An Overview Of Our Solution
This solution comes from the Tanzania Program of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) operating in Mbeya within the northern Lake Nyasa Basin. By using conservation covenants, AWF worked with partners to transform agricultural practices, improve yields, conserve biodiversity and strengthen resilience along the agricultural frontier of Tanzania. Conservation covenants are commitments that when acted on protect biodiversity of an area. An example covenant is "use all reasonable endeavors to increase the use of organic fertilizers". We have applied them in agricultural production where farmers sign agreements integrating conservation covenants in their farming practices. As a result biodiversity has been better protected while crop productivity increased.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Suburban
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Africa
General Information
Organization type
À but non lucratif
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Forests
Freshwater
Oceans/Coasts
Population impacted
16,820 people
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
100 ha
Production quantity
17,500 kilos
People employed
201 people
Solution
Describe your solution
Communities in the northern Lake Nyasa basin rely mostly on agriculture for their livelihoods. Conversely, agriculture in the area is largely practiced unsustainably hence a major driver of environmental degradation. In order to formulate cost-effective responses, AWF undertook an analysis of biodiversity values and threats in the basin. One of the identified leading threats was unsustainable agriculture. Conservation covenants that respond directly to addressing identified threats were created. Conservation covenants are commitments that when put into practice protect biodiversity of an area. In our case these covenants were meant to protect biodiversity when farmers are practicing agriculture. AWF signed agreements with smallholder farmers obliging them to adopt and apply these conservation covenants in their farming operations. Trainings on sustainable farming methods were given to farmers in order to increase their understanding of the covenants and effectiveness in applying them in their day to day farming practices. This approach favored sustainable crop harvest and biodiversity conservation. As part of conservation covenants, farmers were as well trained to make key organic farm inputs (fertilizers and pesticides) from locally available materials, reducing costs from farm inputs by nearly 80% hence making the approach affordable to poor smallholder farmers.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
Planning: First, we create a land use plan. It considers ecological values; population dynamics; infrastructural needs; historical, current and projected land uses to optimize competing land use interests.
Training: AWF partnered with the Rungwe Avocado Company to introduce conservation covenants in the area and train 500 avocado farmers in 2011. Studies are carried out to determine negative impacts caused by agricultural practices to biodiversity; conservation covenants and trainings are designed to address these challenges and improve productivity. Many communities changed their behavior by adoption of conservation covenants and the number of adopters has now grown to 3,500. The conservation covenants approach worked well with avocado farmers, so we extended it to potato farmers. The first batch of 201 potato demo farmers were trained in 2015 to apply conservation covenants targeting reduced production costs, increased productivity and biodiversity protection (soil and water conservation, making and using of organic pesticides and fertilizers, proper spacing, promoting micro-habitats e.t.c).
Our demo farmers previously used methods that drained nutrients from their fields. As a result farmers used increasing amounts of expensive chemicals and could not keep up with the costs without going into serious debt. These chemicals had broader effects on the landscape; Lake Nyasa takes over 700 years to cycle through and replace all of its water, meaning that pollutants can remain in the water system for centuries and throw the ecosystem out of balance.
Market Access: Our third step is to give farmers better access to markets, for instance, farmers were linked to a market information facility provided by Vodacom Telephone Company called the Vodacom Agriculture Club. This facility links farmers to vendors who purchase potatoes and sell them in larger markets. By reducing reliance on local markets, post-harvest loss for potato was reduced by an estimated 30 percent.
External connections
We have engaged partners that have demonstrated understanding of biodiversity and agriculture challenges facing farmers and natural resource managers. Emphasis has been on innovation, scale and sustainability. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; the Barr Foundation and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund are donors to this AWF program. The Tanzania Forest Service, Mbeya Regional Administrative Secretariat and the District Councils for Rungwe, Mbeya(R) and Busokelo were government partners who participated at different levels in promoting sustainable agriculture and natural resource management. The local NGO called Isangati Agricultural Development Organization (IADO) provided standard agricultural extension services to demonstration farmers including training on how to make organic fertilizers and pesticides from locally available raw materials. For instance, organic pesticides were made from hot pepper, neem leaves, Sodom apple, tefrosa plant, sisal, ash e.t.c. As for organic fertilizers, farm yard and compost manures were used. Another local NGO, the Hifadhi ya Mazingira na Utalii Rungwe (HIMARU), an environment entity was engaged to provide local coordination and environment education especially regarding on-farm conservation management at community level. The African Wildlife Foundation was a lead implementation partner responsible to all donors and providing overall technical facilitation and coordination of the program.
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
The Mbeya region in the Nyasa Basin is transforming due to rapidly growing population of over 2.7 million, shifting weather patterns due to climate change and investments in agriculture and transport infrastructure. Forests and Lake Nyasa in Mbeya are key for retaining ecological services underpinning existing and planned agricultural development, but are also at the highest risk of degradation. Agriculture is a leading cause of deforestation. Lake Nyasa contains nearly 7% of the planet’s surface freshwater, the most species rich lake in the world, with an estimated 500 to 1,000 species of fish including many that are endemic. The lake is greatly affected by sedimentation resulting from unsustainable agriculture and deforestation.
Describe the context in which you are operating
Recent upgrades to road, rail and airport connect Mbeya reliably to Tanzania’s main port and economic center in Dar Es Salam, opening up market access for the region’s agricultural products and supporting the expansion of the region’s mining sector. Agriculture remains a dominant sector employing over 80% of the region’s population and accounting for 85% of income. According to the analysis produced by AWF, forests occupy 2,348 Km2 or 21% of Lake Nyasa Basin hosting important species of fauna and flora. Agriculture and settlement occupy nearly 30% of the basin. Small-scale agriculture accounts for most of the land use and over 90% of the population derive their livelihood from farming. These agricultural systems are predominantly rain-fed making them vulnerable to variations in weather patterns that are common with climate change. Hydrological features include streams, rivers, crater lakes, and riverine and lacustrine wetlands all in need of conservation attention.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
The covenants adopted by farmers took care of on-farm biodiversity to conserve soil, water, soil organisms and micro-habitats in 100 ha of demo farms. Use of industrial chemicals was reduced by nearly two-thirds due to availability of cheap, effective organic pesticides and fertilizers made by farmers themselves from locally available materials. Some covenants took care of off-farm biodiversity such as restricting 201 demo farmers bordering wildlife areas from illegal hunting; others were taking care of water sources protection where 16 were restored. These practices have promoted conservation, for instance, demarcating degraded water sources and planting 60,000 seedlings of water-friendly tree species. Communities have participated in developing three management plans for nearby protected areas and adhered to associated by-laws hence reducing illegal activities in protected areas. Measurements taken in nearby rivers proved reduction in pollution resulting from farm chemicals.
Language(s)
English
Water
Sustainable farming practices reduced the level of pollutants potentially entering the water system. Measurements of pollutants in water systems close to sustainable farmers proved to have reduced. During this time, farmers have restored 16 highly degraded water sources by planting on them 60,000 seedlings of water-friendly tree species. Similarly 16 water sources were demarcated using special beacons so as to limit human activities on them.
Food Security/Nutrition
Sustainable farmers realized improvements in food security. In the past, even with good weather conditions, most farmers harvested 88 to 100 bags per hectare (1bag = 100kg). In spite of drought this season, the average harvest for sustainable farmers was 175 bags per hectare. Because of the drought this season, potatoes fetched higher prices than usual. The price per 100-kilogram bag rose from US$17.5 to US$30, or US$5,250 per hectare as compared to $1,750 in previous years.
Economic/Sustainable Development
Production doubled and farmers broke the viscous cycles of debt and dependence on expensive agro-chemicals. Farmers made organic pesticides and compost manure. Composting costs about US$40 per acre, whereas chemical fertilizers were costing them US$1,900 per acre. Farmers were trained on appropriate application levels of approved industrial fertilizers; this reduced fertilizer costs by 40 percent because farmers had previously been applying far more fertilizer than necessary.
Climate
Demonstration farmers and other adopters had reduced the use of industrial fertilizers which are known to release Green House Gasses (GHGs) to the atmosphere by about two-thirds; 201 demo farmers have reduced deforestation by adhering to conservation covenants; 60,000 tree seedlings were planted in water sources: all these measures reduce concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere hence contributing to mitigate climate change.
Sustainability
The program has invested in people by training smallholder farmers on sustainable production methods, empowering them to access markets through their mobile phones and capacitated them to make key farm inputs on their own by using locally available raw materials. This solution has proved to reduce farm inputs costs amazingly by 80% and increase crop productivity up to three-fold. This approach has reduced their dependence on outsiders hence assured sustained high yield, food security, access to markets and sustainability. Once the seed fund of $1,000 per farmer per acre is provided to capacitate the farmer, then the farmer can continue through next seasons without external support
Return on investment
The average yield for potato using sustainable methods is 175 bags/ha or 87.5 bags/acre; the price is $30/bag and earning per acre is $2,625. In a case study to determine production costs involving 20 sustainable farmers, the cost per farmer per acre turned $1,000 including all-year training costs but excluding labor costs. Labor cost per acre was calculated based of what casual laborers would charge for tillage, terrace making, furrowing, planting, spraying, weeding, harvesting and carriage and was found to be about $150 making total production cost per acre $1150. So, the net profit earned by the farmer per acre is $2,625 - $1150 = $1475. Costs will go down by about half in coming seasons because training costs will be excluded.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Demonstration farmers agreed to share their knowledge and experience within and outside their areas. In the 20 villages that have undergone more than one farming season in another AWF operational area, 80 to 100 new farmers per village per year are visiting the demonstration plots, receiving training from the original demonstration farmers, and adopting sustainable agricultural practices on their own land. At this rate, 1,600 to 2,000 farmers per year are switching to sustainable methods. This action by AWF in Nyasa Basin is a replication of similar action by AWF in central Tanzania, where maize productivity increased up to 8-fold. The important needs include to have a set of conservation covenants relevant for the area, a training manual for the production of sector in question (e.g. maize), trainers and relevant partners. The cost involved in this solution is $1,000 per farmer per acre excluding farmer’s labor.