FAO flagship programmes supporting these priorities, including Catalysing Inclusive Investments and Trade in Food Systems, Sustainable Agricultural Mechanisation for Climate Smart Agriculture (SAM4CSA), and the One Health approach to reduce the socio-economic impact of zoonotic and transboundary diseases.
He also underscored the role of innovation and technology, pointing to the Hand-in-Hand data platform, Rural Invest toolkit, Digital Villages Initiative, and Green Cities Initiative (GCI) as key tools to improve market linkages, mobilize investment, and ensure the inclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
Other programmes such as One Country One Priority (OCOP) focus on value chain upgrading, helping smallholder farmers and family enterprises enhance production, distribution, and marketing. Together, these initiatives aim to foster resilient, sustainable, and inclusive agrifood systems across Eswatini.
The CPF 2026–2030 aligns FAO’s regional expertise with national development goals, providing a roadmap for long-term growth that leaves no one behind.
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