In a bid to boost climate smart agriculture in the region, COMESA invited proposals from potential implementers in December 2012. Over 130 proposals were received by the Secretariat and these were reviewed by technical experts from the Secretariat, EAC, SADC, and UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). The experts spent the week of 24 February to 01 March 2013 at Protea Safari lodge, Chisamba, in Zambia, going through preliminary assessments of the submissions.
The successful applicants will be notified of the outcome of their bid in early April 2013, once an investment board has made its final selection, and a further call for bids will be made in mid 2013.
In December 2012, the Secretariat announced a call for proposals for “Up-scaling Climate Smart Agriculture” under the programme on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA-EAC-SADC) region.
The scheme will be spearheaded by the results facility established under the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite, supported by DFID.
The potential bidders were to request for up to British Pounds £1,000,000, provided they were able to demonstrate value for money. The bids were invited from CSOs/NGOs, research organisations, and the private sector active in any country in the COMESA-EAC-SADC region, with strong linkages to local institutions, and a demonstrable capacity built with local partners.
The successful organisations will be expected, among others, to support the adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices and strengthen applied research and knowledge management vis-à-vis CSA. The initiatives whose results will be sustained following the end of the project will be particularly favoured, as are those which leverage this investment to engage other partners or deliver larger impact.
Conservation agriculture is defined as reduced tillage, mulching, inter-cropping with legumes, integrating trees into farms, improved rangeland management, and other agricultural practices that build climate resilience or mitigate climate change.