Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Food Security in Zimbabwe

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

Paul Wagstaff, Agriculture Advisor, Concern Worldwide Malachy Harty, International Development & Food Policy, UCC

Business Technology

The Impact of Conservation
Agriculture on Food Security
in two districts of Zimbabwe

Paul Wagstaff,
Agriculture Advisor, Concern Worldwide

Malachy Harty,
International Development & Food Policy, UCC

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

2

Problems with Conventional
Agriculture

• Reduction of soil fertility and physical structure
 Increased erosion

• High labour/ energy requirement - barrier to
participation for poor, sick or elderly farmers
 Delayed planting

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

3

The Principles of Conservation
Agriculture (CA)
• 1. Avoid Soil Disturbance
– Planting basins
– direct seed drills
– rippers
– jab planters

• 2. Soil Cover
– Mulching with crop residues
– Cover crops

• 3. Crop Rotation
Planting pits in Zimbabwe

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

4

Resiliance to Climate Change

 Improved soil structure – reduced erosion
 Water retained in soil

Conservation

 Low impact - avoids problems of conventional agriculture
 Low carbon system of food production
 Potential value as a carbon sink, but results unclear

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

5

Challenges and Limitations of CA

• Retention of residues for mulch cover
• Different spacings for rotation crops
• Labour in first years
• Change of mindset

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

6

Zimbabwe

 Gokwe North

 Gokwe South

 Nyanga

7

Comparison of maize yields grown in CA
planting basins, Zimbabwe (CIMMYT)

8

Where do the yield benefits of Conservation
Farming come from? (GART, Zambia)

Value of Conservation Agriculture even if simply to plant on time!

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

9

Conservation Farming in Zimbabwe

• No draught animals so system based on preparing planting
basins during the dry season
• Intensive extension support
• 50 x 50m Conservation Farming plots (1/4 ha) per household
• ½ maize, ¼ sorghum, ¼ groundnuts/ cowpeas

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

10

Overview of Household Economy
Approach (HEA)

 How people in different social and economic circumstances get the food
and cash they need
 Hyper inflationary situation – cash values irrelevant
 Crop production and income converted into kilo calorie equivalents
 2,100 kcal per person per day survival threshold

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

11

FIGURE 4: Crop Production (GKN)
1000
800
millet
KGs produced

600 cowpeas
400 groundnuts
200 sorghum
maize
0
CF V. Poor V. Poor CF Poor Poor GKN
GKN GKN GKN

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

12

FIGURE 6: Sources of Food
140% barter
% of annual food needs

120% wild food
100%
food aid
80%
60% purchase
40% payment in kind
20% l'stock products
0%
crops
CF V. Poor V. Poor GKN CF Poor GKN Poor GKN
GKN
 Difficult political and economic situation, poor rains - all groups received food aid

 Poor Conservation Farmers would have needed 50% less food aid than the control
group.

 The very poor control group had to undertake much more casual labour for food
which may have resulted in taking children out of school, less time available to
prepare food, take children to health centres, etc

13

Results
CF farmers do not require food aid and are producing
larger surpluses than conventional farmers

2010: INGOs will buy maize surpluses from the CF
farmers to distribute to food deficit areas of Zimbabwe!

Concern currently expanding CA to Tanzania (EU),
Zambia & Malawi (Accenture), Liberia

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

14

No magic bullets

 Water
 Markets, trade, infrastructure
 Research
 Extension and education
 Health
 Financial services and insurance
 Inputs
 Land tenure
 Environment

Malachy Harty, Trocaire Development Review, 12/11/10

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