Swaziland is moving towards commercial farming #swaziland

In a major effort to revitalize agriculture here, the
government, the European Union and FAO have helped over
20,000 smallholder farmers produce more, higher-quality
food and connect with new markets. Agriculture is on its
way to become a key driver of Swaziland's development.
The vast majority of Swaziland's 1.2 million people depend
on subsistence farming. But years of economic slowdown,
a devastating AIDS pandemic and recent droughts linked to
climate change have made it increasingly hard for the rural
population to live off the land.
According to FAO's most recent hunger figures, one in three
people in Swaziland is undernourished.
Improving the food security and nutrition of vulnerable
communities and helping small holder farmers move away
from subsistence farming are key objectives of the
Swaziland Agricultural Development Project (SADP), a
government-led initiative assisted by the EU and FAO,
which is focused on creating a vibrant commercial
agricultural sector.
After five years, the programme is entering a final phase.
"SADP has touched our smallholder farmers," said
Swaziland's Minister for Agriculture, Moses Vilakati. "It has
helped them become commercial. Continued support is
necessary if we want agriculture to take a lead role in our
economic development."
Moving on
"The European Union is proud to be part of this endeavour
that has reached over 20 000 farmers and has linked
production to processing and marketing," said Nicola
Bellomo, the EU's ambassador to Swaziland. "It shows that
the country wants to move on."
Set up in 2009, SADP first focused on the most vulnerable,
particularly the elderly and Swaziland's youth.
Household gardens allowed vulnerable families to grow
vegetables for their own consumption, or to sell within the
community. Youth groups got assistance to set up small
agribusinesses, including poultry farming, pig raising, or
vegetable and crop production.
Gradually, the project started disseminating good
agricultural practices among Swazi smallholders, helping
them to grow more, better-quality produce while preserving
the environment and reducing pressure on limited natural
resources. Thousands of farmers were trained in such good
practices as conservation agriculture, agro-forestry and
seed multiplication.
In addition, construction and rehabilitation works in the
livestock sector, water infrastructure and government
services have also supported farmers in increasing their
output.
Producing more food meant that farmers needed a way to
sell their surpluses. So a €1 million Marketing Investment
Fund was established to strengthen farmers' links to the
markets by supporting agri-businesses who process and
market the small holder's produce.
A miracle
"Swaziland can make it," said FAO's Nehru Essomba, chief
technical advisor of SADP. "They have the potential to
export. In livestock, for instance. Or in niche crops. All
that's required now is some thinking."
Thinking under SADP has already yielded an impressive
record of institutional support. This is part of SADP's long-
term impact, and can lead the way towards a more
sustainable, high income generating and market oriented
agriculture.
National policies on research and extension have been
updated, while SADP's ultimate legacy is still in the making:
a ten year national agricultural investment plan, currently
being developed.
The plan is being drafted by the government along with help
from the EU and regional partners, such as COMESA and
NEPAD, in the framework of Africa's foremost agricultural
development initiative, known as CAADP.
Aiming at an average annual growth rate of 6 percent in
agriculture by 2015, the governments that have signed up to
this Africa led initiative have agreed to increase public
spending on agriculture by a minimum of 10 per cent of
their national budgets.
In Swaziland, such a paradigm shift could make agriculture
the driver of the country's own ambitious development
plans.
"Our role is to help catalyse them," said Nehru Essomba.
"And then, the miracle can happen."