More than 70% of the people of the Southern African Development Community depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, so a poor rainy season is never only a farming story. This year the 16 member bloc is bracing for a potentially severe El Niño in the 2026/2027 rainy season, and says it is preparing before the shock arrives. El Niño is a periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean that typically brings below average rainfall to much of southern Africa.
SADC points to its presence at the inaugural International Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in Africa, being held in Maputo under the theme “Scaling Proactive Governance and Strategic Investment for Disaster Risk Reduction and a Resilient Africa”, as proof of that intent. SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Corporate Affairs, Judith Kateera, is leading the delegation.
The Head of Communications and Public Relations at the SADC Secretariat, Barbara Lopi, said participation underscores the region’s commitment to advancing proactive disaster risk governance and resilience building. “The conference is taking place at a critical moment when increasing disasters and hazards, such as droughts, floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events, place immense pressure on economies, infrastructure, food systems and vulnerable populations and threaten to reverse development gains in the SADC region and Africa at large.”
The stakes are plain as agriculture remains the backbone of SADC economies and agricultural growth recovered to an estimated 2% to 3% in 2025 after negative growth in 2024, a recovery that the extreme weather Lopi describes could put at risk.
