A regional workshop on measuring household resilience to food insecurity and climate shocks took place between 16 and 20 December 2024 in Harare, Zimbabwe, bringing together experts from across the continent. Organized by the Government of Zimbabwe and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the workshop was a key initiative in strengthening resilience assessment capacities in African Union (AU) member states as they prepare for the 5th Biennial Review of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) report in 2025. 

FAO’s Agrifood Economics and Policy Division, through its Resilience Analysis for Action (Resilience Measurement and Analysis (RESA) team and tools, played a central role in supporting African countries in tracking resilience to climate variability and other shocks. By equipping national experts with resilience measurement analytical skills and on-site capacity building using FAO’se-Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis tool, 11 more countries managed to calculate and report on household capability to withstand climate and socioeconomic shocks to their food security and nutrition situation.   

Harare workshop equips 11 African countries to report on resilience 

Thanks to the Harare workshop, 11 countries – Angola, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have been trained on how to measure and report their resilience.For the previous4th CAADP Biennial Progress Report in 2023, FAO supported 34 countries in reporting their resilience scoring.Through such capacity-development workshops, technical support and country engagement, FAO hopes to support an even greater number of countries to report on food security and nutrition resilience for the 5thCAADP Biennial Review report due later this year. 

In his opening remarks, Duncan Samikwa, CAADP focal point at the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), emphasized the critical role of resilience measurement in achieving food security and sustainable agricultural transformation. “By strengthening our ability to measure and monitor resilience, we are laying the foundation for sustainable development and food security in Africa”, he said.  

He also highlighted FAO’s support in helping countries fulfil their commitments under the Malabo Declaration, specifically Commitment 6, which focuses on resilience to climate variability. “Since 2017, FAO has been a key partner to the AU, enabling us to assess the resilience of farm, pastoral, and fisher households against climate shocks”, he added.  

At the opening of the workshop, Deputy FAO Representative in Eswatini, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, Louis Muhigirwa, said, "These activities are not merely technical exercises; they are fundamental steps towards building resilient agricultural systems and livelihoods across Africa". 

Looking ahead  

FAO with now work with AU countries to institutionalize the monitoring and reporting of indicator 6.1.i (enhancing resilience of livelihoods and production systems to climate variability and other shocks) in a push to meet the 2025 goal of having at least 30% of farm/pastoral households resilient to shocks. Th Organization will also support calls for investment in resilience initiatives as well as to mainstream resilience and risk management across the continent.