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Conservation Agriculture -Policy Environment

REGIONAL CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE STUDY TOURS MARCH

2010

Lindiwe Majele Sibanda (PhD)Harare, Zimbabwe 24 March 2010

lmsibanda@fanrpan.org

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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