scholarly journals Understanding Adoption and Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hambulo Ngoma ◽  
Arild Angelsen ◽  
Thomas S. Jayne ◽  
Antony Chapoto
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Environmental Objectives ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
Capital Intensive

Conservation Agriculture (CA) aims to concurrently promote agricultural productivity, local livelihoods, climate resilience and other environmental objectives. We review the emerging evidence base in Eastern and Southern Africa to address whether CA is climate smart and why adoption rates by smallholders remain generally very low. We first develop an adoption framework that can be used to assess when and where the different components of CA are expected to be adopted under different conditioning factors and consider options to make CA climate smart. Our results suggest that CA can contribute positively to productivity and adaptation/resilience objectives, although the degree of success varies considerably by farm, household and regional characteristics. Overall, we find that capital-intensive (mechanized) CA is more likely to be adopted in areas of economic dynamism where capital is cheap relative to labor. Labor-intensive CA practices are more likely to be adopted in regions of economic stagnation where capital is expensive, and labor is abundant and cheap. A subnational focus is needed to identify economic conditions of different regions and agro-ecological zones and to test hypotheses derived from the framework in this paper and to propose the most appropriate CA packages for promotion. Our findings suggest that labor using variants of CA such as planting basins are more likely to be adopted than are capital using mechanized options in densely populated parts of Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe where labor is abundant, and presumably cheap, but capital is expensive. However, rising land scarcity (prices) and wages in the region present an opportunity for capital intensive, mechanized CA operations to be adopted if the cost of capital can be kept low and if there is a supportive environment for mechanization. We conclude that CA is climate smart and if adopted widely, it has the potential to help build resilience in smallholder farming systems. CA can be more climate smart, and its uptake can be enhanced by reframing, better targeting, adapting CA to location-specific economic and biophysical, and through greater and more effective public spending on agricultural research and development.

The Role of Mucuna pruriens in Smallholder Farming Systems of Eastern and Southern Africa: A Review

2019 ◽  
pp. 485-498
Author(s):  
Tarirai Muoni ◽  
Ingrid Öborn ◽  
Blessing Mhlanga ◽  
Irene Okeyo ◽  
Mary Mutemi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Mucuna Pruriens ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Smallholder Farming Systems ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa

scholarly journals Wheat yield gaps across smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
João Vasco Silva ◽  
Pytrik Reidsma ◽  
Frédéric Baudron ◽  
Moti Jaleta ◽  
Kindie Tesfaye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Yield Gap ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Yield Gaps

AbstractWheat yields in Ethiopia need to increase considerably to reduce import dependency and keep up with the expected increase in population and dietary changes. Despite the yield progress observed in recent years, wheat yield gaps remain large. Here, we decompose wheat yield gaps in Ethiopia into efficiency, resource, and technology yield gaps and relate those yield gaps to broader farm(ing) systems aspects. To do so, stochastic frontier analysis was applied to a nationally representative panel dataset covering the Meher seasons of 2009 and 2013 and crop modelling was used to simulate the water-limited yield (Yw) in the same years. Farming systems analysis was conducted to describe crop area shares and the availability of land, labour, and capital in contrasting administrative zones. Wheat yield in farmers’ fields averaged 1.9 t ha− 1 corresponding to ca. 20% of Yw. Most of the yield gap was attributed to the technology yield gap (> 50% of Yw) but narrowing efficiency (ca. 10% of Yw) and resource yield gaps (ca. 15% of Yw) with current technologies can nearly double actual yields and contribute to achieve wheat self-sufficiency in Ethiopia. There were small differences in the relative contribution of the intermediate yield gaps to the overall yield gap across agro-ecological zones, administrative zones, and farming systems. At farm level, oxen ownership was positively associated with the wheat cultivated area in zones with relatively large cultivated areas per household (West Arsi and North Showa) while no relationship was found between oxen ownership and the amount of inputs used per hectare of wheat in the zones studied. This is the first thorough yield gap decomposition for wheat in Ethiopia and our results suggest government policies aiming to increase wheat production should prioritise accessibility and affordability of inputs and dissemination of technologies that allow for precise use of these inputs.

Conservation agriculture for climate smart agriculture in smallholder farming systems in Kenya.

2022 ◽  
pp. 431-442
Author(s):  
Alfred Micheni ◽  
Patrick Gicheru ◽  
Onesmus Kitonyo
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yields ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Yield Increase ◽  
Adequate Food ◽  
Labour Requirement ◽  
Smart Agriculture

Abstract Climate change is any significant change in climatic conditions. Such changes may negatively affect productivity of the rain-fed agriculture practised by over 75% of the smallholder Kenyan farmers. The effect leads to failure to sustainably provide adequate food and revenue to famers. It is on this basis that an almost 8-year field study was conducted to evaluate and scale climate resilient agricultural technological options associated with Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems and practices (no-till; maintenance of permanent soil cover; and crop diversification - rotations and associations), complemented with good agricultural strategies. The activities involved were targeted to sustainably increase productivity of maize-legumes farming systems while reducing environmental risks. The results showed improved soil properties (physical, chemical and health) and consequently increased crop yields and human nutrition by over 30%. Such benefits were attributed to cost savings arising from NT and reduced labour requirement for weed control. This was further based on enhanced crop soil moisture and nutrients availability and use efficiency leading to over 25% yield increase advantage. Apart from the field trials, the study used the Agricultural Production Simulator (APSIM) computer model to simulate CA scenario with the aim of providing potential quick answers to adopting CA practices for farm system productivity. The results were inclusively shared, leading to over 21% increase in the number of farmers adopting the CA practices within and beyond the project sites. The study's overall recommendation affirmed the need to integrate the CA practices into Kenyan farming systems for sustainable agricultural livelihoods and economic opportunities.

scholarly journals Temporal rainfall trend analysis in different agro-ecological regions of southern Africa

Water SA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (4 October) ◽  
Author(s):  
W Mupangwa ◽  
R Makanza ◽  
L Chipindu ◽  
M Moeletsi ◽  
S Mkuhlani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Daily Rainfall ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Seasonal Rainfall ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Significant Linear Trend ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Linear Trends

Rainfall is a major driver of food production in rainfed smallholder farming systems. This study was conducted to assess linear trends in (i) different daily rainfall amounts (<5, 5–10, 11–20, 21–40 and >40 mm∙day-1), and (ii) monthly and seasonal rainfall amounts. Drought was determined using the rainfall variability index. Daily rainfall data were derived from 18 meteorological stations in southern Africa. Daily rainfall was dominated by <5 mm∙day-1 followed by 5–10 mm∙day-1. Three locations experienced increasing linear trends of <5 mm∙day-1 amounts and two others in sub-humid region had increases in the >40 mm day-1 category. Semi-arid location experienced increasing trends in <5 and 5–10 mm∙day-1 events. A significant linear trend in seasonal rainfall occurred at two locations with decreasing rainfall (1.24 and 3 mm∙season-1). A 3 mm∙season-1 decrease in seasonal rainfall was experienced under semi-arid conditions. There were no apparent linear trends in monthly and seasonal rainfall at 15 of the 18 locations studied. Drought frequencies varied with location and were 50% or higher during the November–March growing season. Rainfall trends were location and agro-ecology specific, but most of the locations studied did not experience significant changes between the 1900s and 2000s.

scholarly journals Strategies for the development of the sweetpotato early generation seed sector in eastern and southern Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Srinivasulu Rajendran ◽  
Lydia N. Kimenye ◽  
Margaret McEwan
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Early Generation ◽  
Business Plans ◽  
Seed Supply ◽  
Business Opportunities ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa

AbstractSmallholders in Eastern and Southern Africa(ESA) have limited access to timely availability of quality sweetpotato seed which contributes to sub-optimal root yields. To enhance availability and access to quality seed it is necessary to link formal plant breeding efforts to a sustainable seed supply system by means of identifying business opportunities for sweetpotato Early Generation Seed (EGS) producers. In most ESA countries, public institutions have the sole mandate for EGS production, but have not adopted an explicit business orientation. The study used primary information collected from business plans prepared by eight National Agricultural Research Institutions(NARIs) in seven countries in ESA. This study first analyzed the overall business opportunities for public institutions using a Strengths, Weaknesses Opportunities, and Threats(SWOT) tool and then a Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses and Strengths (TOWS) approach was used to transform the SWOT results into strategies for the further development of the early generation seed sector. It was concluded that over a five to ten year period, the NARIs do have a business case for production of sweetpotato EGS. However, to capitalise on this NARIs and policy makers need to take up there commendations from the TOWS analysis to refine strategies for exploiting opportunities in the business environment and for mitigating weaknesses to reduce vulnerability to any identified threats to the potential business in EGS.

COMMENT ON ‘DE ROO ET AL. (2019). ON-FARM TRIALS FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPACT? THE ORGANIZATION OF RESEARCH AND THE SCALING OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES’

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATRICK C. WALL ◽  
CHRISTIAN L. THIERFELDER ◽  
ISAIAH NYAGUMBO ◽  
LEONARD RUSINAMHODZI ◽  
WALTER MUPANGWA
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Successful Development ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Scaling Out

SUMMARYIn their recent paper ‘On-farm trials for development impact? The organization of research and the scaling of agricultural technologies’, de Roo, Andersson and Krupnik report on three case studies, each undertaken by one of the authors, of projects conducting on-farm research. They reach conclusions on the limitations of the projects themselves and the effects of ‘donor dependency’, and propose a strategy to overcome these issues. However, the description of the philosophy, strategies and conduct of the projects reviewed in the southern African case study is incomplete and misleading, and shows that the case study author did not understand or overlooked important project components. Due to this the conclusions reached, insofar as this case study is concerned, are largely either invalid or already contemplated in the project activities. Here, we describe more fully the philosophy and strategies followed by the series of projects on which the case study was conducted, which were designed to facilitate, through the upscaling of project methodologies, the eventual outscaling and widespread adoption of more sustainable farming systems by smallholder farmers in eastern and southern Africa. We propose these methodologies as a valid comprehensive approach to the organization of agricultural research for development for the successful development, scaling-up and scaling-out of agricultural technologies.

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