National Research Institutions

Current agricultural practices in Mozambique and Lesotho lead to localized externalities and systematic “macro” erosion. However, conservation agriculture, which promotes minimal tillage, intercropping, and maintaining a soil cover, can be applied to moderate erosion and improve food security while sequestering carbon. This presentation examines the greenhouse gas reduction potential Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM) Collaborative Research Support Program’s 5 year project to promote conservation agriculture in Mozambique and Lesotho. It provides graphical comparisons of carbon emissions for tillage and no-tillage systems. Results of a household survey in Mozambique are utilized to examine the probability of the adoption of conservation agriculture related to input use, training, labor constraints, and project support. Farmers who use fertilizer and herbicide and receive credit were found to have the highest adoption rate for conservation agriculture.

This user manual is designed for use by Parties and national experts responsible for the preparation of the various sections of national communications, and also by national climate change teams or committees that facilitate the coordination, organization and management of various tasks and activities. It might also be useful for multilateral and bilateral programmes that support the preparation of national communications from non-Annex I Parties.

Colocasia esculenta L. Schott belongs to the family Aracea and is grown for its edible corms as a staple food throughout subtropical and tropical regions of the world. Amadumbe (the Zulu name for Colocasia esculenta) is consumed by and holds an important place in the diet of local rural people in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Three Amadumbe phenotypes were evaluated for their nutritional qualities. Like all known tubers, the locally grown Amadume contained high carbohydrate levels, adequate protein and low lipid content. Essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic) were identified as components of the Amadumbe lipids. Amadumbe was generally low in mineral content, apart from potassium and magnesium levels that were relatively high. Some anti-nutrients (protease inhibitors, lectin, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, oxalates, phytates, cyanogens and saponin) present in Amadumbe were also identified and quantified. The anti-nutrient levels were generally low and thus may not pose an immediate effect on the health of consumers. Reduction of the anti-nutrients through processing (cooking, frying, roasting) was observed to enhance the nutritional value of these tubers. However, their presence suggests that a steady consumption may lead to toxic levels. Two proteins (Al and B2) with a-amylase inhibitor activity, and a steroidal saponin (gamma-sitosterol) were extracted and partially characterised. The a-amylase inhibitors were extracted and partially purified through ammonium sulphate precipitation and chromatographic fractionation on diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sephacel and Sephadex G-100. The molecular weights of the two inhibitors were estimated to be 17 000 and 19 000 dalton, respectively. The inhibitors were fairly heat-stable, with optimum activity at 40° C? pH 6.0. Both inhibitors showed activity against mammalian a-amylases, but were devoid of activity against fungal amylases. Inhibitor A also showed activity against plant amylases. The steroidal saponin extracted from Amadumbe was characterized through TLC, HPLC, GC-MS, IR and NMR spectroscopic analysis and identified to be gamma- sitosterol, an isomer of beta-sitosterol which is known to have a variety of high biological activity. Studies of the effect of beta-sitosterol on absorptive and digestive enzymes in Sprague-Dawley rats revealed that oral administration of beta-sitosterol had no apparent gross or microscopic lesions in the liver, kidney or small intestine. The administered p-sitosterol significantly decreased serum aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) and alanine aminotransferase (AST) levels. Na+/K -ATPase and intestinal disaccharidases activities were also significantly reduced in beta-sitosterol fed rats. These results do suggest that even though Amadumbe is a neglected crop in South Africa, it is a highly nutritional crop; the consumption of it could be beneficial to diabetic and hypertensive patients.

CIP is a web interface that integrates two important information sources into one easy to use interface. The first important source is a climate database that stores and manages queries to a large suite of observational climate data as well as projections of future climate. The second important source of information is an extensive collection of guidance documentation that facilitates the best use of the climate data, it’s interpretation and, importantly, resultant actions. The philosophy guiding CIP is that data is not information and as such only has value when well interpreted and correctly used or applied to appropriate problems.

CIP is targeted at a wide range of users. CIP has been designed to be easy and intuitive to use so as to provide easy and simple access to various climate information. However CIP has also been designed to offer important features such as data downloads that suite users more familiar with climate data. It is our hope that as CIP develops, and you the user provides us with feedback, we will continue to satisfy the needs of a wide range of users.

In many parts of southern Africa, agricultural production is stagnant or even in decline, particularly in subsistence and smallholder agriculture. The reasons are many and debatable, but include lack of suitable inputs for production, environmental constraints and degradation, inadequate agricultural infrastructure, external shocks including volatile markets, and social stresses such as the impacts of HIV/AIDS and growing poverty. As an additional stressor, increasing climate variability and climate change are impacting on agricultural livelihoods since resource-poor farmers are unable to cope with multiple stressors or adapt to climate-related risks. The Kingdom of Lesotho is a typical example of a country considered highly vulnerable to climate-related challenges: as one of the least developed countries (LDCs), it is over-reliant on rainfed agriculture for food production and has a large poor rural population engaged in subsistence farming, which is relatively undiversified.

The Adaptation Network will be offering a series of training courses during 2016 that aim to cater to for different levels of adaptation knowledge and practice. The courses provide a broad foundation that  enable practitioners, officials and activists to gain greater insight into climate science and facilitate effective adaptation processes for members of vulnerable communities.

Within the framework of the MANITATRA project implementation on COMESA funding which consists in scaling up the dissemination of agro ecological techniques and /or Climate Smart Agriculture[1] in the Middle West and South East regions of Madagascar, a field day dedicated to Climate Smart Agriculture was planned in each intervention area. The Field Day in the Middle West was held in March 2015 and was a real success.

This resource is a presentation made by CCARDESA during the AFAAS Extention week 2017, It focuses on the approach of the Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural Areas of SADC (ACCRA) Programme’s  approach to capacity building for scaling Climate Smart Agriculture in southern Africa and the & lessons learnt.

This climate proofing tool is part of the training package on Tackling Climate Change in Agriculture: Approaches to climate change adaptation and climate smart agriculture in southern Africa. It is based on the Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Development Co-operation Climate Proofing Tool initially developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and GIZ in 2009. This climate proofing tool expands the original tool towards a stronger focus on climate change adaptation in agriculture in southern Africa, and places more emphasis on knowledge co-generation with respect to the specific case study system at hand. It has been adapted to southern Africa by the SADC Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural Areas in Southern Africa (ACCRA) Programme. ACCRA has been established by the German Government through the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), funded by the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ). The programme is implemented by the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research & Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA).

The training package combines a range of different technical/topical modules with this climate proofing tool and its practical application within specified case studies. This climate proofing tool forms an integral part of the training package.

The climate proofing tool consists of a series of steps which will be implemented in small groups, who will work together throughout the training course. Each group will focus on a particular case study or system of interest – an agricultural system or value chain.

The climate proofing steps include:

• Assessing the current and future climate risks
• Identifying adaptation options
• Selecting adaptation measures

Pre-defined case studies form the basis of applying the climate proofing tool. The selection of the case studies will have been done in advance by the programme implementing the training or by the participants themselves, or both. The case studies have been prepared with details on existing climate conditions, systems characterisation including biophysical, as well as socio- economic aspects.

This resource is part of the CCARDESA Training Package on Climate Change and Climate Smart Agriculture. It focuses on fostering partnerships for up scaling climate smart agriculture. The powerpoint version of this resource is available for modification and reuse upon request