Q10 - Agriculture: GeneralReturn

This paper reviews the agricultural sector performance of Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, specifically the efficiency of agricultural production and the overall competitiveness of their agricultural sectors. The study uses data spanning the period from 2001 to 2019 to assess agricultural production performance, and from 2001 to 2021 to investigate the competitiveness of the agricultural sectors. Using Malmquist productivity indices, the findings reveal that while overall productivity has increased in SADC, with 11 out of 15 countries recording an upward trajectory during the review period, technological progress has regressed. The gains in productivity have been driven by technical efficiency rather than advancements in technology. On the other hand, the Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage (NRCA) index shows that 11 out of the 16 SADC countries were competitive, especially among diversified economies like South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, compared to less diversified countries. This demonstrates that diversification plays a critical role in resilience to shocks such as climate change, variability, and global commodity price fluctuations. The findings further reveal that mineral-rich countries have less competitive agricultural sectors, potentially reflecting the presence of Dutch disease. These findings highlight the need to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) not only to reduce the funding gap in the agricultural sectors of SADC countries but also to bring much-needed technological innovation that can drive agricultural productivity, meet the food needs of the fast-growing population, and contribute to the overall growth of their economies.

The aim of this article is to provide theoretical information on the importance of local economy and factors that influence the development of local food systems, to describe current trends towards decentralization of food production and to bring best practices in supporting local food production. Local food production is represented by local farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises that produce local food using local natural, financial, and human resources. The development of local entrepreneurship provides benefits not only for local people but also for cities, regions, and the state. Supporting local entrepreneurship is important for food self-sufficiency and resilience in an area, especially to ensure a functional food chain for its inhabitants. In the past decade, the preference for local food among consumers has increased rapidly, mainly due to the quality and safety of good local food, the freshness, and the immediate availability of the local production. Sustainability, in the form of reducing negative environmental impacts, also plays a key role in supporting the development of local production. The high importance of self-sufficiency in the food supply chains has appeared during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues in the energy crisis during the autumn / winter of 2022. Resilient and sustainable local food systems can ensure relevant food security for the states and long-term occupation for the inhabitants that work in local production/or local food systems. Used methodology is a narrative review, that is summarizing the functions and importance of the actors of the local food system and its development. The review is supported by the qualitative research using method of the structured expert interviews. The objective of the qualitative research was to identify motivations and barriers to local entrepreneurship and to identify key areas of support. The findings suggest that appropriate legislative support to create local food systems, reduce administrative burdens and educate consumers could bring a number of benefits to the region, such as social, economic and environmental benefits, as well as consumer benefits in the form of fresh and quality locally produced food.