This history illustrates a number of
themes encountered in Swaziland that faces developing
countries and their external partners in Africa and beyond.
Firstly, the history relates the experience of a small and
comparatively insular country in addressing complex

Factsheet

Swaziland as a developing middle income country has continuously sought to create an enabling environment for the development of the agricultural sector. The country has enacted policies and strategies together with programs to facilitate the attainment of growth targets in the agricultural sector (World Bank, 2011).

Factsheet

A 2007 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Swaziland is constructed using data that available during the second half of 2011. The SAM is update of the 2004 SAM using UN National Accounts data, UNComTrade data and selected publications from the IMF, WorldBank and OECD/ADB. The SAM provides a detailed representation of the Swaziland economy.

This first annual trends and outlook (ATOR) report for Swaziland assesses the performance of the agriculture sector in terms of investment, growth, and poverty and hunger outcomes over the period 2000–2011.

Poor land preparation and late planting are among the factors responsible for the decline in food production on customary Swazi Nation Land (SNL). While efforts are being made to develop an improved national land cultivation programme, this process can be helped by identifying factors that influence farmers to use alternative technologies for land cultivation.

Under the current challenges of food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, further provision of ecosystem services and sustainable intensification of agriculture, soil information becomes fundamental to guide wise policies and decisions.

To ensure a food-secure future, farming must become climate resilient. Around the world, governments and communities are adopting innovations that are improving the lives of millions while reducing agriculture’s climate footprint. These successful examples show the many ways climate-smart agriculture can take shape, and should serve as inspiration for future policies and investments.