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Successful crop stand establishment, a critical prerequisite for efficient crop production, is primarily determined by propagule quality. Taro [C%casia escu/enta (L.) Schott] corms of different sizes (80-100 g corm-1, 40-60 g corm-1 and 20-30 9 corm-1) that had been stored in soil pits at different depths (10,20,30,40 and 50 cm) were compared for stand establishment, leaf area and yield during two seasons, under rainfed (upland) conditions. Propagule size and pre-planting storage depth increased both the number of plants reaching the third leaf stage and leaf area per plant one month after planting. The large propagules improved stand establishment and yield significantly (P<0.01) better than the smaller propagules. For a” propagule sizes, the optimum storage depth to enhance taro propagule performance for crop production was – 40 cm. When the large propagules were compared with the smaller propagules at the optimum pre-planting storage depth, there was 10% to 30%, no difference and 5% to 35% improvement il’) leaf area, stand establishment and yield, respectively. This study confirmed the potential role of local knowledge in traditional agriculture, and the findings can be used to extend the planting season for dryland taro production in South Africa.

The study focused on the NDM as a first step:

Mixed research approach to collect quanDtaDve and qualitaDve data through interviews conducted with small organisaDons (15 NGOs, 8 CBOs and 7 governmental units) idenDfied as potenDal applicants to the SGF project in the NDM

Aim:

1) to assess adapDve capaciDes among local organisaDons before the SGF project starts;

2) to idenDfy gaps in terms of knowledge and understanding of what CCA is ;

3) To inform facilitating agencies about needs for capacity buildings

Follow-up interviews will be conducted during the course of the SGF project to track progress in adapDve capacity and observe concrete impacts in terms of enhanced adapDve capacity among local organisaDons

This report is a result of participatory data gathering done in Namibia through desktop study, gap analysis, inventory analysis of CSA policies or CSA related policies, focus group discussions (FGDs) and in depth interviews with twenty four (24) stakeholders.

Climate change preparedness workshops can be held quarterly (every three months) for members of a group wanting to explore and engage with weather patterns, climate variability and change and related possible adaptation options. We suggest limiting the workshops to a few hours (for example starting early in the morning and closing with lunch for all participants). Ensure that the process of the workshop is geared to foster reflection and learning. Including interactive exercises that help people engage in a safe space is crucial. The workshop should be designed to fit the local context and should address and explore topics that really matter to people in the group. For inspiration regarding workshop elements you can explore the exercises described in this compilation of cards and place them in an order that would make sense to the group. Ensure that you vary energizers and more contents based exercises.

SASSCAL is a joint initiative of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Germany, responding to the challenges of global change. The establishment of a Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management could create added value for the whole southern African region. It should be conceptualised and operationalised to complement the excellent existing research and capacity development infrastructures and research initiatives in the region. It should be embedded in the regional and national research. Its mission is to conduct problem-oriented research in the area of adaptation to climate change and sustainable land management and provide evidence-based advice for all decision-makers and stakeholders to improve the livelihoods of people in the region and to contribute to the creation of an African knowledge-based society.

A Madagascar, l’igname est une ressource alimentaire marginale mais néanmoins importante comme plante d’appoint pendant la période de soudure. Historiquement, les études botaniques sur les ignames se sont principalement axées sur les espèces sauvages. En revanche, peu d’informations existent sur les ignames cultivées notamment sur la richesse en variétés et sur les risques sanitaires. Le projet Corus 6020 (Université d’Antananarivo, Cirad) se propose maintenant d’étudier la diversité génétique des ignames cultivées et la présence des maladies virales susceptibles de réduire la production.

Namibia is one of the countries mostly vulnerable to the negative impacts of cli¬mate change which may affect our national development goals, particularly the agricultural sector, including food security. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and the Ministry of Agricul¬ture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) is implementing a five-year project entitled “Scaling up community resilience to climate variability and climate change in Northern Namibia, with a special focus on women and children” (SCORE Project) with funding resources from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The SCORE Project is a five-year project with an overall GEF/SCCF allocation of USD3, 050,000.00 and co-finance from UNDP USD 860,000 and GRN USD 19,157,263.00. The project is being implemented in seven northern regions of Namibia namely: Oshana, Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Kunene, Kavango West and Kavango East. These regions are regularly, and increasingly threatened by extreme weather events such as floods which causes damage to infrastructure and agricultural productivity, as well as severe droughts. A combined effect of these natural disasters have detrimental effect on the livelihoods of people including their health status.

The project aims to strengthen the adaptive capacity of 4000 households to climate change and reduce their vulnerability to droughts and floods, with 80% of these households being women-led, and children from 75 schools in Northern Namibia. The project’s desired outcomes include: (1) Smallholder adaptive capacity for climate resilient agricultural practices strengthened; (2) Reduce vulnerability to droughts and floods; and (3) Mainstreaming climate change into national agricultural strategy/sectoral policy, including budgetary adjustments for replication and scaling up.

Local climate change and its variability pose greater risks for vulnerable, poor, and marginalized communities due to the physical impact it makes there. Since 2009, the UNDP-GEF CBA project in Namibia has been working with 12 villages that are facing a number of key problems that stemfrom extreme local climate events (e.g. pronounced droughts and floods, rising and variable temperatures, increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns and amounts, severe land degradation leading to loss of productive arable land and range, loss of livestock, as well as high levels ofdeforestation and over utilization of natural resources).

The agricultural sector in Namibia is particularly affected by climate change. Droughts and erratic rains, interspersed with floods that originate in Angola, plague the northern side of the country and leave brittle, nutrient-poor soil, which renders farm lands unproductive. This negatively affects food, water security and general livelihoods due to failed harvests, and decreases livestock numbers and products. The UNDP-GEF CBA project is working to safeguard livelihoods by encouraging target communities to improve farm gate incomes, diversify the sources of other farm-based incomes, and properly utilize farmlands. The CBA project is also working with communities to build resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change in agro-pastoral communities and to foster community participation in the identification of climate drivers, risks and adaptive solutions. The target group is comprised of the most vulnerable community members, including women and children, that depend on rain-fed agriculture (e.g. planting pearl millet, maize, sorghum, ground nuts and cowpeas), natural resources (e.g. collecting fruit and oil from the wild), and livestock rearing for both subsistence and cash incomes in the semi-arid areas of northern Namibia. The first step, and short-term objective of the project, is to enlist community participation in the vulnerability assessment and solutions-generation stage by bringing members together to identify the climate change drivers, risks and adaptive solutions. The project uses a vulnerability reduction assessment method to assist communities, through a participatory process, in determining an appropriate plan of action. This is done through cohesive social groups and trainings before piloting projects.

Zambians should take pride and start consuming more indigenous vegetables and fruits to improve their nutrition status, a nutritionist has advised.

Nelly Phiri, the Nutrition Program Officer at the Zambia Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition Alliance said local vegetables such as Chibwabwa, Impwa and Kalembula have more nutrition value than most western foods.

Zambia is one of the most malnourished countries in the world with close to 40 percent of children under five years stunted while a growing adult population is obese.

Years ago, we never used to hear of malnutrition because we used to grow our own vegetables in the backyard.

Ms. Phiri said consuming local vegetables and fruits is cheaper and beneficial for households with low incomes.

‘Most of these vegetables and fruits contain vitamins like A,D, A, K which are fat soluble vitamins and B Complex which are water soluble vitamins and these can be gotten from our local fruits such as Baobab fruit which is locally known as Masau including the Masau which also have other mineral elements which people can benefit from,’ Ms Phiri said.

Traditional or local vegetables include many species which are wild, semi-cultivated or are protected in some way. They may also include species mainly cultivated for their pods, fruits, roots or tubers, but whose leaves are sometimes consumed as a vegetable. The majority of rural people in Zambia rely on traditional vegetables for their relish. In a rural survey, it was found that traditional vegetables were used by 52-95% of the respondents (Ogle et al. 1990). The diversity in traditional vegetables offers variety in family diet and helps ensure household food security. More than 175 different species have been documented as local vegetables in Zambia (Johansson 1989; Ogle et al. 1990). Among the more prominent species are Amaranthus spp., Cleome spp., Corchorus spp.,Disa satiria, Solanum aethiopicum/macrocarpon, Ipomoea spp., cassava, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, various cucurbits and Ceratotheca sesamoides. Apart from the major species, there are a large number of ‘minor’ vegetables known by fewer households and used less frequently. Many traditional vegetables are specific to particular areas and ethnic groups. Notes on the genetic resources, cultivation and use of some local vegetables are given below.