Best Practice

The Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) embarked on an effort to promote sustainable value-addition to commonly grown food legumes and increase incomes among smallholder farmers in Zambézia and Niassa Provinces (Guruè, Lichinga, Cuamba, Muembe and Chimbonila Districts). About 913 small-scale farmers (610 females) were trained in legume grain selection, packaging, sealing and labelling. Forty (40) Extension staff were also trained so that they could train other farmers not reached by the project. APPSA introduced new agro- processing technologies of legumes in the same five districts, where the farmers were trained in processing of the legumes into different legume products. Farmers applied the agro-processing skills they learnt to improve food security and generate income through sales of their products.

A farmer in Kilolo explains why he practices burning and what he observes after burning. Photo: Kelvin Shikuku and Caroline Mwongera.

In Namibia, agriculture employs 30% of the labour force and contributes 7.5% to GDP. More than 60% of the farming is done by subsistence farmers. The sector is facing challenges such as low soil fertility and water shortage. To counter these challenges, sustainable land management practices are needed, but subsistence farmers face constraints in adopting these practices. Hence, this study was conducted to identify what practices the farmers are currently using and what constraints they are facing in adopting sustainable land management practices. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 farmers in the Oshikoto Region. The interviews were recorded, transcribed word for word and thematic analysis applied to the answers. The study showed that the farmers were using some sustainable practices such as manure and mould from termite hills as fertilizer. However, unsustainable practices such as tractor-drawn disk harrows and inorganic fertilizer were also used. The constraints that affectfarmers’ adoption of sustainable land management practices include climate characteristics,especially low and unpredictable rainfall; limited farmland size; lack of extension services and institutional support; labour shortages; and lack of finances and other resources. Based on these findings it is recommended that extension delivery to farmers in the study area must be strengthened, that projects combating climate change must be down streamed to subsistencefarmers, and that farmers should be encouraged and supported to use ‘easy to adopt’sustainable practices, e.g. crop rotation and ripping. It is also suggested that long-term weather forecasts should be made available to the farmers through the radio. This could have a significantly positive impact on the environment as well as on subsistence farmers’ situationand household food security.

This document describes the requirements to move dogs and cats out of or into Botswana successfully without putting the animals in distress.

Este é o 2o volume de uma coleção de histórias do Secretariado da SADC informando os cidadãos da SADC e criando consciência sobre impactos positivos dos protocolos, acordos, políticas e estrategias. A ambição é de ilustrar precisamente como os programmas de integração regional da SADC mudam as vidas dos cidadãos da SADC para o melhor. Para destacar alguns, no rio Zambezi, está em construção a Ponte Kazungula que vai em breve formar uma maior ligação no coração da região SADC. Em Malawi tem o tomate Bvumbwe, evoluído para responder às condições específicas da região e às demandas da população da SADC. Em Walvis Bay, Namibia, e Nacala, Mozambique, existem dois pontos de entrada para a rede crescendo de corridores de desenvolvimento, justapostos, qual a região SADC quer desenvolver na próximas decadas. 

Il s'agit du deuxième volume d'un recueil d'histoires du Secrétariat de la SADC visant à informer les citoyens de la SADC et à les sensibiliser davantage aux impacts positifs des protocoles, accords, politiques et stratégies de la SADC.  Il cherche à brosser un tableau précis de la manière dont les programmes d'intégration régionale de la SADC changent pour le mieux la vie des citoyens de la SADC. Pour n'en citer que quelques-uns, au Zambèze, il y a la construction du pont de Kazungula, qui constituera bientôt une importante liaison de transport au cœur de la région de la SADC. Au Malawi, il y a la tomate de Bvumbwe, qui a été développée pour répondre aux conditions spécifiques de cette région et aux besoins de la population de la SADC.  Et dans la baie de Walvis en Namibie et à Nacala au Mozambique, il y a deux points d'entrée au réseau croissant de corridors de développement le long desquels la région SADC se développera dans les décennies à venir.

This is the 2nd volume of a collection of stories by SADC Secretariat to inform SADC citizens and enhance awareness about the positive impacts of SADC  protocols, agreements, policies and strategies.  It seeks to paint an accurate picture of how SADC regional integration programmes are changing the lives of SADC citizens for the better. Just to highlight a few, at the Zambezi River, there is the construction of the Kazungula Bridge that will soon form a major transport link in the heart of the SADC region. In Malawi, there is the Bvumbwe tomato, which was developed to address the specific conditions of this region and the needs of the SADC population.  And in Namibia’s Walvis Bay and Mozambique’s Nacala, there are two entry points to the growing network of development corridors alongside which the SADC region will develop in the coming decades.

A wide range of indigenous vegetables are consumed in Malawi. These contribute greatly to the nutritional well-being of rural people by providing the essential nutrients required for body growth and development and for prevention of diseases associated with nutritional deficiencies, such as blindness due to vitamin A deficiency. Rural families traditionally have made conscious efforts to preserve these plants around their homesteads, in crop fields and communal lands. In recent years, however, exotic vegetables have taken prominence over indigenous vegetables, in spite of their generally lower nutritive value. The availability of indigenous vegetables has declined drastically because of excessive cultivation of field crops and habitat change, including deforestation. This has been exacerbated by a lack of major research and extension efforts to improve their husbandry and promote these species. Thus, the plants must be gathered at increasing distances from human dwellings, and rural women spend more valuable time in search of them. There is also growing ignorance among young people about the existence of these nutritionally rich food plants. The decline in the use of indigenous vegetables by many rural people has resulted in poor diets and increased incidence of nutritional deficiency disorders and diseases in many parts of the country.

To improve the status of indigenous vegetables in Malawi, a long-term research project was implemented at Bunda College of Agriculture to collect and catalogue indigenous vegetable germplasm and to develop production technologies for smallholder adoption.

In the light of the seasonal outlook as produced by the South African Weather Service (SAWS), the following advisory guidelines are suggested. It is emphasized that these advisories are broad guidelines and should be interpreted considering the local aspects of the region such as soil types, cultural preferences and farming systems. Depending on the particular region, the prioritization of the guidelines will differ. The basic strategy to follow would be to minimize and diversify risk, optimize soil water availability and to manage the renewable resources (rain water and grazing) to uphold sound farming objectives. Long-term mitigation strategies should be considered by implementing techniques to enhance in-field water harvesting by reducing run-off and improving infiltration. Reduced tillage methods are very important in this regard, as is basin tillage, to capture rainwater in the drier areas. The provinces should further simplify, downscale and package the information according to their language preference and if possible use local media and farmers’ days to disseminate the information. Users are advised to be on the look-out and act on the daily extreme weather warnings as well as the monthly advisory.

In Lesotho, FAO is distributing a series of illustrated guides, in English and Sesotho, to encourage and facilitate the construction of homestead gardens. The gardens are easily built using locally available material and are specially designed to improve soil fertility and capture moisture. With minimum maintenance, they can provide vegetables all year round.