Youth Marker 3

The use of digital media in collection and disseminating information on various farming technologies and interventions has improved accessibility of information and feedback. It involves the collection and transmission of digitized content through the internet or computer networks and offline mobile applications (app). This includes text, audio, video, and graphics. The Agriv1(agriculture extension application) and Ulimi ndi Nyengo (web-based platform that transmits agriculture advisory services) were rolled out to perform stated actions. The agriculture extension applications and one of the social media platforms, Facebook were used in the dissemination of information through digital media. This form of technology through which information was shared provided end users or project beneficiaries’ easy access to vital information on interventions being implemented by the project.

Sustainability planning with the community and local stakeholders is important to ensure that promoted land restoration practices continue being implemented after the Regreening Africa Programme transitions at the end of 2022. Sustainability planning should be part of the programme’s exit planning.

The Better Life Book will bring hope by giving answers to our food and income needs. The book will help us as a community and as families to: Ÿ increase crop harvests without expensive inputs (like fertilizers and other chemicals), Ÿ protect and benefit from the natural resources such as wildlife, Ÿ build a foundation for community leaders to solve problems, Ÿ secure a better future for our families, and Ÿ leave fertile, productive land for our children's future.

The article was published after a Training of Trainers (ToT) for the Smallholder Empowerment Programs (SHEP) at Bunda College with support from the SAFE initiative. SHEP originally emerged through trial and error in the process of technical cooperation between Kenya and Japan for improving Kenya’s agricultural extension services. The cooperation started in 2006 and the SHEP Approach was developed as an innovative
method of agricultural extension services backed by the disciplines of economics and psychology. SHEP is an approach in agricultural extension that facilitates small-scale farmers to conduct market-oriented agriculture. The above-mentioned agricultural extension project in Kenya that utilized this method doubled the farming income of 2,500 targeted farmers in just two years. In the opening speech of the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African  Development in 2013, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his desire to change African Agriculture from “Grow and Sell” to “Grow to Sell”. Building off of this, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been working with the Kenyan government to spread the knowledge of SHEP to agricultural extension officials and extension staff in other African countries. Currently, over twenty African countries are implementing the SHEP Approach.

The Agricultural Productivity Program for Southern Africa (APPSA) has been implemented in
Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Malawi being a regional center of leadership (RCoL) for maize
based farming systems. The initiative has made a great contribution to the National Agricultural
System and agricultural Development in Malawi. A few, out of many success stories from APPSA
are contained in this publication. This Magazine contains some of the great work that APPSA has
contributed to Agricultural sector in Malawi. So far, APPSA has released 27 improved agricultural
technologies that are already making a tremendous impact in the three countries. APPSA has
also facilitated the promotion of 85 already released technologies. It has trained 43 people on long
term trainings on PhD (10), Masters (23) and Bachelor’s (10) Degree level. It has also sent many
agricultural staff to short term trainings. APPSA has also raised magnificent infrastructure in a
number of research including Chitedze (Lilongwe), Bvumbwe (Thyolo) and Kasinthula (Chikwawa).
These structures included office blocks, laboratories, irrigation facilities, storage facilities
just to mention a few. In general, APPSA project has been holistic in nature and its fruition is still
dripping out.

Presentation 'Nutrition-sensitive climate-smart agriculture (NSCSA)' by Simba Sibanda, FANRPAN.

Highlights of the presentation are:

• Food and Nutrition Security: What is it all about?
• The Food and Nutrition Security Situation in Mauritius
• Climate Change and Nutrition –what are the linkages?
• Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: Why and how?
• Examples of nutrition-sensitive approaches in agriculture

Held at the training 'Tackling Climate Change in Agriculture: Approaches to Adaptation and Climate Smart Agriculture - Réduit, Mauritius'.

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.

Les petits exploitants agricoles sont importants pour la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique subsaharienne, où deux tiers de la population dépendent de pluviales cultures à petite échelle qui constituent leur principale source de nourriture et de revenus. L’agriculture et les décisions des ménages dépendent de la météo, par exemple, la quantité de pluie tombée, la date de début de la saison des pluies, la longueur de la saison et le calendrier des périodes de sécheresse. Ces informations relatives à la météo varient considérablement d'une année à l'autre. L’approche des Services Climatologiques Participatifs et Intégrés pour l'Agriculture (PICSA) cherche à aider les producteurs à prendre des décisions adéquates fondées sur des données climatiques et météorologiques historiques et spécifiques à la localité ; des options de cultures agricoles, de l’élevage et autres activités de subsistance localement pertinents ; et avec l'utilisation d'outils participatifs pour aider à la prise de décision.

Namibia is one of the countries mostly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate 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 Agriculture, 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 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.

ENGLISH Smallholder farmers are key to food security in sub-Saharan Africa where two thirds of the population depend on small-scale, rain-fed farming as their main source of food and income. Critical farming and household decisions depend upon the weather, for example, how much rain falls, the length and start date of the rainfall season and the timing of dry spells. Such aspects of the weather vary considerably from year to year. The Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) approach aims to facilitate farmers to make informed decisions based on accurate, location specific, climate and weather information; locally relevant crop, livestock and livelihood options; and with the use of participatory tools to aid their decision making. This field manual is a step by step guide to working though the PICSA approach with farmer groups. It is primarily for the use of facilitators (e.g. NGO and extension field staff who have received training in the use of the PICSA approach). The PICSA approach is divided into twelve steps to be carried out with groups of farmers. Due to the location specific nature of PICSA there are a number of preparatory activities that need to be completed before field staff are trained in the approach.