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Conservation Agriculture -Policy Environment
REGIONAL CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE STUDY TOURS MARCH
2010
Lindiwe Majele Sibanda (PhD)Harare, Zimbabwe 24 March 2010
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MAJOR CHALLENGES
• Halving poverty by 2015
• 9 billion people to feed then
• Ratio of arable land to population declining by 40-55%
• Growing water scarcity
• Climate change
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CROP POTENTIAL
Source: Adapted from FGGD (FAO 2007).
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COMESA: 2003 CROP YIELDS (MT/ha) COMESA vs. GLOBAL
Crop COMESA GlobalMaize 1.39 4.47Rice 1.12 3.84Wheat 1.38 2.66Sorghum 0.67 1.30Cassava 8.18 10.76Beans 0.60 0.70Bananas 4.69 15.25
www.fanrpan.orgSource: M. Rosegrant (IFPRI) 2009.
NCAR A2a
Global production = -16%
CLIMATE INDUCED CHANGE IN PRODUCTION IN 2050: RAINFED MAIZE
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FOOD SECURITY RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
1. Promote agriculture growth with technology and institutional innovations
2. Innovate in crop systems [ICT, insurance, ]
3. Facilitate open trade and reduce market volatility
4. Expand social protection and child nutrition action [public, private]
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PUTTING FARMING FIRST: KEY PRINCIPLES
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• Limited awareness
• Need for change in mindset in conventional tillage
• Weed control
• Maintenance of soil cover especially during the dry season
• Livestock integration in CA
• Lack of supportive infrastructure
• Farmers’ limited purchasing power (CA implements and inputs)
POLICY ENVIRONMENT
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POLICY CHALLENGES
• Inadequate knowledge on CA
• High vacancy rate at field level
• High illiteracy level
• Low incomes with inadequate or non-existent access to finance for working capital
• Uncontrolled grazing
• Labour demand
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POLICY CHALLENGES
• Fertilizer management
• Weed management
• Inadequate Training
• Documenting success with real time data
• Collaborative links both regionally and internationally
• Poor information flow
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POLICY CHALLENGES
• Lack of Vision, Policy, and Support
• Confused promotional strategies:– Responsibilities are split nationally among Agriculture & Environment
and Water Affairs– Agriculture policy is more trade- oriented than practice-oriented– There is poor information generation and dissemination– Dual agriculture mandate-household food security versus national
food security and commercial agriculture
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WHAT TO DO
– the development of a national (medium to long term) CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE strategy
– the inclusion of CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE into agric policy framework
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Monitoring and Evaluation
Agenda Setting
DecisionMaking
Policy Implementation
Policy Formulation
THE POLICY ACTORS
Civil Society
Donors
Cabinet
Parliament
Ministries
Private Sector
Source: John Young, Networking for impact. Experience from CTA supported regional agricultural policy networks, 2007