International Policy Research Organisations

The presentation gives an Overview of the CCARDESA Long-Term Strategy and CSA Programming

Critical farming and household decisions depend upon the weather, for example, the amount of rain that falls, the length and start date of the rainfall season, the timing of dry spells, and the timing of temperature extremes. Such aspects of the weather vary considerably from year-to-year. PICSA is an approach that aims to help farmers address this challenge and has been used in more than 20 countries across three continents.

PICSA places farmers at the centre of its approach, and helps them to address the above challenges through integrating:

1. Communication of historical climate information, as well as seasonal and short term forecasts, in a way that is relevant and useful for farmers.
2. Exploring crop, livestock and livelihood options available to farmers that may help them deal with climate and weather-related challenges.
3. Using participatory decision-making tools that assist farmers to make informed decisions when planning their activities.

Guide to Good Agriculture Practices in MalawiiFOREWORDThe government of Malawi recognizes the importance of using well researched and vetted Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) in promoting sustainable agricultural production in the country to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. The Sustainable Agricultural Production Programme (SAPP), one of the initiatives that Government of Malawi (GoM) has putin place to address some of the problems that smallholder farmers face in their production activitiesis contributing to poverty reduction and improved food security among rural populations through achieving a viable and sustainable smallholder agricultural sector employing good agricultural practices (GAPs) in Malawi. The program is being implemented in 6 districts of Chitipa, Nkhotakota, Lilongwe, Balaka, Chiradzulu and Blantyre. The government of Malawi, through SAPP noted the shortfalls in the implementation of the GAPs and commissioned a synthesis of the research findings in Malawi and the region to inform on the GAPs which are ready to go and where best fit to advise the extension and technical person and their applicability. The exercise developed user friendly tools which can be used by the extension personnel in advising the most befitting GAPs in their areas of operations. TheMinistry of Agriculture,Water and Irrigation Developmentis committed to support all the stakeholders supporting agricultural production in the country to adoptthe application of the tools developed.

In this second edition of the Sustainable Agriculture Production Program (SAPP) Success Stories, we present achievements of smallholder farmers who have adopted various sustainable good agriculture practices with the support from SAPP.SAPP is being implemented in six districts in Malawi namely; Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Balaka, Lilongwe, Nkhotakota and Chitipa. In all those districts the programme has made significant differences in farmer’s lives in the areas of farmer adoption of sustainable good agriculture practices as well as in adaptive research and seed certification.In this second edition, you will get a picture of how farmer’s lives have changed since the introduction of the programme. Topical areas that have been covered include; seed multiplication of ground nuts, chicken production, agribusiness and nutrition, rocket stoves, conservation agriculture, other farming technologies and crop diversification.We hope our selection of success stories will inspire you to adopt and practice sustainable good agriculture practices which will in turn improve the country’s economic growth.

A diagnostic survey was conducted in July 2017 in two northern districts of Zambia to investigate presence or absence of cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) and its causal viruses. In total, 29 cassava fields were surveyed and cassava leaf samples were collected from 116 plants (92 symptomatic and 24 non-symptomatic). CBSD prevalence was approximately 79% (23 of 29) across fields. Mean CBSD incidence varied across fields but averaged 32.3% while mean disease severity was 2.3 on a 1-to-5 rating scale. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction screening of all 116 samples with one generic and two species specific primer pairs yielded DNA bands of the expected sizes from all symptomatic plants with the generic (785 bp) and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV)-specific (440 bp) primers. All 24 non-symptomatic samples were negative for UCBSV and all samples tested negative with primers targeting Cassava brown streak virus. The complete genome of a representative isolate of UCBSV (WP282) was determined to be 9,050 nucleotides in length, minus the poly A tail. A comparative analysis of this isolate with global virus isolates revealed its nature as a sequence variant of UCBSV sharing 94 and 96% maximum complete polyprotein nucleotide and amino acid identities, respectively, with isolates from Malawi (MF379362) and Tanzania (FJ039520). This is the first report of CBSD and UCBSV in Zambia, thus expanding the geographical distribution of the disease and its causal virus and further reinforcing the need to strengthen national and regional phytosanitary programs in Africa.

Pesticides are essential for the control of infestation of disease, insect pests and weeds on different crops. Due to wide usage of synthetic pesticides which may lead to increased exposure and associated environmental and health risks among small-holder farmers in Zambia, a study was undertaken to understand how knowledgeable farmers are on pesticide use and practices. A total of 418 small scale farmers were randomly sampled from Mkushi, Mpongwe, Luangwa, Mbala, Solwezi, Chipata and Kalomo Districts of Zambia. Data pertaining to types of pesticides use, handling, storage and disposal was solicited using structured questionnaires. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS. Findings revealed that of the sampled farmers 43%, 30%, 25% and 17% used Glyphosate, Dicamba, Paraquat and Atrazine respectively as herbicides in Maize. 21% and 14% used Cypermethrine and Monocrotophos respectively as insecticides in both Maize and Soybean. 81% of the sampled farmers used empty containers for either storing drinking water or salt while only 15% wore protective clothing when applying pesticides. Pesticide mishandling occurred regardless of the amount of experience a farmer had using pesticides. 68% of the sampled farmers had never received any formal basic training in pestic ide use, hence a clear knowledge gap. The fact that receipt of basic training was the main predictor of a farmers’ level of knowledge on pesticide use, a farmer who had received basic training in appropriate chemical pesticides use, as opposed to one who had not, had a better chance of using chemical pesticides safely and in the right quantities.

BACKGROUND:Thispaperdocumentsfarmerperceptionsandmanagementpracticesforfallarmyworm(Spodopterafrugiderda J.E.Smith),providingabaselineforthedevelopmentofsustainablepestmanagementstrategies.
RESULTS:91%offarmerscorrectlyidentifiedfallarmyworm,andreporteditasthemostimportantmaizepestduring2016/2017 cropping season, affecting nearly half of cultivated area. Estimated maize yield loss during the season, attributed to fall armywormwas28%.Amajorityoffarmers(60%)usedpesticidesforfallarmywormcontrol,alongwithothercultural/physical practices – handpickingandcrushingeggmasses/caterpillars(36%),andapplicationofash/sandinthefunnel(19%).Farmers usedvariouspesticideactiveingredients,andprotectivemeasureswereinadequate;>50%offarmersdidnotuseanyprotective measures while spraying. Significantly more male than female farmers used pesticides (P=0.05), and the reverse was true for culturalpractices.Significantmaizeyielddifferences(P=0.001)wereobservedbygender,attributedtodifferencesinutilization of production inputs/practices. At least 77% of farmers received and shared agricultural advice, which can be optimized to spreadinformationonfallarmywormmanagementoptions.
CONCLUSION: Increased use of pesticides to manage fall armyworm poses health and environmental risks, besides the high cost for farmers and governments. Research into cultural and indigenous practices used by farmers will offer opportunities for alternative and sustainable management practices. Research efforts should pay attention to gender differences in access to resources and inputs. Tackling fall armyworm at the farm level, and averting yield losses will require integrated messaging addressingotherproductionrisks. 

Nitrogen is a major plant nutrient which is most limiting in the soil due to soil losses of mineral nitrogen (N) form. To ensure availability of nitrogen in the soil, the study was conducted to screen four cowpea genotypes for Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) and their contribution to maize yield in maize- cowpea rotation. The cowpea genotypes used were mutants LT11-3-3-12 (LT) and BB14-16-2-2 (BB) and their parental varieties Lutembwe (LTPRT) and Bubebe (BBPRT) respectively. Trials were established at two sites (Chisamba and Batoka) of different soil types. The Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications was used. Labelled 15N urea was applied at 20kgNha-1 on the four cowpea genotypes during 2015/16 growing season. Cowpea plant parts were dried and milled for 15N isotopic analysis. The data collected included Nitrogen content and atom % 15N excess in the fixing cowpea genotypes and non-nitrogen fixing pearl millet to determine total nitrogen derived from the atmosphere (TNdfa) and total nitrogen (TN) in plant parts which were further used to compute Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF). The results showed that BNF by cowpea genotypes at Chisamba was 63.9 kg ha-1 and was significantly (P<0.001) more than BNF of 6.6 kgha-1 at Batoka. The LT mutant fixed significantly (P<0.001) higher nitrogen of 86.1 kgha-1 and 16.5kg ha-1 at Chisamba and Batoka respectively than other genotypes. However, both BB and LT mutants significantly fixed more nitrogen than their parents and have demonstrated to increase maize grain yields up-to 12 tha-1 in the maize – cowpea rotation. 

This Decision Tool aims to help field level extension staff make smart climate decisions on which pest and disease management options best suit their farmers’ context. This tool is not designed as a technical guide to implementation. It is designed to assist extension staff in making climate-smart decisions on improvements to their farming systems with their clients/farmers. Reference to technical guides relevant to the practices and technologies outlined are included at the end of the tool. The tool focuses on some of the Best Bet Climate-Smart Pest & Disease Management Options
for livestock production in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

This Decision Tool aims to help field level extension staff make climate smart decisions on which manure management option best suits their farmers’ context. This tool is not designed as a technical guide to implementation. It is designed to assist extension staff in making climate smart decisions on improvements to their farming systems with their clients/farmers. Reference to technical guides relevant to the practices and technologies outlined are included at the end of the tool. The tool focuses on some of the Best Bet Climate-Smart Manure Management Options for livestock production in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.