CSOs want urgent action on drought and food insecurity

What you need to know:

Small scale farmers, churches, rural women, media and civil society in Southern Africa have written to President John Magufuli and his counterparts within the region to act urgently to break the cycle of drought and food insecurity when they convene in Swaziland on Monday next week.

Dar es Salaam. Small scale farmers, churches, rural women, media and civil society in Southern Africa have written to President John Magufuli and his counterparts within the region to act urgently to break the cycle of drought and food insecurity when they convene in Swaziland on Monday next week.

In an open letter, addressed to President Magufuli and his counterparts within the 15-member Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the small scale farmers, churches, rural women, media and civil society want the leaders to respond to the El Nino-related drought and amplify their efforts to build a more resilient, food-secure region. The letter - sent to The Citizen yesterday - is signed by the Southern African Development Community Council of Non-Governmental Organisations, the Eastern and Southern Africa Small Farmers’ Forum, the Rural Women Assembly, the Economic Justice Network of Fellowship of Christian Churches in Southern Africa and Oxfam.

They say their organisations - which work together as the Southern Africa Food and Climate Justice Coalition – welcome the initiatives taken at regional level to respond to the devastating drought, and congratulate the leaders on the approval of the Regional Agricultural Investment Plan. They would however want the leaders to respond to the El Nino-related drought especially this time around when climate change takes grip and the cyclical El Nino phenomenon is becoming more frequent and more intense – affecting our same communities in Southern Africa again and again.