The main objective of the project was to pass on knowledge to approximately 700 farmers and 75 extension staff. To achieve the knowledge transfer targets during the project, a 5-day national workshop was organized to train agricultural professionals. From the national workshop, 10 trainees were identified to support the training of farmers in a 5-day sub national workshop.
Tag: agriculture
Biology of Mesoplatys ochroptera Stål (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae), a pest of Sesbania species, in southern central Africa
Sesbania species (Fabaceae) are a valuable plant resource in tropical agriculture. Recently, Mesoplatys ochroptera Stål (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae) has become a serious pest of Sesbania species in agroforestry systems in Africa. The biology of M. ochroptera was studied in eastern Zambia and southern Malawi. Sesbania bispinosa (Jacq.) Wight, S. brevipedunculata Gillet, S. leptocarpa DC, S. macrantha Phil. & Hutch., S. rostrata Bremek & Obrem, S. sericea (Willd.) Link, S. sesban (L.) Merr. and S. tetraptera Hochst. ex Baker were the primary hosts of M. ochroptera in the study area. Females laid on average one egg batch per day in an oviposition period of 18-56 days. Egg batches contained 2-70 eggs. Females that were mated repeatedly produced about 1000 offspring while those mated only once produced 980 offspring. Larval development through three instars, took between 11-34 days. Pupal development occurred in the soil, and took 4-16 days. The survival and developmental periods of pre-imaginal stages differed significantly between the Sesbania species studied. The highest and lowest pre-imaginal survival was recorded on S. leptocarpa and S. rostrata, respectively. The longest developmental period of about 32 days was recorded on S. sesban while the shortest of 14 days was on S. leptocarpa. Annual activity cycle in M. ochroptera followed the unimodal rainfall pattern of southern central Africa. Beetles were only active during the rainy season (November-April) with a single population peak between February and April. Adults overwintered within and around the sesbania fallows during the long dry season (May-October) and emerged with the onset of the rains.
Beyond the farm: a new look at livelihood constraints in the highlands of East Africa
Throughout the highlands of eastern Africa, farming communities face critical challenges in providing for an ever-growing population while maintaining the productivity of the resource base. Most research and extension programs have approached this problem by focusing on the alleviation of farm-level productivity constraints, largely through technological solutions. There is a strong push within national and international arenas to move toward broader units of analysis and intervention, with the aim of enhancing the sustainability of rural livelihoods as well as environmental services emanating from highland areas. Yet little treatment has been given to the issue of farmer motivations for thinking and acting beyond the farm level. Outcomes of a participatory assessment of landscape-level problems of concern to highland farmers of Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania shed light on this question and point to contributions that can be made from research and development to support farmers and communities in addressing identified challenges.
The potential of indigenous fruit trees: results of a survey in Kitui District, Kenya
A semi-structured questionnaire survey was conducted [date not given] at 6 divisions (Central, Chuluni, Kabati, Mutito, Mutomo and Yatta) in Kitui District, a semi-arid area of Kenya. Farmers (n=7-9) were asked on the identification, propagation, management, preference and market value of indigenous tree species in the area. A total of 62 wild species was identified in farmlands and woodlands. The top 10 priority species of the farmers (in descending order) were Vitex payos, Tamarindus indica, Sclerocarya birrea, Adansonia digitata, Azanza garckeana, Vangueria rotundata, Berchemia discolor, Carissa edulis, Ximenia caffra, Balanites aegyptica, and Loranthus uluguense. Marketing survey revealed that seven of the top 10 species (Adansonia digitata, Azanza garckeana, Berchemia discolor, S. birrea, T. indica, V. payos and X. caffra) already have commercial potentials as they are sold in local markets. The survey also revealed that indigenous knowledge existed on managing indigenous fruit trees species such as spot slashing around individual trees to reduce competition from less favoured trees, pruning trees, and supporting young regenerants. The constraints identified by farmers that limit planting and management of indigenous fruit tree species are presented. Recommendations made from the survey are also presented.
Redressing forestry hegemony when a forestry regulatory framework is best replaced by an agrarian one
The authors examine some of the social and economic impacts of the forestry bias in state land classification. The maintenance of forest production and environmental services has been the justification from the state for forestland classification, but forest land delineation and gazetting has, at times, significantly restricted smallholder land use and land ownership. This paper explores some of the historical background to the creation of”Permanent Forest Estates” in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. The experience with forest area classification and subsequent encroachments suggests that, in many cases, such areas are domains better placed within a less regulated agrarian framework.
Editorial for the Thematic Series in Agriculture & Food Security: Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies in West Africa: learning from the ground AR4D experiences
This Thematic Series on “Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies in West Africa: learning from the ground AR4D experiences” contains seven papers presented by researchers from four West African countries based on participatory action research conducted since 2012 in the region. These research activities were funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) through a project titled “Developing community-based climate-smart agriculture through participatory action research in CCAFS benchmark sites in West Africa” (see [1]). This research action under the scientific lead of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) aimed to test and validate, in partnership with rural communities and other stakeholders, scalable climate-smart village models for agricultural development that integrate a range of innovative agricultural risk management strategies. The project also aimed to enable farmers, developers, managers and policy makers for the agriculture sector to develop cost-effective climate-smart agriculture (CSA) options that support local sustainable development and enhance livelihood resilience. It is therefore a response to the challenges (degraded lands, low crop productivity, high level of poverty for rural people, etc.) faced to satisfy the food needs of an increasing population in the face of a changing climate.
Understanding gender dimensions of agriculture and climate change in smallholder farming communities
In Uganda, Ghana and Bangladesh, participatory tools were used for a socio-economic and gender analysis of three topics: climate-smart agriculture (CSA), climate analogue approaches, and climate and weather forecasting. Policy and programme-relevant results were obtained. Smallholders are changing agricultural practices due to observations of climatic and environmental change. Women appear to be less adaptive because of financial or resource constraints, because of male domination in receiving information and extension services and because available adaptation strategies tend to create higher labour loads for women. The climate analogue approach (identifying places resembling your future climate so as to identify potential adaptations) is a promising tool for increasing farmer-to-farmer learning, where a high degree of climatic variability means that analogue villages that have successfully adopted new CSA practices exist nearby. Institutional issues related to forecast production limit their credibility and salience, particularly in terms of women’s ability to access and understand them. The participatory tools used in this study provided some insights into women’s adaptive capacity in the villages studied, but not to the depth necessary to address women’s specific vulnerabilities in CSA programmes. Further research is necessary to move the discourse related to gender and climate change beyond the conceptualization of women as a homogenously vulnerable group in CSA programmes
Learning pathway: Course flows & blueprint
This course is a pivotal contribution to FAO’s vision of fostering a Better Environment, particularly focusing on Biodiversity for food and agriculture. Aligned with FAO’s strategic initiatives, the course is fortified by the approval of the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Agricultural Sectors and the 2021-23 Action Plan, emphasizing the importance of targeted policies and practices for sustainable use, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems.
Utilisation of light and water in tropical agriculture
The resource capture approach developed by John Monteith has been applied in studies of a wide variety of plant species and cropping systems in the tropics over the past 18 years. The purpose of this review is to highlight the progress made and the new challenges which lie ahead. The foundation for this approach was the establishment of ‘response surfaces’ for the development and growth of tropical crops using controlled-environment facilities. The concepts of light interception and thermal time developed were then used to investigate the mechanisms responsible for overyielding in intercropping systems and genotypic differences in the drought adaptation of crops in the semi-arid tropics. The most significant achievements were in the understanding of temporal and spatial complementarity in intercropping and agroforestry systems and the development of plant growth models. More recently, the same concepts have been extended to the capture of below-ground resources in agroforestry systems and rain forests. The most serious remaining challenge is to extend this approach to studies of complex multispecies systems in the humid tropics.
Land use change patterns and livelihood dynamics on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
This study is about changes in land use and interactions of land use change and livelihoods in the Chagga farming system on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. An aerial photo interpretation and fragmentation analysis of the years 1961, 1982 and 2000 was conducted covering approximately the Kirua Vunjo Division, a transect of 152 km2 from the forest reserve edge to the plains. Earlier changes were traced from literature review. The results show the expansion of cultivation to more marginal land down the slope, the disappearance and extreme fragmentation of bush land and appearance and expansion of settlements. The home garden area has experienced some specific internal change, but has not expanded down the slope. In the 1960s there were small open fields and patches of grazing lands amongst home gardens. In the 1980s the area was more uniformly covered by homegardens. Since then it has become patchy again as new homesteads have been built on subdivided farms and more food is produced on the higher slopes. Population pressure and the ensuing expansion of agriculture to more marginal land, intensification of the homegarden system, together with climate changes affecting the water supplies, have caused changes in farmers’ livelihoods. As land scarcity now hinders expansion of agriculture, farm size has seriously decreased, common resources have become scarce, and prices of coffee in the world market remain low, farmers are trying to intensify and diversify their farm production. Local initiative is leading to change, but the locally conceived alternatives are too few and lack integrated approaches of technical agricultural research, economic analysis, and policy studies and reforms. Non-agricultural activities and paid employment are becoming increasingly important. However, due to considerable entry barriers to remunerable off-farm jobs, not all households enjoy equal access to attractive non-farm opportunities. The future welfare of the area will depend on increasing the marketable knowledge and skills of the population that will enable it to become integrated in the economy of the region and the country.