By Deogratias Mmana:
A study by the Southern African Confederation of Agriculture Unions (Sacau) has identified 83 climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies that farmers in Malawi and other countries in the sub-Saharan region should adopt.
The study was supported by Farmers Union of Malawi and National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (Nasfam).
Sacau presented the report to farmers on Friday in Lilongwe.
The report says while the CSA innovation adoption varied across the agro-ecological zones and type, it is generally estimated to be low, less than 30 percent despite decades of investment in the subsector.
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“While there is adequate policy framework on CSA, implementation remains the challenge due to limited resources, lack of guidance and limited/lack of enforcement,” the report reads.
It also found that some policies are missing on promoting inclusive innovation, incentives to make farmers that implement CSA willing to implement agricultural insurance and land tenure among others.
Among others, the report recommends that Sacau and its national farmer organisations including Fum and Nasfam should consider organising advocacy interventions on CSA innovations.
Such CSA innovations lobbying with the government commitment to enforce seed policy to curtail influx of fake seed; advocating for inclusive CSA innovation processes where laws and processes will nurture CSA innovation development; advocating for review of land tenure and insurance policies to address CSA interventions needs and lobbying for government to set up an agri-environmental scheme that can be used to motivate farmers b rewarding them with payments for practising CSA innovations.
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According to the report, some of the CSA practices applicable in Malawi include crop rotation, intercropping, integrated pest management techniques, weather index crop insurance, drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, use of metallic or concrete blocks silos, solar drying racks to avoid mould and decay and making contour tree lines.
Director of Land Resources Conservation in the Ministry of Agriculture Gertrude Kambauwa said the report has come at the right time when climate smart agriculture practices need to be adopted.
“Our agriculture production system should therefore adapt and align with the prevailing climatic conditions for it to be resilient and sustainable,” Kambauwa said.
She said her department set up structures for the CSA alliance to facilitate easy coordination and harmonization of climate smart technologies, innovations and extension services.
Fum Head of Agribusiness Services Derrick Kapolo welcomed the report adding that Fum is interested in promoting CSA practices among farmers in Malawi because the climate is changing as most of the agriculture systems are vulnerable to climatic shocks.
“Farmers are no longer harvesting as they used to because of dry spells, erratic rains. So, we feel the only way we can adapt to this is promoting technologies that are climate smart and that are aligning with the current climate conditions,” Kapolo said.
He assured that the contents of the report would be made available to all farmers in the country.
According to the report, supplemental irrigation, crop diversification and natural conservation methods have been identified as promising adaptation strategies to enhance Malawi’s food security and resilience in the face of changing climatic conditions.
