Gender Marker 1

The roles of indigenous crops and plants in improving nutrition and fighting HIV/AIDS Josep A. Garí Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Distance-learning training course to build national capacities for integrating local knowledge into multi-sectoral AIDS projects Vide-conference connection with various African countries 9 September 2005

This report covers activities implemented in 2017 under the five thematic areas of the CCARDESA Revised Medium Term Operational Plan of CCARDESA (2015-2018).

Under the Thematic Area for Farmer Empowerment and Market Access, CCARDESA Secretariat initiated a review of agricultural policies and extension strategies of countries in the region to assess the extent to which countries have mainstreamed climate change adaptation into their policies and strategies. Based on observed gaps, some Member States such as Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe were engaged to facilitate their mainstreaming of climate change adaptation into their national policy and agricultural programmes

The Validation Workshop for the draft Climate-Smart Agriculture Manual brought together senior technocrats in the Government of Zimbabwe Ministries: Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development and Environment, Water and Climate, with other approved experts to give the final input to the draft Manual.

The work funded by the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) and with the lead implementer, United Nations Environment Programme – Technical University of Denmark, has brought to the forefront issues that concern agriculture and climate change to the attention of all stakeholders in Zimbabwe.

The draft Manual was approved (with amendments) by the senior technocrats in the Government of Zimbabwe and stakeholders represented. What follows next, is the official launch of the Climate-Smart Agriculture Manual for Agricultural Education in Zimbabwe, followed by the Training of Trainers and concluding work to the year-long Technical Assistance to Zimbabwe.

The main aim of the Conference was to have a dialogue on matters relating to climate change as it affects agriculture in Southern Africa, to share lessons and progress made. The first part of the conference dealt with presentations from a number of countries in Southern Africa on their experiences and coping mechanisms, and this was followed by a session primarily dedicated to South African experiences.

We would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Mechal team towards the process that led to the writing of this handbook. Special thanks go to Demamu Mesfin, Yosef Melka, Katinka Waagsaether, Donna Kotze, Estholene Moses, Emily Olsen, Daleen Lötter, Gina Ziervogel, Mark Tadross, Habtemariam Kassa, Kebede Kassa, Penny Price and Mark New.

We would also like to thank the community members in South Africa (Suid Bokkeveld and Goedverwacht) and Ethiopia (Arsi Negelle) for freely sharing their knowledge and insights.

This publication was made possible through a grant by the Volkswagen Foundation (Mechal Project under the Reference number I/83 735, co-ordinated by the University of Hamburg) with partners from South Africa (University of Cape Town, CSIR, Indigo development and change, Environmental Monitoring Group) and Ethiopia (Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

Sucess Story of ‘Pache Pache’ - this is an old popular saying in Lambaland, meaning ‘bit-by-bit’. In Kapiri-Mposhi, Central Zambia, Pache Pache refers to a Seed Growers Association of smallholder farmers which was started in 2008 with a membership of thirty (30) to grow soybean and cowpea seed.

North-central Namibia is more vulnerable to effects of climate change and variability. Combined effects of environmental degradation, social vulnerability to poverty and a changing climate will compromise subsistence farming in north-central Namibia (NCN). This will make subsistence and small-scale farmers in the region more vulnerable to projected changes in the climate system. Thus, the aim of this article was to examine factors contributing to subsistence farmers’ vulnerability to impacts of climate change. The article further discusses different aspects of human vulnerability and existing adaptation strategies in response to impacts of climate related disasters experienced over the past three to four decades in NCN. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches and methodology were employed to obtain information from subsistence farmers in north-central Namibia. The sociodemographic characteristics of Ohangwena, Oshana and Omusati Region reveals high levels of unemployment, high adult and elderly population and high dependency on agricultural livelihood system. These indicators help understand levels of household vulnerability. The study concludes that households interviewed revealed low levels of adaptive capacity due to exposure to climate risks and combined effects of social, political and cultural factors. This article provided an understanding that is required to inform the adaptation pathways relevant for NCN.

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.

A multi­stakeholders meeting, jointly hosted by the Office of the President and Cabinet and the UN System in Zimbabwe, held today called for scaling up of humanitarian assistance to address the immediate needs of 2.8 million (30% of the total population) drought-­affected people.

Addressing over 170 senior representatives from Government; Diplomatic Corps; Development and Humanitarian Partners; Civil Society Organizations; Non­Governmental Organizations; Private Sector; and the Media; the UN Resident and UNDP Resident Representative, Bishow Parajuli emphasized that “the drought conditions in many parts of the country have been unprecedented and have severely increased the vulnerability of the poor depriving them of their livelihoods including livestock and agricultural production as well as access to water, nutrition, health and education services”.

Like many parts of Southern Africa region, Zimbabwe has been hard­hit by the effects of El Nino, with harvests devastated. The current rainfall season has so far been the driest in the last 35 years rendering over 28 million people food­insecure in the region. The late onset of rains in Zimbabwe apparently reported to be below normal, coupled with higher than average temperatures, has severely affected the prospect of 2015/2016 crop production, livestock and rural livelihoods.

Flooding happens annually in Cape Town’s informal settlements. The impact on residents’ lives is enormous, yet people have few resources to cope. They are also society’s most vulnerable: often unemployed, living in shacks, and with nowhere else to settle but where the water gathers each year. These communities will also bear the brunt of the likely increase in flood events as climate change makes the Cape’s heavy rains more severe and frequent.

We cannot avoid the underlying reasons for why these communities find themselves in such vulnerable circumstances, or the fact that flooding-related humanitarian crises will continue to plague these communities and the city charged with assisting them.

It’s critical to find sustainable, workable flooding responses, now. This means involving communities in flood-prone informal settlements in decision-making processes. The City of Cape Town is responsible for coordinating this response, but has difficulty when it comes to involving local communities.

This book explores the challenges and opportunities of collaborative governance as a way to get a broader group of stakeholders involved in flooding responses, as part of our ongoing research through the Flooding in Cape Town under Climate Risk (FliCCR) project.