Malawi hosts Sadc climate change research meet
Delegates comprising researchers and policy makers from the Southern Africa Development Committee (Sadc) region met in Lilongwe for a two day regional workshop on climate change adaptation research in agriculture.
The meeting, which took place at Crossroads Hotel, was organised by CAAST-Net Plus, a network of 25 partner organisations from all over Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, working together to support cooperation in research and innovation in the two regions.
The National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) Director General Antony Muyepa-Phiri , whose organisation is also a CAAST-Net Plus partner organisation, said the meeting was aimed at taking stock of progress in research on climate change in Malawi and the Sadc region.
He said delegates identified research gaps in agricultural climate change adaptation and constraints to the uptake of existing technologies and how the constraints could be overcome.
“Our participation in this consortium and consequently hosting this workshop was in tandem with the commission’s legal mandate which is to promote, support, co-ordinate and regulate the development and application of research, science and technology,” said Muyepa-Phiri, who officially opened the meeting.
He said objectives of the meeting were within the sphere of recognition of Sadc member States that climate change is unleashing several adverse effects in agriculture.
Muyepa-Phiri also noted that climate change is one of the biggest global challenges of the 21st century and said is mainly caused by emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
“For instance, Malawi’s unique and fragile ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change,” he said.
Muyepa-Phiri, however, said climate change adaptation research in agriculture has undoubtedly great potential to help nations world over to speedily attain food security and create wealth for nations.
