CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE IN ZIMBABWE BACKGROUND, CURRENT STATUS AND

FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Sepo Marongwe Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation

Presentation Outline

I. Agro-ecological characteristics

II. Farming sectors and cereal production highlights

III. History and Development of CA in Zimbabwe

IV. Renewed efforts to promote CA in Zimbabwe(2004/2005)

V. Opportunities and Challenges

VI. Conclusion

I. Agro-ecology- Rainfall characteristics in the five natural regions of Zimbabwe ( adapted from Rukuni and Eicher, 1994 pp.42)

Natural

Region

Area (km2) % of total Area Rainfall Characteristics

I 7 000 2 More than 1 050 mm rainfall per year with some rain in all

months.

II 58 600 15 700 - 1 050 mm rainfall per year confined to summer.

III 72 900 18 500 - 700 mm rainfall per year. Infrequent heavy rainfall. Subject

to seasonal droughts.

IV 147 800 38 450 - 600 mm rainfall per year. Subject to frequent seasonal

droughts.

V 104 400 27 Normally less than 500 mm rainfall per year, very erratic and

unreliable. Northern Low veld may have more rain but

topography and soils are poorer.

Total

390 700

100

II. Farming Sectors and Cereal production Trends ( Ministry of Agriculture) Farming Category

Number of farmers

Average Arable Land Size (Ha)

Communal

1 301 988

1

Old Resettlement

75 697

6

A1

145 755

6

A2

18 967

>20

Small-Scale Commercial

8 500

35-100

Large Scale Commercial

800

>20

Total

1 551 707

Average Maize Yields by Farming Sector in 2012/2013 Season Compared to 2011/2012

III. History and Development of CA in Zimbabwe

• Conservation Tillage for Sustainable Crop production Systems ( Con-Till) project-1988-1996 by AGRITEX and GTZ

• Minimum tillage and retention of 30% mulch/organic soil cover promoted

• On-station and on-farm trials testing the following options: mulch ripping, clean ripping, tied ridging against mould board ploughing and hand-hoe holing out.

• Addressing soil loss, water run-off and declining yields

Findings from the Con-Till project

• Mulch-ripping with its higher water-use efficiency seemed most viable for small holder farming in the semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe

• Unavailability of crop residues that are also used as animal feed a challenge

• reduced tillage systems relying purely on hand- hoe weeding not an attractive option for farmers as the reduced tillage systems quickly developed perennial weed problems.

•Numerous on-station and on-farm trials have failed to see any significant up-take of

conservation tillage technologies among small holder farmers

Recommendations from the Con-Till project

REDUCED TILLAGE TECHNIQUES NEED TO BE FURTHER MECHANIZED AND COMBINED

WITH IMPROVED CROPPING SYSTEMS CAPABLE OF REDUCING WEED INFESTATIONS

AND SPREADING LABOUR

International workshop on conservation tillage for sustainable agriculture-1998

Objectives:

• To establish an inventory of the conservation tillage technologies and approaches in use regions .

• To identify factors contributing to the success and failure of CT adoption.

• To come up with dissemination strategies& platforms where by conservation tillage options can be successfully disseminated.

• To come up with national and regional action plans. To create fora for, and stimulate the sharing and exchange of information and encourage the formation of national networks

Formation of African Conservation Tillage Network

IV. Renewed Efforts To Promote CA In Zimbabwe-2003/2004

Conservation Agriculture, Comprising three principles 1.Minimum mechanical soil disturbance 2.Maintenance of soil organic cover (at least 30%) 3.Use of suitable crop rotations and interactions

Characteristics of the new approach

• CA concept introduced as a humanitarian intervention in response to food deficits, by donor community

• Farmers supplied with farming inputs to implement CA in parts of their fields

• Poor or vulnerable households targeted

• Only manual (hand hoe) CA systems promoted

• Targeted only communal areas (uncontested lands)

• CA exclusively promoted as a crop- based technology-no place for farmers with livestock

•Little or no reference made to previous work

No lessons learnt!

Implications of the approach

• Manual systems labour intensive( land preparation and weeding) , especially without herbicide use

• CA focused on mainly maize whose marketing not very viable and attractive

• Poorly resourced households were targeted, creating perception/stigma that CA is for poor

• Benefits of CA initially not clear since all CA farmers had fertilizer

Implications of the approach….. • Initial CA capacity building activities did not include CA

mechanization- low capacities in CA mechanization

• Issue of residue management that need to be addressed at village or community level continues to be a major challenge

• Many farmers only apply the principle of minimum tillage

• Weed management issues not effectively addressed

• Market issues that surround “suitable” rotation crops discourage farmers from including rotations in their cropping systems

• Average area under CA still very low despite the large number od farmers implementing CA components

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13

Number of CA beneficiaries- Source: FAO,2013

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

Total_Area_HA Number Supported Number_Not_Support Total_Number_Of_Farmers

Farmer Numbers and Area under CA. Source: Ministry of Agriculture, mechanization and Irrigation, 2013

80 951 Ha 101 907

229 940

331 847

Recent Efforts to Upscale-Promotion of Mechanized CA ( CA Strategy Document)

• On-farm and on-station trials with ADP CA machinery by CIMMYT since 2005-2006

• Importation of machinery from Brazil and India by FAO and distribution to implementing agencies

• Capacity Building of extension workers on CA machinery use

• Evaluation of performance and suitability by of CA machinery by IAE

• Development of machinery value chains through the (GRM(PRP)-CIMMYT)

•Despite Efforts to Mechanize, Adoption and use of CA Machinery

by farmers still very low •Number of farmers using manual

CA options( without support) increasing but average land size

remains low

V. Opportunity

• CA Strategy document (Up scaling through mechanization)

• Buy in by governments (National, Food and Nutrition Policy, ZIMASSET)

• ZIMCAN, CARWG- networking

• Regional Policy Institutions (NEPAD- CAADP Pillars, COMESA Programmes )

• Including of gender aspects in CA- machinery development and Implementation

• WE ARE NOT RE-INVENTING THE WHEEL –CA HAS BEEN AROUND IN ZIMBABWE

• PROMOTION PREVIOUSLY ONLY FOCUSING ON YIELD- NEED TO ALSO EMPHASIZE ON ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

• INCREASING NUMBERS BUT VERY SMALL

AREAS-LIMITED IMPACT AT NATIONAL LEVEL

• ACKNOWLEDGE BOTH SHORTCOMINGS &SUCCESSES AND LEARN, LEARN…..AND CONTINUE LEARNING

• DOCUMENTATION AND LESSON LEARNING –

LOTS OF SUCCESS STORIES AND SOME UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS

• WE HAVE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS BUT WE NEED TO NOW TAKE STOCK OF OUR APPROACHES AND RESTRATEGIZE TO AVOID STAGNATION

VI. CONCLUSION