Strengthening Southern Africa’s NDCs to Bolster Farmers’ Interests

The document argues that while most Southern African NDCs mention agriculture, they often lack quantifiable commitments, detailed financing plans, and inclusive governance. It recommends that revised NDCs explicitly include farmers as active agents of change, integrate gender and youth considerations, and establish multi-stakeholder platforms to ensure agricultural interests are reflected in climate action and sustainable development goals.

• Most Southern African countries include agriculture in their NDCs, but many lack sector-specific, quantifiable commitments and detailed information on necessary governance mechanisms or the support required for implementation.
• There is a significant gap in explicit financing requirements for agricultural adaptation; among Southern African countries, only Zimbabwe has identified its specific financing needs, totaling $35 billion.
• Current NDCs in the region frequently overlook the disproportionate impact of climate change on poor farmers, women, and youth, and often fail to address social equality, human rights, and food security.
• Agricultural emissions and mitigation strategies in NDCs often ignore the impact of food waste and urbanisation; globally, food waste accounts for 6% of greenhouse gas emissions, yet few Southern African countries address this in their policies.
• Farmers and national farmers' organisations (NFOs) are generally excluded from climate policy formulation and are often portrayed as passive victims rather than active agents for change.
• Effective NDC implementation requires improved intergovernmental coordination and the mainstreaming of agricultural considerations across multiple ministries, as these responsibilities are often fragmented.

APA

Chevallier, R., Mabuza, M., Thornton, P., & Cramer, L. (2021). Strengthening Southern Africa’s NDCs to Bolster Farmers’ Interests. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Policy-Insights-103-chevallier.pdf

Chicago

Chevallier, Romy, Majola Mabuza, Philip Thornton, and Laura Cramer. Strengthening Southern Africa’s NDCs to Bolster Farmers’ Interests. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2021. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Policy-Insights-103-chevallier.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chevallier |first1=Romy |last2=Mabuza |first2=Majola |last3=Thornton |first3=Philip |last4=Cramer |first4=Laura |title=Strengthening Southern Africa’s NDCs to Bolster Farmers’ Interests |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Policy-Insights-103-chevallier.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chevallier2021strengthening, author = {Chevallier, Romy and Mabuza, Majola and Thornton, Philip and Cramer, Laura}, title = {{Strengthening Southern Africa’s NDCs to Bolster Farmers’ Interests}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Policy-Insights-103-chevallier.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }