Potential linkages between FACASI and ZimCLIFs towards mechanization of maize-legume-livestock

systems in Zimbabwe

Isaiah Nyagumbo CIMMYT-GCAP

Bronte Hotel , 3 February 2014

1. CIMMYT’s Activities on CA in

Southern Africa

• CIMMYT has been carrying out CA research in SA since 2005

• Activities span across the Southern Africa region particularly in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe

• Activities generally aim at using sustainable intensification technologies towards improved food security and incomes among smallholder farmer of the region

1. CIMMYT’s CA projects in southern Africa

since 2005

• Facilitating the widespread uptake of CA in southern Africa (IFAD,USAID)

• Sustainable intensification of maize-legume systems in eastern and southern Africa (SIMLESA/ZA)

• CA2Africa: Focal case study countries: Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe

• Integrating crops and livestock for improved food security and livelihoods in rural Zimbabwe (ZimCLIFs)-ACIAR- Oct-2012

•Magoye ripper

•Basin planting

•Jab-planter •AT Direct seeder

•Dibble stick

•Hoe-planter

CA techniques tested in various locations in Southern Africa

2. ZIMCLIFS

Integrating crops and livestock for improved food security

and livelihoods in rural Zimbabwe

Project started in October 2012; ACIAR funded

1. To increase productivity of smallholder crop-livestock farming systems in four districts in two contrasting agro-ecological regions of Zimbabwe by identifying and adapting technologies and associated management practices.

2. To improve farmers’ access to resources, technologies, information and markets by characterising and strengthening crop (maize, sorghum, legumes) and livestock (goats, cattle) value chains

3. To increase knowledge and skills of research and extension services and agribusiness, enabling the former to design and implement integrated farming systems and value chain research and the latter to target and scale out knowledge generated by the project elsewhere in Zimbabwe.

ZIMLCLIFS sites in the high potential areas in Zimbabwe

Main selection criteria Goromonzi & Murehwa

•Grazing constraints •Biomass production challenges •Previous activities (building on previous initiatives) •NRII •Proximity to markets

Location of Zimclifs sites relative to Harare

Musami: Wards 28, 27, 14 and 11 and 4 (close and far away from markets.

Site 1: Murehwa district

3. Zimclifs Main Activities: Murehwa

District

1. PRA in 2011

2. Baseline survey in 2013

3. Agronomy and livestock experiments established in 2012 (A1, B, residue type, fodder options)

Gender Murehwa (%)

Female 31.1

Male 68.9

Total (N) 399

Socioeconomic Characteristics Gender of HH heads in Murehwa

Males run the show in terms of decisions!

Family size and composition

Mean Standard dev

min max N

Female hh members 2.22 1.47 0 9 400

Male hh members 2.29 1.42 0 9 400

Family size 4.5 2.24 1 15 400

Source: Zimclifs Baseline 2013

Farm land owned and cultivated land size (acre)

mean sd min max N

Farm size (acres) 3.43 - 0 22 400

Cultivated land

(acres)

1.94 - 0 30 400

Maize 1.37 1.35 0 10.2 400

Ground nut 0.41 0.6 0 5.1 400

Sorghum 0.01 0.11 0 1.38 400

Source: Zimclifs Baseline 2013

Livestock ownership

Livestock Owns Percentage(%)

Beef/ draft cattle no 48.3

yes 51.7

Dairy cattle no 97.9

yes 2.1

Goats no 60.9

yes 39.1

Source: Zimclifs Baseline 2013

Reasons for keeping cattle!

Source: Zimclifs Baseline 2013

• Maize • Pearl millet • Rapoko • Groundnuts • Cowpeas • Sugar beans • Bambara nuts • Sunflower • Soyabeans • Sweet potato • Irish potato • Butter nuts • Sorghum

• Horticultural crops: Tomatoes, vegetables, onions, carrots, baby for the Harare market

• Horticulture is one of the main economic activities

Major crops in Murehwa

•Maize and groundnuts are the most preferred crops when rainfall is both sufficient and insufficient •97.5 % grow hybrid seed maize!! Source Girma, 2013, Baseline survey

Its a maize-groundnut cropping system!!!

Key livelihood activities

• Field crops sales

• Horticulture (particularly Goromonzi)

• Small livestock sales (chicken, goats)

• Commodity trading (buying and selling)

• Peanut butter production

Livelihood Challenges (PRA) • Shortage of draft power (CA basins, mech CA )

• Cattle rustling

• Poor Market incentives

• High cost of fertilizer

• Labour shortage

• Recurrent droughts

• Poor roads

• Lack of information on crops and livestock husbandry

• Lack timely access to seed

• Climate change/ variability

• Veld fires and accelerated deforestation

Key livestock production issues from

PRA study of 2011

Herd sizes dwindling : Livestock ownership declined from 80 to about 30 % in Chinamhora.

Size of cattle getting smaller due to in-breeding and poor husbandry

Milk yields from indigenous cattle breeds declined from 2-3 l/cow to 0.5l/cow

Maize yields below potential for NRII (0.65 t/ha vs 3t/ha)

Source: Potgieter, Davis and Rodriguez, (undated, ACIAR spatial analysi report

(a) 3-yr provincial average (b) 2008/9 season avg distance to market : 3km

4. Field experiments in progress

Agronomic activities focus on Sustainable intensification:

• Residue cover provision using other alternatives besides maize (reserved for feed)

• Improved soil fertility through legume rotations and intercrops /relay crops

• Use of fodder crops such as mucuna, lab lab and as livestock feed supliments

B-type trial in

Murehwa, Ward 4

Field learning tours provide an opportunity for co-learning and exchange of ideas

5. Lessons from related studies

in Zimbabwe

Source: Thierfleder et al 2013

Yield increases from CA sometimes become apparent only in the 4th season!

Average maize yield increase (kg ha-1) due to CA subsoiling and direct seeding systems relative to conventional mouldboard ploughing in Zimbabwe 2005-10 (CIMMYT).

Labour savings in mechanized CA

Operation Conventional ploughing

Ripping Direct Seeding

Land preparation and seeding (labour hrs/ha)

55.8 c 41.1b 11.6a

One walks about 55km/ha ploughing compared to 12 km/ha when ripping!

Source: adapted from Siziba (2008)

0102030405060708090

% R

esp

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Advantage relative to conventional ploughing

N=67

Farmer perceptions regarding mechanized CA direct seeders and rippers across 5 districts in Zimbabwe (2011)

Modelling Timeliness

Cropping System Marondera Matopos

Date Maize yield (kg ha-1)

Date Maize yield (kg ha-1)

CA Direct seeder animal traction 10-Nova 3977ab 8-Nova 2623bc

CA Basins early-prepared in winter 18-Nova 4230bc 8-Nova 2659bc

CA ripper animal traction 05-Decb 4297c 14-Novab 2864c

Conventional plough early draft access 08-Decb 4094abc 15-Novb 2333ab

CA Basins late prepared after first rains 09-Decb 4196abc 07-Decc 2537bc

Conventional plough late draft access 12-Decb 3821a 12-Decc 1863a

Overall Mean 30-Nov 4099 21-Nov 2480

LSD(0.05) 6 284 6.2 488

CV% 3.6 14 3.8 39

Labour and planting opportunity analysis suggests huge timeliness advantages from CA while DSSAT modelling suggests large yield advantages in semi-arid conditions

Source: Nyagumbo et al., upcoming

Modelling results suggest huge CA

advantages in terms of timeliness

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Marondera simulated Maize grain yields (kg/ha)

Marondera sub-hmid agro-ecology

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Matopos simulated maize grain yields (kg/ha)

CA Basins early

CA Basins late

Conventional plough early draft access

Conventional plough late draft access

CA Direct seeder

CA Ripper

Matopos semi-arid agro-ecology

Nyagumbo et al., upcoming

6.Opportunities for Synergies between

ZimCLIFs and FACASI in Murehwa

• Baseline studies already conducted

• Zimclifs studies have already highlighted labour and draft power constraints hence we have a niche for mechanization!

• About 50 % of the farmers do not have draft animals and about 60% who have animals keep them for draft power

• Mechanization could have a role towards improved crop –livestock integration through improved timeliness of planting

Challenges at hand

•Strategies for alternative residue cover provision required to address soil cover challenges: In-situ biomass production techs still at their infancy

•Farmers highly oriented towards free input access

•Poor market incentives for CA products such as maize

Thanks