SADC agriculture ministers will meet in Victoria Falls on May 29 amid growing regional pressure to strengthen food security, climate resilience and agricultural productivity following successive drought shocks and rising concerns over long-term food systems sustainability across Southern Africa.
The Joint Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Agriculture, Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture is expected to review the region’s 2025/26 agricultural season, assess rainfall performance and consider production forecasts for the 2026/27 season.
In a statement, SADC said the meeting would focus on “regional issues aimed at advancing food and nutrition security and the blue economy in the SADC region.”
The regional bloc said ministers would review implementation of previous Summit, Council and Ministerial decisions while deliberating on “measures to accelerate transformation of food systems, strengthen resilience, and harness the blue economy in the SADC region.”
The meeting comes as several SADC member states continue rebuilding from El Niño-induced drought conditions that affected crop yields, water availability and rural livelihoods in recent seasons, with governments increasingly prioritising climate-smart agriculture, irrigation expansion and regional seed harmonisation systems.
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South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, John Steenhuisen, will chair the meeting in his capacity as chairperson of the Joint Committee of SADC Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Senior officials from member states are scheduled to meet ahead of the ministerial session between May 27 and 28.
According to SADC, ministers will receive “an update on the current food and nutrition security situation, review the 2025/26 rainfall performance and production outlook, and consider the season forecast for 2026/2027.”
The meeting will also examine findings from the Fifth Biennial Review of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, progress under the Support Towards the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy project and strategies aimed at advancing youth participation in agribusiness across the region.
Additional agenda items include updates on the SADC Rice Development Strategy, regional crop development programmes, harmonised fertilizer regulatory frameworks and regional plant health systems.
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