Malawi hosts Sadc climate research meet
Researchers and policy makers from the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) on Thursday met in Lilongwe for a two-day regional workshop on climate change adaptation research in agriculture.
The meeting, taking place at Crossroad Hotel, is organised by CAAST-Net Plus, a network of 25 partner organisations from all over Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, working 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, said the meeting is aimed at taking stock of progress in research on climate change in Malawi and the Sadc region.
He said delegates would identify research gaps in agricultural climate change adaptation and constraints to the uptake of existing technologies.
“Our participation in this consortium and consequently hosting this workshop is in tandem with the commission’s legal mandate to promote, support, coordinate and regulate the development and application of research, science and technology,” said Muyepa-Phiri, who opened the meeting.
He said Sadc member States recognise that climate change is unleashing adverse effects in agriculture.
Muyepa-Phiri also noted that climate change is one of the biggest global challenges of the 21st century.
