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Small holder farmers in the semi-arid areas have not been able to utilize seasonal climate forecasts in making crop management decisions due to limited exposure as well as failure to interpret it. Three participatory meetings were held with farmers in Lower Gweru and Lupane Districts of Zimbabwe soon after the release of the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasonal climate forecast in September of each season. This was done to solicit for farmers’ prediction of the coming rainy season and come up with field test crop management practices. Farmers have their sets of indicators that they rely on to forecast seasonal rainfall which are based on generations of past experience that include environmental, biological, and traditional beliefs. There is however, need to investigate how their indicators compare with the scientific forecast in making farming decisions. Farmers claimed that the rains were starting later and finishing earlier whilst analysis of the rainfall record showed that starting rains have been later by 5 to 10 days in the last five years. There was an increase in the number of dry spells in the rainy season in the last five years compared to the period 1980 to 2008. Adding recommended amounts of fertilizers resulted in yield increases of 40% compared to adding half the recommended amounts. Growing long season varieties resulted in higher yields (22%) than growing short season varieties in the 2009/2010 wetter season while growing of shorter season variety had yield advantage (36%) over the long season variety in the 2009/2010 which was relatively dry. Frequent weeding resulted in about 8% increase in maize yields compared to weeding once in a season. The study demonstrates that knowledge of the coming season assists smallholder farmers in coming up with adaptive strategies for climate variability and change.

The purpose of the RLAT is to provide a sufficiently accurate pre-screening tool for identifying intervention points along agribusiness Value Chains (VCs), working out incentives for VC operators and proposing measures to reduce pre- and post-harvest losses. The tool supports the design of concrete interventions that have the primary aim of improving food security at the subsistence level, either on farms or in communities, and the secondary aim of upgrading specific VCs.

The smallholder sector is vulnerable to climate change due to its reliance on rainfed agriculture and has the least ability to adapt. Based on appropriate weather forecasts, farmers can mitigate and adapt to climate change through sound crop management decisions. A study was conducted to explore indigenous knowledge system (IKS) weather forecasts as a climate change adaptation strategy in smallholder farming systems of Zimbabwe. Eighty six farmers from three agro-ecological regions with different agricultural potential and cultural backgrounds were involved in the study. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to collect data on climate change perceptions, access and interpretation of meteorological forecasts and IKS weather indicators and their use in crop production. Most farmers (93%) believed that there is climate change, citing low rainfall, late rains and rising temperatures as some of the indicators. Sixty five percent of farmers had access to and can interpret the meteorological forecasts disseminated through print and electronic media, though arguing that the forecasts are not timely disseminated. Sixty seven percent of the respondents were using IKS weather indicators such as wild fruits, trees, worms and wind for predicting seasonal quality in addition to meteorological forecasts. Basing on IKS forecasts, farmers are changing varieties, staggering planting dates, varying fertilizer rates and cropping land area. The study showed that IKS forecasts indicators are different in the three agro-ecological regions, are being used by farmers in making farming decisions and if properly documented, disseminated and integrated with scientific seasonal climate forecasts can be used as a climate change adaptation strategy.

An easily manageable methodology that provides hands-on strategic orientation to those developing realistic and realisable measures for sustainable food loss reduction. The methodology is designed to serve as a pre-screening for further in-depth-studies and to identify leverage points for reducing losses at the various value chain stages — from farming, through handling and processing, to retail trade.

Ce dossier souhaite apporter un éclairage plus approfondi sur la thématique des pertes alimentaires et présenter les champs d’action actuels, l’expérience acquise et les défis à surmonter dans ce domaine.

Current agricultural practices in Mozambique and Lesotho lead to localized externalities and systematic “macro” erosion. However, conservation agriculture, which promotes minimal tillage, intercropping, and maintaining a soil cover, can be applied to moderate erosion and improve food security while sequestering carbon. This presentation examines the greenhouse gas reduction potential Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM) Collaborative Research Support Program’s 5 year project to promote conservation agriculture in Mozambique and Lesotho. It provides graphical comparisons of carbon emissions for tillage and no-tillage systems. Results of a household survey in Mozambique are utilized to examine the probability of the adoption of conservation agriculture related to input use, training, labor constraints, and project support. Farmers who use fertilizer and herbicide and receive credit were found to have the highest adoption rate for conservation agriculture.

Indigenous food crops refer to food crops that have their origin in South Africa. Added to these crops are those that were introduced into the country and are now recognised as naturalised or traditional crops. They are divided into three main categories; namely grains, vegetables and fruit.

South Africa possesses a huge diversity of indigenous food crops, which includes grains, leafy vegetables and wild fruit types. These crops are produced and found growing in the country under various weather conditions. Their production within the rural farming communities is on small scale and is mainly for subsistence purposes. Most of the arable land is used mainly for production of maize and other exotic crops.

The Final Report on the Development of a Climate-Smart Agriculture Manual for Agriculture Education in Zimbabwe  is out  and can bedownloaded from this page. Accompanying the report if the call for expression of interest in developing the Manual for Agriculture Education in Zimbabwe which  can also be downloaded from this page.

This user manual is designed for use by Parties and national experts responsible for the preparation of the various sections of national communications, and also by national climate change teams or committees that facilitate the coordination, organization and management of various tasks and activities. It might also be useful for multilateral and bilateral programmes that support the preparation of national communications from non-Annex I Parties.

Colocasia esculenta L. Schott belongs to the family Aracea and is grown for its edible corms as a staple food throughout subtropical and tropical regions of the world. Amadumbe (the Zulu name for Colocasia esculenta) is consumed by and holds an important place in the diet of local rural people in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Three Amadumbe phenotypes were evaluated for their nutritional qualities. Like all known tubers, the locally grown Amadume contained high carbohydrate levels, adequate protein and low lipid content. Essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic) were identified as components of the Amadumbe lipids. Amadumbe was generally low in mineral content, apart from potassium and magnesium levels that were relatively high. Some anti-nutrients (protease inhibitors, lectin, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, oxalates, phytates, cyanogens and saponin) present in Amadumbe were also identified and quantified. The anti-nutrient levels were generally low and thus may not pose an immediate effect on the health of consumers. Reduction of the anti-nutrients through processing (cooking, frying, roasting) was observed to enhance the nutritional value of these tubers. However, their presence suggests that a steady consumption may lead to toxic levels. Two proteins (Al and B2) with a-amylase inhibitor activity, and a steroidal saponin (gamma-sitosterol) were extracted and partially characterised. The a-amylase inhibitors were extracted and partially purified through ammonium sulphate precipitation and chromatographic fractionation on diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sephacel and Sephadex G-100. The molecular weights of the two inhibitors were estimated to be 17 000 and 19 000 dalton, respectively. The inhibitors were fairly heat-stable, with optimum activity at 40° C? pH 6.0. Both inhibitors showed activity against mammalian a-amylases, but were devoid of activity against fungal amylases. Inhibitor A also showed activity against plant amylases. The steroidal saponin extracted from Amadumbe was characterized through TLC, HPLC, GC-MS, IR and NMR spectroscopic analysis and identified to be gamma- sitosterol, an isomer of beta-sitosterol which is known to have a variety of high biological activity. Studies of the effect of beta-sitosterol on absorptive and digestive enzymes in Sprague-Dawley rats revealed that oral administration of beta-sitosterol had no apparent gross or microscopic lesions in the liver, kidney or small intestine. The administered p-sitosterol significantly decreased serum aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) and alanine aminotransferase (AST) levels. Na+/K -ATPase and intestinal disaccharidases activities were also significantly reduced in beta-sitosterol fed rats. These results do suggest that even though Amadumbe is a neglected crop in South Africa, it is a highly nutritional crop; the consumption of it could be beneficial to diabetic and hypertensive patients.