PREAMBL E WE, the representatives of the Governments of : The Republic of Angol a The Republic of Botswana The Democratic Republic of Cong o The Kingdom of Lesoth o The Republic of Madagascar The Republic of Malaw i The Republic of Mauritius The Republic of Mozambique The Republic of Namibi a The Republic of Seychelle s The Republic of South Africa The Kingdom of Swazilan d The United Republic of Tanzania The Republic of Zambi a The Republic of Zimbabwe ACKNOWLEDGING that the capacity of the SADC region scientifi c community to undertake and manage research and development (R&D), an d related training activities has increased considerably; CONVINCED that cooperation in agricultural R&D would enhance efficiency i n achieving results to help alleviate the common problems of poverty , unemployment, food insecurity, land degradation, recurring droughts an d improving sustainable regional agricultural productivity ; DESIROUS of promoting sustainable and pro-poor growth through th e collaborative development of appropriate technologies to enhance agricultura l production and natural resource management ; DETERMINED to translate Pillar 4 of the NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Framework for Africa n Agricultural Productivity (FAAP) on agricultural research, technolog y generation, dissemination and adoption into action in order to achieve tangibl e sustainable results and impacts in the SADC region ; ACKNOWLEDGING that the principle of subsidiarity, as expressed by th e SADC Council of Ministers at its meeting in Grand Baie, Mauritius, in 2004, i s cost-effective and promotes accountability and sustainability ; REAFFIRMING the Plan of Action from the SADC Extra-Ordinary Summit o n Agriculture and Food Security in Dar-es-Salaam on 15 th May 2004, known as the "Dar-es-Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security", and th e Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) as the guiding polic y documents for SADC ; 2