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Adoption of soil and water conservation practices under different farming systems in the Sahel region of northern Mali

  1. Adoption of soil and water conservation practices under different farming systems in the Sahel region of northern Mali Birhanu Zemadim & Gracious Diiro, Monica Petri, and Ramadjita Tabo
  2. Background Climate change/climate variability remains a major development challenge in developing countries, particularly in the Sub-Saharan Economies (SSE) The majority of the population in SSE resides in the rural areas and derive their livelihoods directly from the agricultural sector. Sustained livelihood improvements in many of the rural communities require implementation of interventions that promote adaptation to impacts of climate variability Strategies for effective climate variability adaptation and mitigation need to be gender inclusive, targeting both male and female farmers.
  3. Cntd…Background A study was conducted in three farming systems and considering gender of the head of the household with the objective of: • Studying perceptions of causes and effects of climate variability • Evaluating adoption of Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) practices, and identification of barriers to adoption Formulation of robust policy interventions and programs aimed at promoting adaptation strategies for the agricultural sector require: • A better understanding of how farmers perceive climate change/variability • The adaptation measures used by farmers and • The perceived effects of climate variability and the barriers to its adaptation. Bryan et al., (2009)
  4. Methodology Three farming systems were considered in the Sahelian region of northern Mali • Rice farming system, Cereals (sorghum and Millet) farming system and Mixed farming system. Data was collected from 297 farmer households (average number of HH is 13), 16 NGOs and 11 focus group discussions (FGDs) in eleven villages in Mopti region.
  5. Results and Discussion Perception of Climate Variability by Farming System Climate Event All household s (n=281) Rice system (n=58) Dry cereals system (n=140) Mixed system (n=83) Freq. % Fre q. % Freq . % Freq . % Stronger and violent wind 234 83.3 44 75.9 121 86.4 69 83.1 Increased temperature 210 74.7 39 67.2 106 75.7 65 78.3 Poor rainfall pattern 159 56.6 23 39.7 92 65.7 44 53.0 Reduced vegetation cover 148 52.7 22 37.9 89 63.6 37 44.6 • Majority of farmers perceive variabilities in climate in the past 10 to 20 years • Stronger and violent wind is the most reported climate event Awareness, Knowledge and Practices
  6. Cntd..Results and Discussion Perception of Climate Variability by Farming System and Gender Climate Event Rice faming system (n=58) Dry cereals system (n=140) Mixed system (n=83) Female headed Male headed Female headed Male headed Female headed Male headed n % n % n % n % n % n % Stronger and violent wind 6 54.5 3 8 80.9 1 1 73.3 110 88 8 72.7 6 1 84.7 Increased temperature 7 63.6 3 2 68.1 9 60.0 97 77. 6 5 45.5 6 0 83.3 Poor rainfall pattern 5 45.5 1 8 38.3 7 46.7 85 68 7 63.6 3 7 51.4 Reduced vegetation cover 5 45.5 1 7 36.2 8 53.3 81 64. 8 8 72.7 2 9 40.3 No significant differences in perceptions of climate variabilities between male and female headed households in the three farming systems
  7. Cntd..Results and Discussion Perceived causes of climate variability There is lack of clear understanding of the causes of climate variability 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 All households Male headed Female headed PercentofFarmers Other Factors Wrath of gods Inadequate rains
  8. Impacts of climate variability Majority of the farmers (96%) indicated that climate variability affected their farming activities • The number is always higher for female headed farmers 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1.00 All households Rice farming system Dry cereals system Mixed farming system ProportionofFarmers Farming System All households Male headed female headed Reported Impacts • Increased poverty and reduced purchasing power of households • Increased food insecurity and malnutrition • Loss of livestock and low agricultural productivity • Increased pest infestations and other weather related pathogens
  9. Degree of Household Vulnerability to Climate Variability Weather Shock Index All households Farming system Rice system Dry system Mixed system F-Statistic P-value Rainfall pattern 0.73 (0.24) 0.73a (0.20) 0.70a (0.27) 0.77a (0.19) 1.77 0.17 Drought 0.72 (0.30) 0.77a (0.22) 0.68a (0.30) 0.74a (0.33) 1.68 0.19 Violent wind 0.64 (0.26) 0.57a (0.19) 0.64ab (0.30) 0.69b (0.21) 3.70 0.03 Flood 0.53 (0.34) 0.56ab (0.23) 0.46a (0.36) 0.61b (0.36) 4.34 0.01 Other Shocks 0.17 (0.30) 0.40a (0.35) 0.06b (0.20) 0.22c (0.33) 16.31 0.00 All shocks combined 0.49 (0.14) 0.48a (0.11) 0.46a (0.14) 0.56b (0.15) 15.64 0.00 • Significant difference with respect to the various weather shock. indexes, except rain and drought. • Significantly higher shock in the mixed farming system (0.56). • Households residing in the mixed farming system are, on average, more vulnerable to impacts of climate variability Higher weather shock among female headed households than male headed households in the rice system
  10. Climate Variability Adaptation Methods by Sahelian Farmers Farm based methods • Soil and water conservation • Fertilizer application • Crop diversification • Livestock diversification and • Tree planting Non-farm based methods • Utilization of weather forecasts • Information and participation in non-farm income generating activities
  11. • Zai was the most common SWC measure used by the households (42%). The likelihood of adoption of any of the other SWC measures is less than 25%. • Significant variation was observed in adoption of most of the SWC measures; except for vegetative barriers, contour bunding and wells. • More adopters of the SWC measures were observed in the mixed farming system SWC measure (1=used, 0=No) All Rice Cereal Mixed F-value P- value Zai 0.42 (0.49) 0.24a (0.43) 0.34a (0.48) 0.69b (0.47) 19.88 0.0000 Artificial ponds 0.23 (0.42) 0.22ab (0.42) 0.16a (0.37) 0.35b (0.48) 5.64 0.0040 Vegetative barriers 0.23 (0.42) 0.22a (0.42) 0.20 a (0.40) 0.30a (0.46) 1.51 0.2231 Contour bunding 0.23 (0.42) 0.22a (0.42) 0.19a (0.40) 0.30a (0.46) 1.73 0.1786 Shallow Wells 0.23 (0.42) 0.22a (0.42) 0.19a (0.39) 0.30a (0.46) 1.99 0.1393 Stone bunding 0.21 (0.41) 0.24a (0.43) 0.14 a (0.34) 0.33b (0.47) 5.93 0.0030 Dams and dykes 0.20 (0.40) 0.24a (0.43) 0.13 a (0.34) 0.30b (0.46) 5.28 0.0056 Ravine creusée 0.20 (0.40) 0.22a (0.42) 0.14a (0.34) 0.29b (0.46) 4.06 0.0183 Adoption of soil and water conservation practices
  12. • Fertilizer management practice: Another important measure utilized by farmers to combat the impact of climate variability Cntd..Adoption of soil and water conservation practices Fertilizer Type All households Rice system Dry system Mixed system F-value P-value Organic manure 0.495 (0.501) 0.310 a (0.467) 0.443a (0.499) 0.711c (0.456) 13.52 0.0000 Mineral fertilizer 0.665 (0.473) 0.431a (0.500) 0.721b (0.450) 0.735b (0.444) 9.56 0.0001 Organic manure & Mineral fertilizer 0.391 (0.489) 0.172a (0.381) 0.379b (0.487) 0.566c (0.499) 12.06 0.0001 • Significant variations in fertilizer adoption across the farming systems • Higher adoption rates observed in the mixed farming system • Barrier: Lack of finances (cited by 29.5%) and limited labor (28%)
  13. Conclusion • Limited awareness on the causes of climate change/variability • Farmers require proper knowledge and understanding of the real causes before they may decide to adapt to climate change. • Need to design communication strategies that create public awareness • SWC measures are the most critical entry points for improving land resource resilience and productivity. • The measures are labor intensive and require capital investment. • People in the region, especially youth, migrate to urban areas and gold mines thus reducing labor supply to the agricultural sector. • The low uptake of adaptation practices may hamper farmer households from achieving sustainable resilience to climate variability.
  14. • Agro-forestry options and residue management to reduce soil erosion due to stronger and violent wind. • Low cost solar pumped water lifting structure to improve water access, production of high valued crops and improve the nutritional status of the household. • Combination of different technologies, i.e. promotion of heat tolerant cultivars, improved livestock breeds adapted to the local condition, and agro-advisory services through weather forecasting Recommendation
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