National Research Institutions

This is a story of Patricia Dzimbiri a Malawian who was groomed by the Agricultural Productivity Program for Southern Africa (APPSA) project through participating in farmer field trials for conservation agriculture and maize/legume intercropping systems. She has grown into a lead farmer supporting conservation farming in her district.

This article is a success story in the production of groundnut seed in Zambia. When groundnut seed production was introduced in Minga area in Petauke district, it relieved farmers of the pressure of having to rely on cotton as the only valuable cash crop.
Unit Seed Company in partnership with small-scale farmers in Minga area engaged in seed production of groundnut. The farmers were provided with groundnut basic seed by Unit Seed Company and produced certified seed, which the company buys and then sells to prospective markets

This resource is an APPSA success story of introducing high yielding rice varieties in Malawi.  As part of efforts to improve rice production and increase export volumes, the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) introduced
three high yielding rice varieties with a yield potential of up to 6.5 T ha-1. These are Kayanjamalo (6.5 T ha-1), Katete (6.0 T ha-1) and Mpatsa (5.8 T ha-1). These varieties were released in 2014 under the Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development. Since the release of the varieties, APPSA has been promoting these three varieties in Nkhotakota, Salima and Zomba districts targeting smallholder rice farmers. With desirable traits such as high yields and short height, the varieties gained popularity among the farming communities and within three years the number of adopters increased by more than 80%.

This is a success story produced by the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) under APPSA. Through partnerships with the Department of Agriculture and other players, the World Bank funded Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) supported smallholder farmers with necessary information and technologies to transform
the way they grow their soybean in order to increase farm yields and income. In collaboration with the Department of Agriculture under Extension Services the project mobilised lead farmers to host demonstration plots showcasing improved soybean production technologies.

This resource is one of the APPSA success stories for Mozambique. It narrates the story of Mrs Isaltina Aly Trigo. Mrs Trigo is a smallholder farmer from Malema district in Nampula province. She has been growing soybeans for the past several years. Like many other farmers in the area, she views soybean as a crop with cash potential. The crop produces high yields, and is relatively unaffected by pests commonly found among other staple crops. Although technologies for increased soybean production and productivity, local processing and utilization options have been developed for use by farmers, Mrs Trigo and many other smallholder farmers are not aware of these technological options. This is attributed to among other reasons, inadequate popularization of these technologies. In 2013 the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) began working with Mrs Trigo and other farmers in Nampula province in up-scaling improved soybean processing and utilization technologies so as to improve food and nutrition security as well income generation for the smallholder famers. Since working with the project, Mrs Trigo has been processing her soybeans into milk and bagias. Initially, the soybean milk was just for home consumption while the bagias were for home consumption and for sale. With time, she increased the quantities of her processed products, and started selling both products.

This presentation contains information on the institution CCARDESA and its famework. It covers:

• realities of climate change in SADC
• CCARDESA mandate and ICKM actions
• the ACCRA project and the ICKM component
• the SAAIKS platform (conception and development)
• Lessons learnt
• Way forward

The Paris Agreement calls for enhanced transparency of adaptation action and an assessment of collective progress via a Global Stocktake. This policy brief outlines how country-specific monitoring and evaluation (M&E) can provide valuable information on adaptation actions and results and how this supports the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Based on good practice examples from pioneering countries, recommendations are provided how to develop national adaptation M&E systems that can track progress and inform decision making.

Implementing adaptation under the Paris Agreement: how can comprehensive climate risk management (CRM) support National Adaptation Planning (NAP) processes and NDC implementation

Agriculture remains the economic backbone of most developing countries in terms of gross domestic product, employment and rural livelihoods. This is especially true of many Sub-Saharan African countries where agriculture accounts for more than 50% of GDP output and employs around 70% of the population.

Access to and the provision of demand-driven financial services is key if agriculture is to grow and is to play a central and decisive role in reducing poverty and hunger and generating much needed jobs in rural areas. At the same time, it is also one of the main constraints holding back the development and professionalization of agriculture and the food sector. Access to financial services remains one of the key challenges for rural areas in general and for agriculture in particular.

Financing agriculture, or more broadly speaking providing access to and offering financial services for agriculture, is complex and requires not only a deep understanding of agriculture, but also of financial institutions.

Food Tank has compiled a list of indigenous fruits, vegetables, and grains from many regions that are nutritious, delicious, and contribute to sustainable livelihoods in rural communities across the globe.

Every day, plant species across the globe are disappearing. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that approximately 75 percent of the Earth’s plant genetic resources are now extinct, and another third of plant biodiversity is expected to disappear by 2050. Up to 100,000 plant varieties are currently endangered worldwide.

Unfortunately, most investments in agriculture are for crops such as wheat, rice, and maize, rather than for more nutritious foods or indigenous crops—and this focus has had devastating consequences. Global obesity rates have doubled over the last 30 years, increasing the risk of diet-related illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease in industrialized and developing countries alike.

Many indigenous crops are environmentally sustainable, improve food security, help prevent malnutrition, and increase farmer incomes. Initiatives like the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC)’s Vegetable Genetic Resources System and Slow Food International’s Ark of Taste are working to catalog indigenous species of fruits and vegetables all over the world.

Food Tank has compiled a list of indigenous fruits, vegetables, and grains from many regions that are nutritious, delicious, and contribute to sustainable livelihoods in rural communities across the globe.