This document discusses coordinating disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts in agriculture and food security across countries in the Zambezi River Basin. It outlines several discussion topics for country-level institutional coordination structures and mechanisms, including key DRR government entities, stakeholders in agriculture and food security, and links between DRR initiatives and conservation agriculture programs. The document also describes the objectives, pillars, outputs, and implementation arrangements of a project to strengthen resilience to food insecurity and agricultural losses from floods and droughts. The project will train farmers on improved practices, provide inputs, and strengthen coordination between national food security and DRR partners through knowledge sharing and monitoring.

1. Disaster Risk Management in Food Security and Agriculture
Group discussions:
Country level DRR Institutional coordination structures and mechanisms,
linkages to good practices in agriculture and food security, such as CA as
well as the outreach to communities.
• Country: Case studies
1. What is the key DRR government coordination entity in this country
2. Who are the Key stakeholders in the Agriculture, food and nutrition component
of DRR (use broad classifications)
3. How is DRR linked to National CA/CSA initiatives at the national level? What are
the opportunities to strengthen these?
4. How could short-term DRR programmes be better coordinated to have
cumulative longer term effects to communities?
5. What mechanism does DRR use to harness best practices in agriculture?

5. Problem analysis
Food
insecurity
Poor access to
yield enhancing
knowledge/
technologies &
gender
inequality
Land
degradation
Low
Productivity
Hazards

6. Objective:
To strengthen the resilience of vulnerable
communities and household livelihoods to the risk of
food insecurity and agriculture losses caused by
seasonal floods and droughts in the Zambezi Basin.

7. Project action pillars
Training;
Proven agric & FS
DRR technologies
Coordination,
and
knowledge
sharing
Analysis;
Standardized
M&E
framework

8. Outputs and activities
Output 1: Appropriate interventions to address agriculture and
food security constraints and opportunities are implemented.
a) Strengthen partnerships with the private sector in inputs delivery and produce
marketing
b) Provide Training to Lead Farmers (30 in Namibia and 60 in Zambia) on improved
agricultural practices, dry season cropping, GAPs /Conservation Agriculture, early
maturing varieties
c) Promote own-farm seed multiplication of identified and appropriate early
maturing crop varieties to increase local seed availability
d) Provide food security trainings to LFs; business and marketing skills, Gender, HIV
and AIDS, and nutrition as well as post- harvest storage.
e) Provide agricultural inputs (sorghum, millet, legumes, vegetables seeds and
fertilizers) to beneficiaries
f) Establish demonstration sites managed by LF/FFs to demonstrate promote proven
technologies and best practices

9. Outputs and activities
Output 2: Strengthened coordination and sharing of lessons learnt among
stakeholders implementing food security and agriculture DRR initiatives.
a) Conduct an analysis of the benefits of the FS DRR approach.
b) Engage with national level food security and DRR coordination
mechanisms to share best practices and lessons learned
c) Support and facilitate greater interaction among the national and
regional partners with other food security and DRR national and regional
stakeholders
d) Facilitate linkage between the project activities and existing national,
regional and global information and early warning systems.
e) Develop a common M&E framework with partners, defining activity
schedules and common indicators, an information sharing system for
regular reporting
f) Document Best Practices and lessons learned
g) Share best practices and lessons learned through end- of project
workshop.

10. Framework/Target
• The project was a follow-up to the previous Food security DRR project
that was implemented in 2011/12 to complement the on-going Zambezi
River Basin Initiative
• Geographically, the project covered the Caprivi region (Namibia) and the
districts of Kazungula, Sesheke and Siavonga (Zambia).
• Targeted beneficiaries was 300 in Caprivi and 600 in Zambia

11. Implementation arrangements
• Multi-partner arrangement between FAO, the IFRC and national partners
• IFRC through its National Societies in Namibia and the MAWF/MAL will
implement the activities
• FAO in REOSA will sign an LoA with IFRC for implementation of Namibia
component

12. Roles and Responsibilities
Roles/activity Country
Namibia Zambia
Regional Project
Coordination
FAO
Project Coordination IFRC/NRCS FAO Zambia
Project implementation IFRC/NRCS IFRC/ZRCS
Ministry of Agriculture Water
and Forestry- Trainings
MAL- Trainings
FAO Zambia- CA Trainings
(Supportive)
FAO Zambia
(Supportive)
Beneficiary selection IFRC/NRCS/MAWF IFRC/ZRCS/MAL
Inputs procurements FAO Namibia FAO Zambia
Inputs distribution IFRC/NRCS IFRC/ZRCS
M&E IFRC/NRCS/FAO IFRC/ZRCS/MAL/FAO

13. Disaster Risk Management in Food and Agriculture