Rural livelihoods in south-eastern Zimbabwe : the impact of HIV/AIDS on the use and management of non-timber forestry products.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) constitute an important source of livelihood for most poor rural households and communities in Zimbabwe. NTFPs also serve as a vital livelihood safety net in times of hardship. An important feature of this dependence is that almost all NTFPs are deemed to have ‘public good’ characteristics, with no exclusive property rights. Consequently, extraction is often intense and exhaustive because of lack of alternative income sources, unreliable productivity and weak enforcement of institutional arrangements governing NTFPs use. In recent years, with HIV/AIDS rampant in Zimbabwe, there are indications of a rapid increase in the extraction of NTFPs, mostly from common property resources. Appropriate natural resources policies need to be based on comprehensive research, yet to date scant attention has been paid to understanding the role of NTFPs in mitigating the predicaments of HIV/AIDS-affected households in Zimbabwe. The main objective of this study was to determine the types of and need for natural resource management interventions to help ensure the sustainability of local responses to HIV/AIDS. The research focused on five communities of Sengwe Communal in the Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe. Multistage cluster sampling was used to select ten villages and households for the survey. Two villages from each community, representing the most and the least affected by epidemic were selected for each community using stratified random sampling. A cluster analysis was used to improve understanding of the challenges of rural livelihoods and how households diversify their livelihood strategies to cope with the various constraints. Five dominant groups based on their livelihood diversification patterns were identified : (1) smallholders/unskilled workers; (2) subsistence smallholder/non-timber forestry products harvesters; (3) crop production and non-timber forestry products extraction integrators; (4) commercial smallholders with regular off-farm employment; and (5) specialised commercial livestock producers. Multinomial logit model results showed that the level of education of the household head, the value of physical assets, cattle numbers and income, remittances, NTFPs income and economic shocks were the main determinants of these livelihood choices. Empirical evidence also revealed that households that were statistically significantly affected by HIV/AIDS economic shocks practised ‘distress-push’ diversification by extracting NTFPs. These results suggest that policy makers need to advise rural households on how to improve their risk management capacities and move from geographically untargeted investments in livelihood assets to a more integrated approach adapted to the asset base of individual households. Using panel data from 200 households in 2008 and 2009, regression models revealed that NTFPs extraction is an important ex-post coping mechanism for many HIV/AIDS-afflicted households. The results also revealed that the main determinants of livelihood strategy choices were differences in asset endowment, especially education, land and livestock and the impact of the shock. Asset constraints compelled diversification into lower-return activities such as NTFPs extraction. Findings from a comparative analysis of HIV/AIDS-afflicted and non-afflicted households showed that HIV/AIDS-afflicted households were relatively young, with relatively few physical and livestock assets. A fixed-effect Tobit model indicated a positive significant relationship between HIV staging and quantity of NTFPs extracted. The relatively young, poorly educated households with low household coping capacity in terms of livestock value relied more on the natural insurance of forests in buffering HIV/AIDS economic shocks. These results have important policy implications for development planners, conservationists and non-governmental organisations working in the region. There is a need for programmes that reduce pressure on forest resources, and improved access to education and health care, thus helping the poor to cope with the HIV/AIDS economic crisis. This study also examined the extent to which forest degradation is driven by existing common property management regimes, resource and user characteristics, ecological knowledge and marketing structure. A Principal Component Analysis indicated that the existence of agreed-upon rules governing usage (including costs of usage), enforcement of these rules, sanctions for rule violations that are proportional to the severity of rule violation, social homogeneity, and strong beliefs in ancestral spirits were the most important attributes determining effectiveness of local institutions in the management of Common Pool Resources (CPRs). Empirical results from an ordinary least regression analysis showed that resource scarcity, market integration index, and infrastructural development lead to greater forest resource degradation, while livestock income, high ecological knowledge, older households, and effective local institutional management of the commons reduce forest resource degradation. The results suggest that there is a need for adaptive local management systems that enhance ecological knowledge of users and regulates market structure to favour long-term livelihood securities of these forest-fringe communities

Assessment of the evidence base on adaptation benefits of CSA options across timescales and geographies in West Africa

Climate change is causing unpredictable alterations in weather patterns such as high temperatures, rainfall variations and strong winds in west Africa. These changes in climate are contributing to food insecurity, reduced agricultural production and incomes. The impacts on agricultural production vary across countries not only in the intensity but also on how they interact. Understanding the adaptive capacity (AC) of smallholder farmers is crucial to planning effective agriculture adaptation and building resilient farming systems. Using data from Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Senegal over the last 10 years, this study aimed to understand the AR4D Climate-Smart Village approach’s contribution to intentional/ planned climate change adaptation by farm households. The study also examined the impact of Climate-Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices’ implementation and access to climate information service on household food security and adaptive capacity. Based on the mixed method the findings indicated that more than fifty percent of the smallholder farmers in West Africa had observed an increasing trend of multiple climate hazards, with strong winds, droughts, high temperature and irregular rains occurring simultaneously and more frequently. Farmers’ coping strategies varied depending on the climate hazard experienced. Households used a combination of financial, consumption and livelihood strategies. While asset selling and borrowing were important for decreased rains and irregular rains. Livelihood diversity is an important coping strategy for climate risk induced agricultural production and income reduction. The findings also indicated that credit access is an important ex-ante and ex-post coping strategy for enhancing smallholder households’ absorptive capacity. The findings highlighted that the CSA practices implemented varied by nature and degree of the climatic hazards in the four countries. Crop rotation, improved crop varieties, organic fertiliser and tied ridges were the CSA practices commonly implemented in Ghana by more than 75% of the farmers in the communities directly benefiting from the project. It was further revealed that 23% and 38% of the Mali farmers from the direct beneficiaries implemented improved crop varieties and micro-dosing of fertiliser respectively. Farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR), organic fertiliser, Cassia Toro growing, and intercropping were the CSA strategies implemented by more than 50% of the households in the communities directly benefiting from the project in Niger. In ii Senegal, FMNR and improved crop varieties were the CSA strategies implemented by more than 25% of the households in the communities directly benefiting from the project. Overall, smallholder households in Ghana, Mali and Niger implemented a combination of soil water conservation strategies, wind breaks, soil fertility and productivity improvement strategies to deal with the multiple hazards. The findings showed that Senegal and Mali had higher proportion of households 50% and 41% respectively with low adaptive capacity. Disparities in adaptive capacity index were explained by access to credit and climate information services, combination of CSA implemented, and land size allocated to the CSA practices. Collectively, the ordinary least square results emphasised that access to climate information and land, implementation of CSA practices that improves adaptive capacity of farmers, the increased number of community-based organisation that promote CSA and education of the household head are central factors for enhancing household food security in West Africa. The finding also highlighted the importance of improving adaptive capacity of farmers through increased access to land, climate information for informed CSA strategies prioritisation and credit for agricultural activities among other factors as a viable option to build resilient smallholder farming systems in West Africa

Synergistic impacts of agricultural credit and extension on adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies in southern Africa

Institutional credit and extension services are critical inputs that can reduce scaling challenges in agricultural development interventions if accessed by farmers. Using household level survey data from Zimbabwe and Malawi, this article seeks to contribute to the existing literature by examining impacts of separate and joint access to credit and extension services on climate-smart agricultural (CSA) technologies adoption. Using inverse-probability weighting regression adjustment and propensity score matching this study found out that access to either extension or credit significantly progresses CSA technology adoption. However, access to extension services only proved to be more effective in enhancing CSA technology adoption than access to credit alone. More importantly, results show enhanced collective impact of simultaneous access to credit and extension on CSA technology adoption. Further, joint impacts of credit and extension on adoption were found to be less pronounced in youthful and women farmer groups compared to their old and male farmer group counterparts respectively. Results call for prudent policy and institutional strategies in improving access to credit and extension services in Malawian and Zimbabwean smallholder farming that are mindful of disadvantaged groups such as youth and women farmer groups in order to improve adoption and upscaling of CSA technologies. Possible options include; improving number of extension workers at village level, increasing youth and women extension agent numbers, capacity building of extension personnel and institutions, and increasing financial support to national extension programs

Factors affecting the choice of conservation agriculture practices adopted in smallholder cotton farmers in Zimbabwe

Conservation agriculture (CA) has been widely promoted in Zimbabwe as an antidote to non-viable agricultural production and continual land degradation. However, the adoption process had been quite slow and has not yet entered into the exponential uptake phase. This study aimed at identifying factors that influence the level of adoption of CA components. A cluster analysis from results of a household survey administered to 146 households in Muzvezve II, Kadoma District, Zimbabwe identified five dominant CA strategies (clusters) practiced by cotton growing farmers. A multinomial logit model revealed that the choice of CA components adopted is positively influenced by farmer’s age, formal education, access to extension services, labour, animal draught power availability and land size. The empirical results suggests that, to promote adoption of a complete package of CA policies that increase access to formal education and extension of CA should make strategic intervention through innovative methods of farmer to farmer extension services. Promotion of longer-term and effective CA can only be accomplished through targeting young educated farmers. It is of paramount importance as well to address the main factors leading to non-adoption and slow adoption such as labour and animal draught power availability.The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and International Foundation of Science (IFS), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through Union Project in Zimbabwe.http://www.academicjournals.org/AJARam201

Multi-stakeholder Dialogue Report on scaling CSA and climate services/data/innovations

This Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue (MSD) was held on June 13, 2023, in Chipata, Eastern Zambia, as an opportunity for the Bundle 4 Accelerator Partnership, Diversified Integrated Mixed Chickens and Goats (Legume Systems), to reflect on progress and challenges and set new milestones for advancing agri-business, climate-smart agricultural practises, and information services. The MSD was hosted by the Chitetezo Cooperative Federation (CCF) and attended by CCF board members, coordinators, and farmers, as well as Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) representatives; provincial government and advisory services; agriculture, forestry, seed systems, and fisheries provided technical knowledge and feedback to the discussions; provincial media covered the event. The CCF, in collaboration with COMACO, promotes inclusive agri-business development with strong participation of women in leadership and implementation. The CCF chair and several board members are women; more than 50% of women participate in activities, and several were present at the MSD. Promoting CCF means strengthening women in agribusiness and climate-smart agriculture. The MSD's aim was to strengthen the CCF's capacity to pursue its vision: To reduce poverty through nature-based solutions and agribusiness, driven by CCF as a self-organised sustainable cooperative movement in cooperation with COMACO. The dialogue centred around three core areas that require attention, investments, and networking to pursue this vision: (a) Agri-business capacity and leadership: strong leadership and governance systems and financial sustainability involving resource mobilisation are key for CCF to advance the cooperatives to profitable and self-sustaining entities. Identifying new and improving existing agri-businesses, building leadership, lobbying, and resource mobilisation capacity, and attracting new competences within the CCF are key areas that CCF members are committed to engaging in. (b) Seed systems and grain markets: improving the capacity of CCF farmers in seed multiplication as the main business and source of income for CCF while reaching out to cooperatives not yet involved in seed business. Branded seed packs are to be produced according to market requirements through agri-business incubation in cooperation with organisations such as the Seed Control and Certification Institute (SCCI), consultants, and ICRISAT. (c) Climate advisory services: It was highlighted that area-specific forecasts and advisories are missing, while the market is flooded by apps and tools that are not validated. In collaboration with the Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD), rain gauges will be installed in all camps to validate the forecasts, and ZICTA will monitor and regulate the implementation of apps. Forecast seasons to extend to May to include post-harvest management decisions. In addition, presentations by ZMD and the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries informed the CCF planning process. For CCF to drive the process that leads to their sustainability strategy, the working groups established detailed workplans and feedback mechanisms

AICCRA Country Scaling Vision: Zambia

AICCRA Zambia emphasizes integrating climate information services (CIS) into the CSA bundles as it is a necessary condition to enhance the scaling to be best-fitted to specific contexts, thereby strengthening the relevance of the CSA-CIS bundles. Adaptive scaling approach is selected for such best-fit and relevance to the contexts while enabling the agri-food system transformation as illustrated in Figure 1. Adaptive scaling is ˝processes where diverse actors-networks cooperate, feed off, adapt to, support, compete and interact with each other to form mechanisms and undertake the niche, reach, accelerate and transform functions of the scaling ecosystem˝ (adapted from IWMI, 2021). In the niche, actor networks identify the applicability of the innovation, respond to systemic barriers and opportunities, and adapt the innovation to new contexts

Digitalisation in agriculture: A scoping review of technologies in practice, challenges, and opportunities for smallholder farmers in sub-saharan africa

Digitalisation in agriculture is transforming the way farming is practised worldwide, and its potential benefits for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are particularly promising. Yet, scientific evidence on the digital technologies utilised by smallholder food producers in SSA and the associated challenges still needs improvement. This review attempts to provide a thorough overview of the technologies currently being employed by smallholder farmers in SSA while also exploring the associated challenges and opportunities. Through a systematic literature search, 27 relevant studies were analysed to identify the region-wise current technologies, challenges, and opportunities. Results show that various digital technologies are employed, including digital extension services and digital marketing of agricultural products. These technologies improve access to information and markets and enhance productivity. However, challenges hinder widespread adoption. Limited internet connectivity, low digital literacy, inadequate infrastructure, and affordability issues impede progress. Gender disparities further limit the equitable distribution of digitalisation benefits. Despite these challenges, significant opportunities arise from adopting digital technologies. The potential advantages are market access, better decision-making capabilities, and increased income and livelihoods. Digitalisation offers transformative possibilities for smallholder farmers in SSA. Overcoming barriers such as limited connectivity and low digital literacy is crucial. By harnessing the opportunities digital technologies can offer, the livelihoods of smallholder farmers can be uplifted, contributing to the growth of agriculture in SSA