Overcoming barriers: policies and

Barriers to adoption: policy & institutional arrangements to support CSA

Leslie Lipper, Solomon Asfaw, Giacomo Branca, Andrea Cattaneo, Romina Cavatassi, Uwe Grewer, Misael Kokwe, Nguyen Van Linh, Wendy Mann, Nancy McCarthy,

Adriana Paolantonio, George Phiri, Alessandro Spairani

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN .

Outline of the presentation

• Barriers to adopting what?

• Changing weather patterns means farmers need to adapt

• Though CSA is a site specific concept, there are key features of what it will take & specific barriers associated with them

• Policy levers to reduce barriers

• Policy coordination and financing needs

Barriers to what?

• Changing agricultural production systems– Increase productivity, incomes, reduce variability and

environmental damage

– Covers a wide range of possible options/combinations

• But goes beyond agricultural practices– Income diversification

– Efficient charcoal production

– Value chain management

Just to get an idea of the variation in agricultural practice sets farmers could adopt – evidence from Malawi

4

Freq. Percent

T0 only 47 3.28

T1 + crop rotation no legumes 127 8.86

T2 + crop rotation with legumes 185 12.91

T3 + swc + other combinations (rot/cover crop/intercrop/residue ret) 323 22.54

T4 + agroforestry + other combinations (rot/cover crop/intercrop/residue ret) 129 9

T5 + agroforestry & swc + other combinations (rot/swc/cover crop/intercrop/residue ret) 105 7.33

T6 + crop rotation no legumes + residue retention/cover crop/intercropping 131 9.14

T7 + crop rotation with legumes + residue retention/cover crop/intercropping 121 8.44

T8 + residue retention 27 1.88

T9 + other combinations 6 0.42

T Total tillage 1,201 83.81

M1 + residue retention 29 2.02

M2 + crop rotation no legumes + residue retention/cover crop/intercropping 39 2.72

M3 + crop rotation with legumes + residue retention/cover crop /intercropping 20 1.4

M4 + crop rotation + residue retention/cover crop /intercropping/swc +agrof (CF) 45 3.14

M5 + swc + other combinations (rot/cover crop/intercrop/residue ret) 54 3.77

M6 + crop rotation + other comb 27 1.88

M7 + agrof + swc + other comb 12 0.84

M8 + agroforestry + other comb 5 0.35

M Total MSD 231 16.19

Till

age

MSD

Weather patterns: recent past in Malawi

Coefficient of Variation of seasonal rainfall and temperature (1983-2012)

Zambia: change in onset of the rainy season1983-2012

How various options impact crop yields under different climate effects

Higher YieldsLower/Same Yields

Reduced probabilityof yields<LR Average

Average climatic conditions

Legume intercropInorganic fertilizerImproved seed

Crop rotation

Inorganic fertilizerImproved seedTimely fertilizer access

Delayed onset of rainfall

Crop RotationImproved seedTimely fertilizer access

Inorganic fertilizer Legume intercrop

Increased seasonal temperature

Legume intercropTimely fertilizer access

Improved seedInorganic fertilizer

Legume intercropTimely fertilizer

II. Although CSA benefits & costs are site specific – we can identify some universal characteristics of CSA practices and technologies

… as well as the barriers to their adoption

CSA characteristic Examples and means Potential barriers

Resource use efficiency Correct timing & dose of inputs

Input recommendations for heterogeneous conditions

Timely delivery of inputs

Extension packages designed for specific agro-ecologies

Increased resilience of agro-ecosystem

Improved water holding & drainage capacity;

Delay/time frame to build ecosystem services results in financing gap

Labor constraints

Coordination across landscapes

Protect watersheds through tree planting

Restore degraded lands through grazing mgmt

Lack of social organizations to manage collective action

And in fact we do have lots of evidence of these types of barriers being important

Barriers Enablers

Minimum soil disturbance

Low income Extension informationCollective action

Legumeintercropping

Low incomeDistance to district center

Extension informationLand TenureCollective action

Crop Rotation Low income Extension information

Agro-Forestry Distance to district centerLabor costLow income

Tenure securityDrought proneness

Improved seed Uninsured riskDistance to district center

Extension information

Inorganic fertilizer

Uninsured riskLack of land tenureDistance to district center

Extension information

Barriers to & Enablers of Adoption:Zambia & Malawi

Uninsured risk a key barrier – especially for the poorExtent of CSA Practice Adoption as Likelihood

of Extreme Weather Events Increase

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Exte

nt

of

CSA

Pra

ctic

e A

do

pte

d

Likelihood of Extreme Weather Event

13

Variable MSD Till

Yield (kg/ha) 2,273 1,707 ***

Gross margin ($/ha) 118 102

Cost of cash inputs ($/ha) 257 185 ***

Labor use (family + hired) 53 37 ***

Improved seeds (%/plot) 93 85 ***

Subsidized fertilizer (%/plot) 60 60

Labor and capital barriers to adoption

Evidence from Zambia Maize systems

• Yield is higher under MSD in dry areas

• MSD is more capital and labor intensive

Policy Levers and Outputs

Extension

Credit

Infrastructure

Input support

Safety nets

R & D

…

LEVERS

OUTPUTS• Food Security

• Adaptation

• Mitigation

20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34-20

-18

-16

-14

-12

-10

-8Mean of predicted adoption by SEA

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

RESPONSE

• Farmers

• Agribusines

s

• Markets

• institutions

BUDGET

14

Enablers 1

• Information (e.g. via extension, radio) but needs to be more effective esp for poor

• Input supply (timely and amount --- input subsidy program design – agro-dealers)

• Participating in organizations

• Safety nets /insurance

Improved seed, soil and water conservation and collective

action

Barriers to income diversification

Barrier Effect

Coefficient of variation of rainfall, 1983-

2010(+++)

Long term mean rainfall, 1983-2010

(mm)(+++)

Rainfall anomaly, 2009-10 rainy season (- -)

Access to extension service (+++)

Access to Fertilizer subsidy (+++)

Access to safety-net +/-

• Coordination between CC & Ag. Planning

• Linking climate and agriculture finance

Enablers II

Climate finance

Can represent a significant but small share of overall yearly investment requirements for agricultural growth

27

Summing up II

- Weather variability is key determinant of which practices will give yield, stability and income increases

- We already know a lot about the characteristics of the practices we need for CSA & the types of practices that can generate them under some condition

Summing up II

• We also have a pretty good idea of which levers are key, but need more info on how to best operate them

• We need to look beyond changing ag. Practice for CSA, but in many cases we will be dealing with the same levers

• The scale & urgency of transformation needed indicates the need for enhanced (e.g. coordinated) policy & financing response

Thanks!

www.fao.org/climatechange/epic