The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), is advancing efforts to reduce pesticide risks and promote biodiversity-friendly agriculture across the region. Agriculture sustains over 70% of the population in SADC’s 16 Member States and contributes significantly to GDP and regional trade. However, agricultural intensification in the subregion has resulted in increased reliance on external inputs such as pesticides, with serious impacts on human and environmental health, especially with the widespread use of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs). 

Under the framework of the EU funded programme on Capacity Building Related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions’ (ACP MEAs) pesticide regulators from 8 SADC countries came together to establish the Southern African Pesticide Regulators’ Forum (SAPReF) in 2011. The main objectives of SAPReF are to promote regional information exchange and collaboration on pesticide and pest management and regulation. The current SAPReF membership comprises 110 pesticide registrars and risk managers from Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Health across all 16 SADC Member States.

FAO, through the third phase of the ACP MEAs programme, organized a regional training workshop for SAPReF in Cape Town from 19-23 May 2025. The workshop brought together 43 participants, including regulators from 15 SADC countries and resource persons from FAO, the International Centre of Personal Protection Equipment (ICPPE), the Centre for Environmental Justice and Development (CEJAD), the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), as well as representatives from the East African Community (EAC) and SADC Secretariats.

The customized training focused on the FAO Pesticide Registration Toolkit (PRT), the registration of biopesticides, operator risk assessment and piloting the operator exposure mitigation tool. “This training supports countries in aligning with international best practices and adopting risk-based decision-making frameworks for sound pesticide management,” said Mr Baogen Gu, FAO Senior Agricultural Officer.

The workshop provided the participants with the opportunity to pilot test a new model developed by ICPPE for operator risk assessment and comment on the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) customized for hot climates and to the needs of women pesticide operators who may not be able to wear the standard coveralls due to cultural norms.

In a notable example of regional cooperation, the workshop was held alongside a regional dialogue on updating National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). This joint setting encouraged cross-sector collaboration between chemical regulators and biodiversity experts and focal points, an important step toward the integrated implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Highlighting progress, Mr Kenneth Chipere, SAPReF Chair, called the workshop timely, as SADC Member States begin implementing their newly approved regional strategy on HHPs and biopesticide registration guidelines.

The ACP MEAs 3 Coordinator, Ms KimAnh Tempelman gave a virtual presentation on Headline indicator 7.2. This indicator, currently under development, aims to measure pesticide risk reduction to biodiversity to achieving Target 7 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

So far, actors working on biodiversity have seldom engaged with those focused on chemical governance and vice versa. However, fully recognizing that agrifood systems matter to biodiversity and that biodiversity matters to agrifood systems is essential. With strong regional engagement and growing momentum, the ACP MEAs 3 programme continues to empower countries to transition toward sustainable, biodiversity-friendly agriculture.