Sustainable agricultural development among the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) : considering integrated development planning practices and institutional arrangements

Abstract

Following on the article by Müller entitled Sustainable Development: The Question of Integration and Coordination (Journal of Public Administration, September 2004: 398), this article explores the issues of integratedness and coordination within an SADC agricultural development context. It is clear from literature surveys that a plethora of approaches and theories exist pertaining to these issues. Since agriculture forms an important development arena in southern Africa, it may facilitate an exciting discourse on the way ahead as far as integrated development planning practices and possible institutional arrangements are concerned. This article presents agriculture in the SADC as an important development sector, which could improve the food security situation in the whole region. If the SADC’s agriculture development disposition could be improved, the result may be that other dilemmas such as poverty, wars, and disease could be curtailed to an extent. It is argued that an issue-driven approach for the SADC and its member states in development planning is needed, whist focusing on integratedness and cooperativeness between all role players on all levels in order to achieve sustainability under NEPAD’s agricultural strategies. In addition, certain options are presented on possible institutional levels upon which agricultural development should be located and from where such programmes and projects should be directed.