National Farmers Organisations

The presentation highlights the CCARDESA Climate Proofing Workshop Habu Update by Herding for Health 

This presentation highlights CIMMYT 's work in Transforming Maize-legume Value Chains – A Business Case for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Southern Africa

This article summarizes the findings of a research paper entitled “Problems Faced and Strategies Adopted by Farmers for Adapting to Climate Change in Xai-Xai District, Gaza Province” undertaken by researcher  from the Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique (IIAM) under a project called "Managing Climate Related Risk to Improve Livelihood Resilience and Adaptive Capacity in Agricultural Ecosystems in Southern Africa", for the districts of Xai-Xai and Chicualacuala, Gaza province, Mozambique. 

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is currently widely recognized as a viable approach for sustainable agriculture due to its potentially comprehensive benefits of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. In response to the aforesaid, Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI) at Uyole Centre initiated intensive research on CA  technology practices since 1999. The research started on-station and widened the geographical coverage of CA trials and promotions on-farm from two to 18 villages (Mkomwa et al., 2007) in Southern highlands of Tanzania. An onstation study was undertaken to evaluate influence of CA planting methods on labour, weed and maize yields. The study results show that use of tractor ripper, ox-direct seeder and ox-ripper had high yields of 8.5, 8.5 and 7.6 t/ha respectively compared to hand hoe (4.7 t/ha).

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. 

Abstract — A survey was undertaken in three districts of Zambia namely; Monze, Mpongwe and Chipata which are hosting the Agriculture Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) Sub-project titled “Developing Conservation Agriculture (CA) in Maize-Legume Systems for Smallholder Farmers in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique”. The overall objective of this study was to get farmer perceptions of CA practices in the study districts for key information and research gaps that will contribute towards the development of CA based research agenda. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data from the respondents. Data generated was subjected to analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results revealed that the major hindrances to the application of CA practices lay in biophysical, technological, land, institutional and agro-climatic constraints.  Generally, farmers reported weeds as a major biophysical constraint to the implementation of CA technologies with Monze standing at 81.6% of the respondents followed by Mpongwe 58.1% and Chipata 52.1% respectively. This study recommends strengthening social networks of the community in order for them to have access to CA technologies information. Enhancing institutional linkages between Research, Extension and Meteorology departments is critical for dissemination of weather information which would aid in decision-making as to when farm operations would be carried out for improved agriculture productivity and production in the APPSA Project areas of Monze, Mpongwe and Chipata districts. 

In this flyer you will find 3 new groundnut varieties recently released in Mozambique by IIAM (Mozambique Agricultural Research Institute) under an APPSA funded project led by Dr. Amade Muitia. Overall, these varieties are tolerant to droughts, early/late leaf spots and rosette and yield around 2.5 tons per hectare. The names of the varieties are Mapupulo-018, Amena-018 and AMM-018.

The Sector Project Sustainable Agriculture in cooperation with GIZ Philippines and the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) conducted RISE analyses with the objective to compare different production systems in the Philippian provinces Leyte and Southern Leyte.