Gender Marker 2

GCF Funding Proposal

SAP001: Improving rangeland and ecosystem management practices of smallholder farmers under conditions of climate change in Sesfontein, Fransfontein, and Warmquelle areas of the Republic of Namibia

The report provides information for a wide stakeholder base on the role of fisheries in food and nutrition security in SADC. It is a result of a study commissioned by CCARDESA to develop collaborative activities with strategic partners in implementing initiatives targeted at ensuring that the region realises the benefits that can be derived from fisheries.

The Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern African (APPSA) is a six-year project (2013 – 2019) financed by the World Bank using a Specific Investment Loan (SIL) to the tune of US$ 90 Million. APPSA supports the objectives of the World Bank’s Africa Action Plan, which identifies regional integration as an important element to achieving higher economic growth and poverty reduction. The project’s objective is to increase the availability of improved agricultural technologies in participating countries in the SADC region through: (i) establishing Regional Centres of Leadership (RCoLs) on commodities of regional importance; (ii) supporting regional collaboration in agricultural research, technology dissemination, and training; and (iii) facilitating increased sharing of agricultural information, knowledge, and technology among participating countries. Implementation of APPSA is based on partnerships and collaborations among three participating countries (Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia). Malawi is focusing on maize- based farming systems, Mozambique on rice-based farming systems, and Zambia on food legumes-based farming systems (involving beans, cowpeas, groundnuts, pigeon peas, and soybeans). Additional countries within the SADC region are expected to join as APPSA evolves and expands

Given the reduced involvement of the youth in the SADC region in agriculture, CCARDESA saw it imperative to organise a Youth in Agriculture Summit to discuss the challenges that hinder the involvement of youth in agriculture. The Summit, running under the theme “Unlocking Agri-business Opportunities for Youth in Southern Africa,” was organized from the 3rd to the 6th of August 2015 in Durban, South Africa The summit was attended by representatives from different institutions in the SADC region including various intergovernmental institutions (SADC, COMESA, FARA, CCARDESA, AS-ARECA, CORAF/WECARD, FAO), the South African government, the City of Durban, youth organisations from the region and beyond in-volved in agriculture. In total about 350 people attended the Summit, a first in the SADC region for Youth in Agriculture.

The summit was supported by a number of institutions including the European Union (EU), USAID, World Bank and Ethekwini Municipality. A number of institutions across the region also partnered with CCARDESA in the organization of the summit including ARC/LNR, AGRA, FiBL, WorldFish, ASARECA, LandBank, African Network for Agri-culture, Agroforestry & Natural Resources Edu-cation, University of Kwazulu Natal, Agribusi-ness Forum Botswana, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), IITA, TechServe Alliance, ICRISAT, West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development, Africa University, Forum for Agri-cultural Research in Africa (FARA), Economic Development Commission for Southern Africa (EDCSA), and Kilimo Trust. In addition the Ministries of Agriculture from Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland also played key roles in supporting the summit.

In fulfillment of the Charter, CCARDESA held its first General Assembly in March 2014 in Boipuso hall, Gaborone, Botswana. The General Assembly was attended by several stakeholders which included, development partners, the Forum for Agricultural Research (FARA), other sub regional organisations namely ASARECA and CORAF and more impotently stakeholders who constitute the CCARDESA.

The General Assembly appointed Dr Mick Mwala as its first Chairman and deliberated on several issues which shape the operations of CCARDESA as a sub-regional organisation. This included the objectives of CCARDESA, its historical background, current initiatives of the organisation as well as suggestions of changes to the charter.
Main outcomes included:

1. The election of the first chairman
2. Approval of external auditors
3. Approval of the CCARDESA Medium Term Operational Plan (MTOP)
4. Nomination of new board members and
5. The amendment of the Governance manual and the Charter estab-lishing CCARDESA

The purpose of this study was to undertake an empirical investigation of adaptation “good practices” and define six categories of actions that can be practically considered by governments for scaling-up in order to reduce the risks of climate change.

The focus is on what needs to be in place, in terms of the enabling environment, in order for the good practices to be effectively transferred to other contexts. The report thus intends to provide governments with practical options to consider in order to undertake agricultural adaptation to climate change, based on tangible and proven practices.

Six case study countries were chosen for empirical investigation of adaptation. Within Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, South Africa, Togo and Zambia, agricultural subsectors were chosen to represent various crops and livestock grown under different production systems. The purpose was to ensure that subsectors were investigated in more than one country so that there would be scope to compare different contexts. Categories considered for each adaptation practice were: proof of concept; robustness under projected climate change; environmental and social externalities; acceptability to farmers; accessibility to farmers; productivity; access to markets; support of appropriate institutions; level of government support; effects on women; and then a criteria to capture co-benefits, such as mitigation, biodiversity conservation, or multiple production objectives.

As a result the following six good practice categories are: use of improved seeds; soil fertility management; changing timing of farming practice; changing crop/livestock distribution and density; tillage and associated practices; and diversification.

These advanced training materials have been produced to foster the capacity of practitioners from private, nongovernmental and public sectors on one hand, and academics and scientists on the other, to practically implement cost-efficient RWHI technologies and practices in arid and semi-arid areas.

Therefore, these training materials intend to provide the required information to support proper planning, design and construction of cost-efficient RWHI technologies and practices, with special emphasis on the specific problems encountered in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Further, this manual also suggests relevant technical manuals which specifically focus on each of the RWHI technologies and practices. It is strongly recommended that reference is also made on this additional materials with help from experienced professionals in this field of knowledge.

This study has been produced with the overall goal to document and analyse exisiting best practices in the field of RWHI management in sub-Saharan Africa, with a special focus on Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This is meant to determine the suitability of RWHI management under multivariate biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. The best practices include specific information and know-how on the performance, cost-efficiency and impacts of RWHI technologies. This information and know-how intends to contribute on the capitalisation of successful and unsuccessful experiences in the field of RWHI management in order to identify best practices which can then be replicated, adapted, improved and scaled-up, leading to greater impacts and benefits on one hand, and effective policies and investments on the other.

This is the edited version of the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) webinar held late October 2015.

In this webinar recording, Peter Dorward, University of Reading, presents the PICSA (Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture) approach. His presentation is followed by questions and answers by the participants.