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Potential linkages between FACASI and ZimCLIFs towards mechanization of maize-legume-livestock
systems in Zimbabwe
Isaiah Nyagumbo CIMMYT-GCAP
Bronte Hotel , 3 February 2014
1. CIMMYT’s Activities on CA in
Southern Africa
• CIMMYT has been carrying out CA research in SA since 2005
• Activities span across the Southern Africa region particularly in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe
• Activities generally aim at using sustainable intensification technologies towards improved food security and incomes among smallholder farmer of the region
1. CIMMYT’s CA projects in southern Africa
since 2005
• Facilitating the widespread uptake of CA in southern Africa (IFAD,USAID)
• Sustainable intensification of maize-legume systems in eastern and southern Africa (SIMLESA/ZA)
• CA2Africa: Focal case study countries: Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe
• Integrating crops and livestock for improved food security and livelihoods in rural Zimbabwe (ZimCLIFs)-ACIAR- Oct-2012
•Magoye ripper
•Basin planting
•Jab-planter •AT Direct seeder
•Dibble stick
•Hoe-planter
CA techniques tested in various locations in Southern Africa
2. ZIMCLIFS
Integrating crops and livestock for improved food security
and livelihoods in rural Zimbabwe
Project started in October 2012; ACIAR funded
1. To increase productivity of smallholder crop-livestock farming systems in four districts in two contrasting agro-ecological regions of Zimbabwe by identifying and adapting technologies and associated management practices.
2. To improve farmers’ access to resources, technologies, information and markets by characterising and strengthening crop (maize, sorghum, legumes) and livestock (goats, cattle) value chains
3. To increase knowledge and skills of research and extension services and agribusiness, enabling the former to design and implement integrated farming systems and value chain research and the latter to target and scale out knowledge generated by the project elsewhere in Zimbabwe.
ZIMLCLIFS sites in the high potential areas in Zimbabwe
Main selection criteria Goromonzi & Murehwa
•Grazing constraints •Biomass production challenges •Previous activities (building on previous initiatives) •NRII •Proximity to markets
Location of Zimclifs sites relative to Harare
Musami: Wards 28, 27, 14 and 11 and 4 (close and far away from markets.
Site 1: Murehwa district
3. Zimclifs Main Activities: Murehwa
District
1. PRA in 2011
2. Baseline survey in 2013
3. Agronomy and livestock experiments established in 2012 (A1, B, residue type, fodder options)
Gender Murehwa (%)
Female 31.1
Male 68.9
Total (N) 399
Socioeconomic Characteristics Gender of HH heads in Murehwa
Males run the show in terms of decisions!
Family size and composition
Mean Standard dev
min max N
Female hh members 2.22 1.47 0 9 400
Male hh members 2.29 1.42 0 9 400
Family size 4.5 2.24 1 15 400
Source: Zimclifs Baseline 2013
Farm land owned and cultivated land size (acre)
mean sd min max N
Farm size (acres) 3.43 - 0 22 400
Cultivated land
(acres)
1.94 - 0 30 400
Maize 1.37 1.35 0 10.2 400
Ground nut 0.41 0.6 0 5.1 400
Sorghum 0.01 0.11 0 1.38 400
Source: Zimclifs Baseline 2013
Livestock ownership
Livestock Owns Percentage(%)
Beef/ draft cattle no 48.3
yes 51.7
Dairy cattle no 97.9
yes 2.1
Goats no 60.9
yes 39.1
Source: Zimclifs Baseline 2013
Reasons for keeping cattle!
Source: Zimclifs Baseline 2013
• Maize • Pearl millet • Rapoko • Groundnuts • Cowpeas • Sugar beans • Bambara nuts • Sunflower • Soyabeans • Sweet potato • Irish potato • Butter nuts • Sorghum
• Horticultural crops: Tomatoes, vegetables, onions, carrots, baby for the Harare market
• Horticulture is one of the main economic activities
Major crops in Murehwa
•Maize and groundnuts are the most preferred crops when rainfall is both sufficient and insufficient •97.5 % grow hybrid seed maize!! Source Girma, 2013, Baseline survey
Its a maize-groundnut cropping system!!!
Key livelihood activities
• Field crops sales
• Horticulture (particularly Goromonzi)
• Small livestock sales (chicken, goats)
• Commodity trading (buying and selling)
• Peanut butter production
Livelihood Challenges (PRA) • Shortage of draft power (CA basins, mech CA )
• Cattle rustling
• Poor Market incentives
• High cost of fertilizer
• Labour shortage
• Recurrent droughts
• Poor roads
• Lack of information on crops and livestock husbandry
• Lack timely access to seed
• Climate change/ variability
• Veld fires and accelerated deforestation
Key livestock production issues from
PRA study of 2011
Herd sizes dwindling : Livestock ownership declined from 80 to about 30 % in Chinamhora.
Size of cattle getting smaller due to in-breeding and poor husbandry
Milk yields from indigenous cattle breeds declined from 2-3 l/cow to 0.5l/cow
Maize yields below potential for NRII (0.65 t/ha vs 3t/ha)
Source: Potgieter, Davis and Rodriguez, (undated, ACIAR spatial analysi report
(a) 3-yr provincial average (b) 2008/9 season avg distance to market : 3km
4. Field experiments in progress
Agronomic activities focus on Sustainable intensification:
• Residue cover provision using other alternatives besides maize (reserved for feed)
• Improved soil fertility through legume rotations and intercrops /relay crops
• Use of fodder crops such as mucuna, lab lab and as livestock feed supliments
B-type trial in
Murehwa, Ward 4
Field learning tours provide an opportunity for co-learning and exchange of ideas
5. Lessons from related studies
in Zimbabwe
Source: Thierfleder et al 2013
Yield increases from CA sometimes become apparent only in the 4th season!
Average maize yield increase (kg ha-1) due to CA subsoiling and direct seeding systems relative to conventional mouldboard ploughing in Zimbabwe 2005-10 (CIMMYT).
Labour savings in mechanized CA
Operation Conventional ploughing
Ripping Direct Seeding
Land preparation and seeding (labour hrs/ha)
55.8 c 41.1b 11.6a
One walks about 55km/ha ploughing compared to 12 km/ha when ripping!
Source: adapted from Siziba (2008)
0102030405060708090
% R
esp
on
de
nts
Advantage relative to conventional ploughing
N=67
Farmer perceptions regarding mechanized CA direct seeders and rippers across 5 districts in Zimbabwe (2011)
Modelling Timeliness
Cropping System Marondera Matopos
Date Maize yield (kg ha-1)
Date Maize yield (kg ha-1)
CA Direct seeder animal traction 10-Nova 3977ab 8-Nova 2623bc
CA Basins early-prepared in winter 18-Nova 4230bc 8-Nova 2659bc
CA ripper animal traction 05-Decb 4297c 14-Novab 2864c
Conventional plough early draft access 08-Decb 4094abc 15-Novb 2333ab
CA Basins late prepared after first rains 09-Decb 4196abc 07-Decc 2537bc
Conventional plough late draft access 12-Decb 3821a 12-Decc 1863a
Overall Mean 30-Nov 4099 21-Nov 2480
LSD(0.05) 6 284 6.2 488
CV% 3.6 14 3.8 39
Labour and planting opportunity analysis suggests huge timeliness advantages from CA while DSSAT modelling suggests large yield advantages in semi-arid conditions
Source: Nyagumbo et al., upcoming
Modelling results suggest huge CA
advantages in terms of timeliness
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Marondera simulated Maize grain yields (kg/ha)
Marondera sub-hmid agro-ecology
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Matopos simulated maize grain yields (kg/ha)
CA Basins early
CA Basins late
Conventional plough early draft access
Conventional plough late draft access
CA Direct seeder
CA Ripper
Matopos semi-arid agro-ecology
Nyagumbo et al., upcoming
6.Opportunities for Synergies between
ZimCLIFs and FACASI in Murehwa
• Baseline studies already conducted
• Zimclifs studies have already highlighted labour and draft power constraints hence we have a niche for mechanization!
• About 50 % of the farmers do not have draft animals and about 60% who have animals keep them for draft power
• Mechanization could have a role towards improved crop –livestock integration through improved timeliness of planting
Challenges at hand
•Strategies for alternative residue cover provision required to address soil cover challenges: In-situ biomass production techs still at their infancy
•Farmers highly oriented towards free input access
•Poor market incentives for CA products such as maize
Thanks
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