An Overview Of Our Solution
The agriculture sector remains the engine for economic and social development in Malawi. However, it is characterized by persistently low and unstable productivity due to land degradation and climate change. The impact of the challenges on productivity and household food and nutrition security has become more evident in recent years. To improve agricultural productivity, we have been promoting technologies aimed at adapting to the challenges affecting productivity. Technologies being promoted are agroforestry and conservation agriculture. Research on some CSA approaches has shown that maize yields can increase up to 4.17 t/ha in gricidia maize intercrop; to 4.57 t/ha in conservation agriculture systems with a gross margin of up to 705 US$/ha. The technologies also improve soil microbial activities, structure and texture in the long-run.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Suburban
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Africa
General Information
Organization type
Gubernamental
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Forests
Freshwater
Oceans/Coasts
Population impacted
ex. 16,000,000 people
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
ex. 2,000,000 ha
Production quantity
ex. 3 million tons
People employed
ex. 500,000 people
Solution
Describe your solution
How have you promoted changes in human activities (or changed your own agricultural practice) to ensure sustainable harvests/food security while also conserving, strengthening and/or restoring biodiversity on your agricultural lands and/or the surrounding environment? (1500 characters max.)
Conservation agriculture (CA) principles of maximum cover; reduced tillage and intercropping plus conventional practice as control each on a 0.1 Ha piece of land are being demonstrated in all 29 districts of Malawi. Each district is sub-divided into Extension Planning Areas which is further divided into sections. A section is comprised of 8 to 12 villages. Each section has a conservation agriculture demonstration with each of the CA principle being a treatment. A group of farmers in the section take charge of the demo, cultivating a total of 0.4 Ha. Field days are conducted at critical field preparation times of the growing season and important maize crop growth stages. It is at these meetings that farmers and all those interested within the section appreciate the differences in the performance of the CA principles, and some farmers adopt.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
In your response, please include the following: (2000 characters max)
Department of Land Resources Conservation, Bunda College of Agriculture and other stakeholders established the National Conservation Agriculture Task Force (NCATF) in 2002. This is a voluntary membership organization that brought together researchers, developers and policy makers promoting conservation agriculture in Malawi. The NCATF developed the Guidelines for implementing CA in Malawi, the CA investment framework and coordinated the promotion of CA in Malawi. Using the guideline and other sources capacity of extension staff on CA has been built through on-going trainings. The extension staff in turn train and work with the farmers in managing the CA demonstration. The DLRC which is the secretariat provides backup to the extension workers to ensure high standards in demo management and results. The secretariat is also responsible for policy direction to make sure that same CA principles are taken out to farmers by the various stakeholders. Messages are spread through field days where farmers are invited to learn, those interested get more information from extension worker and lead farmers, who help them implement.
- Specific activities and/or specifically what your solution does to address the identified problems above in the Context Analysis section
- How you ensured your solution was adopted and promoted change in human activities
- Enabling conditions
- Key success factors
- Any obstacles and how you overcame them
External connections
List some of the key partners or stakeholders engaged in your solution development and implementation. Explain how your efforts connect with other sectors, such as fisheries and forestry, and other practices, such as policy and finance. (300 words max.)
Key partners include non-state actors promoting agriculture in Malawi, Departments of Irrigation, Forestry, and Environmental Affairs. The DLRC has been responsible for policy development and direction at the implementation of CA activities in Malawi. A CA investment Plan and a Strategic Plan for the NCATF were developed to guide DA scaling up.
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
More than 3 million smallholder farmers are cultivating on 2 million hectares. Due to increased population, fragile land areas and forests have been put to agricultural use. This has resulted in land degradation and excessive erosion which has resulted in siltation of water bodies, affecting the aquatic life and generation of electricity. As a resulted Malawi is losing more than 29 tons/ha of soil annual due to water erosion. This is valued at more than US$325 million of valuable nitrogen loss every year, in addition to lost yield and biodiversity.
Describe the context in which you are operating
Malawi with a population of 16.8 million and GDP growth of 5.7% in 2014 has more than 73% of the population living on less than US$1.25 a day. Malawi has a life expectancy at birth of 55.3 years and 10.8 years of schooling. The Gini coefficient, an indicator of inequality was at 0.462 in 2010 with rural areas having higher levels of inequality than urban areas. The country was ranked 134th globally based on purchasing power adjusted GDP per capita. The proportion of the poor in rural areas increased from 55.9% in 2004 to 56.6% by 2010, but on the other hand poverty declined in urban areas within the same period from 25.4% to 17.3%.
Malawi is ranked 37th among counties with highest under-five mortality rates in the world, despite that global trends have been declining. Malnutrition in Malawi is associated with: national and household food insecurity, heavy workloads and poor nutrition of mothers, recurrent infections, poor eating habits, and HIV infections leading to frequent illnesses. More than 60% of Malawian smallholder farming households are net food buyers, and face repeated cycles of seasonal food shortage. Agriculture accounts for a third of the Malawi gross national domestic product and 90% of export revenues and employment
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
How did you improve biodiversity and/or positively impact the local environment? Please be specific and include methodology where relevant (1000 characters max.)
Farmers get yields of up to 4.5 t/ha where maize under CA is inter-planted with Lablab (L. purpureus) or pigeon peas (C. cajan), compared to 4 t/ha of maize under CA only and 1.5 t/ha or less under farmer’s practice. An economic analysis showed a gross margin of US$705, US$555 and US$344/ha for maize under CA with legume, maize under CA only and conventional farming respectively. Inclusion of legumes in CA increased household protein availability and consumption by up to 15%.
Water
500 characters max.Increases water retention has ment better ground water recharge. This has made once dry rivers come back to life. Improving aquatic life and other biodiversity.
Food Security/Nutrition
500 characters max.Families are able to harvest enough maize for the whole year. Excess maize is sold and families are able to by other food stuffs they don't produce.
Economic/Sustainable Development
500 characters max. As gross more than double as compared to farmer's practice, households are able to save. They have money to invest in other household needs.
Climate
500 characters max. Mulch help increase carbon sequestratuion and reduced tillage reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Sustainability
Describe the economic sustainability of your solution. Does it rely on grant funding, government subsidies or market-based revenue? (750 characters max.)
The programmes have been supported by both government and donors. We envisage sustainability in that farmer’s decision making and knowledge in CA are developed through hands-on training. Lead farmers are selected from the communities whose knowledge and skills in honed through intensive training to ensure sustainability.
Return on investment
How much did it cost to implement these activities? How do your results above compare to this investment? (750 characters max.)
The investment has a longer payback period, but the immediate benefits justify it. Cost per household could be around US$500 through to adoption stage.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Has it been done before and at what scale? Please include funding required, key stakeholders/partners, additional needs (training, materials, etc.) (1000 characters max.)
The solution could be replicated anywhere, although the technologies need to be adapted to local conditions. This is possible through on-farm trials and training of extension staff and farmers. Cost: Training = US$150/participant, Training manual = $10/manual, demonstration = $300, field days = $1500.