Conservation Agriculture for Smallholders in Africa: Extracts of the Lusaka 25by25 Declaration

Transcription

1 Conservation Agriculture for Smallholders in Africa: Extracts of the Lusaka 25by25 Declaration Saidi Mkomwa and Simon Lugandu African conservation Tillage Network (ACT) Winnipeg Convention Centre, Canada June 2014

2 Contents 1. Background 2. Why transformation change is needed? 3. The role of CA 4. Status of CA and challenges 5. Linking partners about ACT 6. The IACCA 7. Extracts from the declaration 8. Acknowledgements

3 BACKGROUND Challenges to food security worldwide hunger has decreased by 132 million in last 20 years; it increased by 64 million (to 239M) in Africa Food production stagnation (1 ton/ha over last 40 years) Africa a net importer of food over last 30 years. USD 22 billion of agric. trade deficit in 2007 Global population to increase by 33% to 9 billion people by 2050; Africa s to increase by 115% (to 2.39 billion) Transformative not gradual change is NEEDED If we do things the same way, we will get same results!

4 Inputs are not a sufficient solution Water in irrigation schemes High cost per hectare. Reaching the thirsty millions an impossible challenge Most irrigation schemes are rainfed white elephants Mechanization (conventional) is not new! Gullies in Lesotho due to ox ploughing Confessions from Laurie Session - large scale farmer in Kenya 1 new tractor every year; on debt with bank every year. But things changed with CA. Seeds and fertilizers yes, but how access? Poor physical and financial infrastructure Inefficient utilization due to prevalent moisture stress

5 Africa is changing.. Some light at the end of the tunnel? Nine of the ten countries with the largest gains in human development index in the world are in sub-saharan Africa (UNDP 2012) Grain yields have increased over the last 10 years from 1 to 1.2 tons/ha Mobile phone based infor and financial platforms (MPESA) Forces to make sustainable farming methods become a reality Vagaries of climate change Escalating inputs costs Machinery, fuels, labour (aging farmers) Encroachment of protected and marginal lands (water towers) Contributions of agriculture to a growth agenda beyond subsistence

6 Smallholder CA is Transforming Farming in Africa From Dig and Die! To Dig and Eat (basins) Hand hoe dug basins, family labour, labour peaks spread, precision farming Induces resilience; More production; Opportunities to diversify and enter markets; think about farming

7 It is not all roses! Sustainability aspects overlooked Inadequate soil cover (residue retention) practiced; Inadequate use of cover crops for fertility &weed management Results from other smallholder reduced tillage CA interventions (ripping, direct seeding) are good but not as consistent as basins. Poor access to mechanization services Timeliness and quality of operations compromised Scaling up the basins model of CA (within the household) to greater than 2 ha is difficult. New basins needed every year; Challenges of labor; it is laborious; youth migration to cities Food security YES. Economic Growth, NO

8 What mechanization are we talking about? NO TO PLOUGHING YES TO RIPPING/DIRECT SEEDING Stop robbing our grand children of their future grow more with less

9 What mechanization? 40 km/ha Gender friendly direct seeding 13 km/ha Enhance timeliness, reduce drudgery, inclusive of gender participation,

10 What mechanization..? FROM being a problem TO being the solution Stop CO2 emissions; sequester and store carbon

11 Hand hoe tillage to jab and dibble (via basins)

12 African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT) The Organisation Not for profit, voluntary membership NGO, in Nairobi Built on support from GTZ, FAO, SARC, Nat Gvts, & others Common vision developed in Harare in 1998 A secretariat at the Nairobi hqts, sub-regional offices (Dar es salaam, Harare, Ouaga), Board of 11 Directors, Country Focal Persons/Institutions

13 First Africa Congress on Conservation Agriculture (IACCA) THEME & AIM THEME Conservation Agriculture: Building entrepreneurship and resilient farming systems AIM Share and Expose experiences and lessons and facilitate alliances to unblock hindrances to expanded and scaled-up adoption of CA especially among the smallholder farming systems and related industry in Africa.

14 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 1. Facilitate sharing of information and experiences focusing on lessons with regard to: i. Impacts of CA contributing to the attainment of the MDGs ii. Sustaining practicing of CA, especially in smallholder farming systems iii. Key issues in the development and adoption of CA in both commercial and subsistence farming systems iv. Links and roles of CA to other global initiatives related to sustainable NRM and rural development 2. Show case policy interventions that have supported and facilitated adoption of CA including enhancing capacity among players and stakeholders 3. Examine and learn from initiatives, including business/entrepreneurship models, unblocking and accelerating adoption and practicing of CA

15 CONGRESS PROCESS 1. Farmers at the Front and at the Centre: Farmers forum outputs to dictate what ALL OTHER SESSIONS must not fail to address 2. Attractive and worth-the-while to unconventional but strategic players and interest groups. Media; Private sector; 3. Be interactive, allowing active participation and discussions through 7 Thematic working groups, 5 Panel discussions; 15 Open space posters, 14 Exhibition booths, Live streaming, Videos, 6 Field visit sites.

16 Delegates THE PARTICIPANTS 414 from 42 African and other countries of the world. 93 women (23%); Came from NGOs and Extension workers (24%); Researchers and the Academia (22%); Smallholder CA Farmers (20%); Media(12%); Development partners (8%); National Governments (8%); Private-Public CA Investors (2.7%).

17 The Lusaka 25by25 CA Declaration 1. Up-scaling of CA as a climate smart technology to reach at least 25 million farmers across Africa by Govts to create a conducive environment for the adoption and development of CA 3. Governments to create enabling policy environment to allow investment financing, and technological development 4. Development partners are urged to increase support to CA programmes. 5. Urge the Private sector to proactively support up scaling of CA

18 6. ACT is to establish a quality-assurance system for accredited agricultural training 7. Farmers who have adopted CA should be supported to be champions and educators for their counterparts 8. Agricultural training institutions are requested to take up CA as an integral part of their training programmes and take part in farmer sensitization and training efforts 9. Urge all concerned including FARA and the CGIAR to ensure R&E on CA is farmer-focused and responsive to the needs of farming communities. 10. ACT, in collaboration with FAO & RECs are called upon to support knowledge management by stakeholders

19 More technical partnerships and resources needed to implement the vision ACT co-hosted the 2005 IIIWCCA in Nairobi Kenya. Numbers of partners, Initiatives and technological packages have been developed since then The Lusaka 25by25 CA declaration will not only enable Africa to feed itself, but be the foundation for Growth and Stability. We are currently seeking for support from AU- NEPAD, we seek for continued support from our current partners and others

20 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Host Government of the Republic Zambia The IACCA Foundation Sponsors COMESA IACCA Platinum and Gold Sponsors

21 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Partners

22 THANK YOU