Climate smart crops for food and nutritional security for semi-arid zones of Zimbabwe

Southern Africa smallholder farmers continue to be the most affected by the challengesof climate change and variability. The variability of climate demands the use of avariety of agronomic strategies and crop choices. Traditional drought tolerant cerealcrops such as sorghum and millets are often chosen when drought seasons areanticipated. However, there are certain crops, originating elsewhere, that could help thesmallholder farmers increase diversity of crops that can be grown in changed climates.Trials were conducted to test a basket of known and introduced climate smart crops inthe field. The cereal crops tested were maize, sorghum, pearl and finger millet, andlegumes: tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolias), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), Bambaranut (Vigna subterranea), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) and pigeon pea (Cajanuscajan. A second experiment was conducted to determine the effects of inorganicfertilizer and rhizobium inoculation on the growth and grain yield of field grown teparybean. Both experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with threereplications. Due to drought conditions during the growing season, cereal crops couldnot produce grain yield, as there was no grain filling. Despite this, cereal biomass was5t ha-1 for maize, followed by sorghum (1.3t ha-1) and millet (1.2t ha-1). Legume cropsproduced grain with cowpea yielding 568.1kg ha-1 of grain, followed by tepary bean(245.9kg ha-1) and common bean (227kg ha-1). This is important for food, nutrition andhealth security of smallholder communities. Tepary bean inoculated with rhizobiumand had fertilizer applied produced higher grain yield than those without fertilizer orrhizobium inoculant (P≤0.05). In conclusion, resource poor farmers, affected bydrought effects of climate change, can adopt both cereals and legumes climate smartcrops, in order to create food and nutritional security. This is crucial for food andnutritional security of vulnerable households affected by climate change and variability.Key words: tepary bean, climate smart crop, drought, smallholder farmer

Contextual vulnerability of rainfed crop-based farming communities in semi-arid Zimbabwe: A case of Chiredzi District

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate change and variability based on the socioeconomic and biophysical characteristics of Chiredzi District, a region that is susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change and variability. Design/methodology/approach Vulnerability was assessed using the Vulnerability to Resilience and the Climate Vulnerability and Capacity frameworks. Findings The major indicators and drivers of vulnerability were identified as droughts, flash floods, poor soil fertility and out-migration leaving female- and child-headed households. From sensitivity analysis, it was shown that different areas within the district considered different biophysical and socioeconomic indicators to climate change and variability. They also considered different vulnerability indicators to influence the decisions for adaptation to climate change and variability. Originality/value The results of this study indicate that the area and cropping systems are greatly exposed and are sensitive to climatic change stimuli, as shown by the decline in main cereal grain yield. These results also showed that there is a need to define and map local area vulnerability as a basis to recommend coping and adaptation measures to counter climate change hazards

Smallholder Farmer Perceptions on Climate Change and Variability: A Predisposition for their Subsequent Adaptation Strategies

Smallholder farmers are facing several climate-related challenges. Projected changes in climate are expected to aggravate the existing challenges. This study was conducted in Chiredzi district, Masvingo, Zimbabwe. The study objective was to examine farmer perceptions on climate variability, current adaptive strategies and establish factors influencing smallholder farmers’ adaptation to climate change. A survey was conducted with 100 randomly selected respondents from four wards. Additionally, data was collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The results showed that farmers perceived that there has been a decrease in annual rainfall and an increase in average temperatures. A linear trend analysis of rainfall and temperature data from 1980 to 2011 corroborated the farmers’ perceptions. Farmers’ adaptation options included adjusting planting dates and crop diversification. Off-farm income has reduced the dependence of the farmers on agriculture. A multinomial regression analysis showed that socioeconomic factors such as gender, age, number of cattle owned, land size and average crop yields influenced farmer adaptation strategies. The study concludes that although farmers are diverse in their socio-economic attributes, they exhibit homogeneous perceptions on changes in climate, which are consistent with observations of empirical climate data. These perceptions help to shape smallholder farmer coping and adaptation strategie

Building climate change resilience through adaptation in smallholder farming systems in semi-arid Zimbabwe

Purpose This study aimed to determine factors that increase resilience and cause smallholder farmers to adapt better to climate change and vulnerability. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors used the vulnerability to resilience model and binary logit model to analyse the factors influencing household decisions to adapt. Findings Households with increased access to climate information through extension services were likely to have better adaptation abilities. It was also shown that younger farmers were likely to adapt to climate change given their flexibility to adopt new techniques and their access and use of modern information and technology. Larger households were found to have higher probability of adapting as most adaptation strategies are labour intensive. Household’s possession of livestock and access to credit significantly enhanced adaptation. However, households with higher farm income have lesser incentives to adapt to because their current farming practices might already be optimum. Research limitations/implications Given that most of the smallholder farmers are vulnerable, such as women-headed households and the elderly, who are labour constrained, there is need for research and development of labour saving technologies to increase resilience to climate change and vulnerability. Originality/value These findings underscore the importance of enabling farmer access to information and better technologies which enable them to increase adaptive capacity and resilience

Sustainable intensification of maize-based systems through improved use of phosphorus fertilizers

United States Agency for International Developmen

Tillage impact on soil erosion by water: Discrepancies due to climate and soil characteristics

No-tillage (NT) is promoted for soil and water conservation, but research findings on overland flow and soil erosion are inconsistent across different ecosystems, with some studies showing no benefits of NT over conventional tillage (CT). A global literature review was conducted to quantify the impact of NT on water runoff, sediment concentration and soil losses. The objective was to identify the underlying causes of the variability in the performance of NT across different environments. Data from 282 paired NT and CT runoff plots from 41 research studies worldwide were analysed using meta-analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). Sediment concentration and soil losses were 56 and 60% lower under NT than CT, respectively. These tended to be greater under CT than NT on long plots (90% for sediment concentration and 94% for soil losses) and steepest slopes (79 and 77%, respectively). Greater differences in sediment concentration and soil losses between NT and CT were observed in low clay soils and under temperate climates. While on average there were no differences on runoff coefficient, NT decreased runoff coefficient by about 40% compared to CT in mulched soils, under cool climate (5 years. Overall, the results indicated that NT has greater potential to reduce runoff and soil losses in temperate regions where soils of peri-glacial influence are relatively young, moderately weathered and fragile compared to the heavily weathered clayey tropical soils that are well aggregated and less erodible. The results of this study are expected to inform scientists, practitioners and policy makers on the links between land management and soil functioning processes. Policy makers and development implementers will be able to make informed choices of land management techniques for effective NT implementation, for instance by having more mulch input under warm climates

No-tillage lessens soil CO2 emissions the most under arid and sandy soil conditions: results from a meta-analysis

The management of agroecosystems plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle with soil tillage leading to known organic carbon redistributions within soils and changes in soil CO2 emissions. Yet, discrepancies exist on the impact of tillage on soil CO2 emissions and on the main soil and environmental controls. A meta-analysis was conducted using 46 peer-reviewed publications totaling 174 paired observations comparing CO2 emissions over entire seasons or years from tilled and untilled soils across different climates, crop types and soil conditions with the objective of quantifying tillage impact on CO2 emissions and assessing the main controls. On average, tilled soils emitted 21% more CO2 than untilled soils, which corresponded to a significant difference at P<0:05. The difference increased to 29% in sandy soils from arid climates with low soil organic carbon content (SOCC < 1 %) and low soil moisture, but tillage had no impact on CO2 fluxes in clayey soils with high background SOCC (> 3 %). Finally, nitrogen fertilization and crop residue management had little effect on the CO2 responses of soils to no-tillage. These results suggest no-tillage is an effective mitigation measure of carbon dioxide losses from dry land soils. They emphasize the importance of including information on soil factors such as texture, aggregate stability and organic carbon content in global models of the carbon cycle

The impacts of the El Niño-induced drought on seed security in Southern Africa: implications for humanitarian response and food security

As part of a strategy to address the effects of the recent El Niño and its impact on the agriculture sector, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) undertook a seed and other agricultural inputs assessment in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). South Africa was also assessed even if it was not one of the focus countries, to determine the potential of seed and other input (e.g. fertilizer) exports to other countries in the region. The assessment was conducted by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in collaboration with Southern African Development Community (SADC) Seed Centre, Governments, Non-governmental Organizations (Catholic Relief Services(CRS) and OXFAM)), National Agricultural Marketing Council of South Africa (NAMAC), the Feed the Future Seed Trade Project and private sector actors. The objectives of the assessment were (i) to assess current seed security situation in drought affected areas to understand constraints and opportunities for intervention (ii) to guide short and long-term field programming and (iii) to build the capacity of national stakeholders to mainstream seed security assessments in national processes..

The Potential Role of Neglected and Underutilised Crop Species as Future Crops under Water Scarce Conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Modern agricultural systems that promote cultivation of a very limited number of crop species have relegated indigenous crops to the status of neglected and underutilised crop species (NUCS). The complex interactions of water scarcity associated with climate change and variability in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and population pressure require innovative strategies to address food insecurity and undernourishment. Current research efforts have identified NUCS as having potential to reduce food and nutrition insecurity, particularly for resource poor households in SSA. This is because of their adaptability to low input agricultural systems and nutritional composition. However, what is required to promote NUCS is scientific research including agronomy, breeding, post-harvest handling and value addition, and linking farmers to markets. Among the essential knowledge base is reliable information about water utilisation by NUCS with potential for commercialisation. This commentary identifies and characterises NUCS with agronomic potential in SSA, especially in the semi-arid areas taking into consideration inter alia: (i) what can grow under water-scarce conditions, (ii) water requirements, and (iii) water productivity. Several representative leafy vegetables, tuber crops, cereal crops and grain legumes were identified as fitting the NUCS category. Agro-biodiversity remains essential for sustainable agriculture