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Adapting to a Changing Environment

Chitemene Alternative

Kabwe, Zambie

An Overview Of Our Solution

Who is this solution impacting?
Écosystème
Forests
Forests
Type de communauté
Rural
Rural
Additional Information
  • Population Impacted:
  • Continent: Africa
General Info

Adresse

Post Box 80015
Kabwe
Zambie

E-mail

brigadierlibanda@rocketmail.com
Problem

Population impactée

6345012

Size

499,941 Kilometers squared

Principaux métiers

agriculture

Ressources locales dont dépend la communauté et dans quel but

The community depends on forests by using a farming system locally known as chitemene. They cut trees on a large scale, stacking and burning them to create a thick layer of ash. The ash is used to fertilize their crops

Menaces locales sur les ressources

Chitemene system of farming poses many threats which include food security, land degradation, pollution, desertification, depletion of soil fertility, wildlife endangerment, climate variability, soil erosion, and dust-bowlification.

Aléas climatiques

(1) the diminishing of a biological diversity or loss of habitats for biodiversity (2) failure in the regulation of surface water and local climate (3) soil degradation (4) high contribution to global climate variability/change (5) increased water loss from the soil and reduced precipitation (6) increased surface runoffs (7) reduced carbon sequestration

Niveau de sensibilité

95% of the population depends on chitemene system of farming for their livelihoods and the remaining 5% consists of fishermen and pastoral farmers (Holden et al 2010). The overpopulation causes pressure to exploit the woodlands which leads to prolonged dry-spells, flash floods, pollution, biodiversity imbalance and ultimately poverty.

Niveau de capacité d'adaptation

Chitemene Alternatives (CA) offers a bold and innovative approach with a high level of adaptive capacity which easily enables members of the community to cope. The details of this approach are given in the response to question 2.
Solution

Chitemene Alternatives (CA) bases it?s design to reduce dependence on the ecosystem on poverty alleviation, free education, and reforestation. Since in chitemene system of farming only 20% of the cleared land is used, we train our farmers in sustainable agro practices that involve using 100% of the cleared land. This significantly reduces the size of forests cleared and the same land can be reused season after another employing crop rotation system. Chitemene farmers are all empowered with farming inputs on credit which they repay with their produce at harvest time. The repayment in kind provides a ready market for their farm produce. All the farmers benefitting from this project commit to an annual reforestation exercise to restore and heal the damaged ecosystem. Farmers find it easy to adapt to this because it is risk free on their part. Our training also emphasizes mixed agriculture. Chitemene farmers are trained in pastoral and poultry farming in order to reduce dependence on growing one crop which often leads to chitemene system of farming.

Results

Coûts écologiques

Our solution has increased the capacity of local communities to adapt to potential climate changes through the free training we offer them and empowerment through agro inputs. We have taken a zero risk approach on the part of the communities.

Bénéfice écologique

N/A

Indicateurs économiques utilisés pour mesurer les avantages

- Increased soil health, biodiversity & yield capacity - Regenerating drought affected areas - Reduced greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable land management approaches

Coût communautaire/social

- Biomass measurements - Number of community members who have since stopped practicing chitemene farming system

Bénéfice communautaire/social

- Free training of communities in sustainable agriculture and climate change adaptation approaches - sensitization about the ravages of chitemene farming system

Indicateurs communautaires/sociaux utilisés pour mesurer les avantages

- increased awareness and support for sustainable agro & land management practices Increased organization of community groups.

Coût économique

- Number of community members abandoning the practice of chitemene farming system - Number of community members attending training programs

Avantage économique

- Enforcement costs - costs of training communities which varies depending on the geography (about $3500 per province) - capacity building

Indicateurs écologiques utilisés pour mesurer les avantages

- Additional income generated

What were/are the challenges your community faced in implementing this solution?

- agro yields per community member - Community reports - household items survey

Action

Décrire le processus communautaire utilisé pour développer la solution, y compris les outils et les processus utilisés

Before Chitemene Alternatives (CA) launched operations, a thorough survey was done. The following were the findings: (1) unavailability of credit facilities for farming inputs leads to an increase in maize prices. 10% increase in maize prices lead to 3.5% increase in maize land demand and thus chitemene farming ( Benhin & Barbier, 2001). (2) Chitemene farmers were picked randomly across the miombo woodlands and interviewed. 100% percent responded with a firm yes to the question ?are you willing and ready to stop practicing chitemene farming system if you are empowered with free training in sustainable agricultural practices and farming inputs on credit?? After the survey, Chitemene Alternatives (CA) began operations. The problem Chitemene Alternatives (CA) is addressing is prominent in Northern, Luapula, Copper belt, Central, North western and Eastern Provinces. The soils in these areas are generally low in fertility and acidic (Food Agricultural Organization 2004). The first concrete step that has been done is setting our Head Quarters right in the heart of chitemene prominent area. We are located in Central Province 11 KM from the main road. This central location allows us to have direct contact with chitemene farmers and hence well placed to solve the chitemene problem. Four demonstration plots are managed and only sustainable agriculture is practiced. Chitemene Alternatives (CA) grows maize, cassava, millet, sorghum, and vegetables. We also keep livestock. We use these demonstration plots for training local farmers in improved farming methods at no cost. The produce from the demonstration plots is sold and the returns together with the repayments of inputs? credit facilities by farmers contribute in keeping Chitemene Alternatives (CA) sustainable. In order for the sustainable agriculture training and the distribution of farming inputs to be effective, farmers are put in cooperatives (teams). This makes it even easier at harvest time when collecting repayments; even easier when conducting impact evaluation. The Meteorological Department offers their products and services in English. Unfortunately this is unhelpful to the farmers as many of them can not read or understand English. We have partnered with CPMO to offer crop-weather early warning system in local languages. This will enable farmers to make informed decisions in their farming. We have also partnered with KNCC in a chitemene sensitization effort. The current management system is divided into 4 major departments, namely: (1) Human resources and administration responsible for policy & strategy formulation, administration and human resource management, (2) the agricultural department is responsible for all agro systems management and training of chitemene farmers, (3) Maintenance department manages the organization?s mechanical part (4) Monitoring and evaluation team carries out all evaluation needs and gives advisory to the department in charge of administration.

Aléa climatique préoccupant

Changing temperatures and weather patterns

Comment votre solution réduit-elle l'exposition et protège-t-elle l'écosystème affecté ?

Our reforestation program restores fertility to the soil and most importantly reduces soil erosion. The stoppage of the practice of chitemene system curbs desertification which is core in preventing droughts, high temperatures and sand storms. It further restores a balance in the ecosystem.

How has your solution increased the capacity of the ecosystem to adapt to potential climate changes?

Our solution has increased the capacity of the ecosystem to adapt to potential climate changes by reducing pressure from forests and nurturing them. Our solution has also increased the capacity or ability of the people to adapt to potential climate changes by empowering them with free sustainable agro training and farming inputs.

Comment votre solution réduit-elle l'exposition et protège-t-elle les communautés affectées ?

Our program continues to run

Comment votre solution réduit-elle la sensibilité des communautés affectées ?

the reforestation scheme and stoppage of chitemene farming system will highly reduce the exposure of communities to all arid related hazards.

Comment votre solution a-t-elle augmenté la capacité des communautés locales à s'adapter aux changements climatiques potentiels ?

Our solution reduces the sensitivity of the communities in that the approach we take supports increased precipitation activities and reduced high temperatures. Increased precipitation activity is key to the many rain fed agro practices.

Scale

Cette solution peut-elle être reproduite ailleurs ?

Transport remains the biggest challenge to date. Organizing community members who are scattered all over the Zambezian woodlands has not been easy without reliable transport. We have used bicycles to work around this problem but this hampers us from having wide influence. Transport is thus one of the problems posing a risk to continued success. We are still working towards acquiring a more permanent solution to it.

Overview
Solution
Scale
Rare
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