climate smart agriculture

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Development of 'climate smart' cropping systems for southern Africa? Leonard Rusinamhodzi 26 March 2014 1400-1500 HRS (GMT + 1)

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Page 1: Climate smart agriculture

Development of 'climate smart'

cropping systems for southern

Africa?

Leonard Rusinamhodzi26 March 2014

1400-1500 HRS (GMT + 1)

Page 2: Climate smart agriculture

Presentation outline

Context / issues in Southern Africa

Highlights research experience

New project

Page 3: Climate smart agriculture

Maize based mixed crop-livestock systems are dominant

• Crop residues are important

for livestock feed

• Manure is important for

crop production

Background - Farming systems of southern Africa

Page 4: Climate smart agriculture

Conflicts of resource use……….

Degraded pastures intensify the conflict for crop residue uses

Page 5: Climate smart agriculture

Other systems/ conditions

Extensification systems also exist….

Slash and burn

Lack of inputs (manure, fertiliser, improved germplasm)

Extension support is very weak

charcoal

Page 6: Climate smart agriculture

Soil fertility status….Predominantly sandy soils (Arenosols)• Pockets of fertile red clays soils• Current crop production systems lead to accelerated loss of soil

fertility

Time of cultivation (years)

0 5 10 15 20

SO

C (

t h

a-1

)

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Time of cultivation (years)

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 160

20

40

60

80

Clay soil Sandy soil

Page 7: Climate smart agriculture

Beyond farmers’ control - poor rainfall distribution

Poor rainfal distribution

Severe mid-season dry spells

(b)

Days after planting

0 50 100 150 200

Cum

ulative rainfall (mm

)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

2007/08 season 2009/10 season 2010/11 Season

(a)

Cropping season

2002/032003/04

2004/052005/06

2006/072007/08

2008/092009/10

20010/11

Total seasonal rainfall (m

m)

0

200

400

600

800

1000Long-term average Average = 730 mm,

CV = 9 %

Page 8: Climate smart agriculture

Presence of different farm types

• Differences in resource ownership, production orientation

• Need specific targeting to specific constraints and opportunities

Page 9: Climate smart agriculture

CA

How do we intensify crop production?

Gra

in le

gum

es

Gre

en

manure

s

Basket of technologies exists but…..• mismatch between farmers’

objectives and technology outputs

• Farmers are interested in technologies that ensure food security and cash income

• Improving soil fertility is seldom mentioned

Agro

fore

stry

Fodder

legum

es

Manure

Fert

ilize

rs

Page 10: Climate smart agriculture

The approach -AfricaNUANCES FrameworkNUtrient Use in Animal and Cropping Systems - Efficiencies and Scales

Used to analyse current livelihoods, explore options for their development and reveal trade-offs

• Mainly relied on field based methods (interviews, transect walks, FGD)

http://www.africanuances.nl/

Page 11: Climate smart agriculture

Outputs and insights• Downloadable from Researchgate

Page 12: Climate smart agriculture

Updated list Google scholar…………..

Page 13: Climate smart agriculture

Literature review – what role for conservation agriculture?

• Continuous maize• Early seasons lead to

smaller yield• Overall, no yield

advantage of CA

• Maize-legume rotation• Yield advantage in the

long-term

NT, continuous maize

Duration of study (years)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Weighted m

ean diference (t ha-1

)

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6n = 364 NT with rotation

Duration of study (years)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Weighted m

ean difference (t ha-1

)

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

n = 294

Page 14: Climate smart agriculture

What is needed for CA……………….

• Crop residues need to be retained in situ to reduce labour demands

• need for fencing in combination with alternative feed

• Integration of legume crops

Page 15: Climate smart agriculture

Cotton-cowpea intercropping

• Increases productivity, high LER, increased BNF

• Increases productivity of rotational maize

• Pesticide concerns on cowpea leaves

• Cowpea in the middle of the rows hampers mechanical weeding

Page 16: Climate smart agriculture

Maize pigeonpea intercropping………..

• Within row intercropping• Alternate hills in same row,

3 plants per hill

• Distinct row intercropping• 2 rows of maize alternate with a

row of legume

Page 17: Climate smart agriculture

The beauty of maize-pigeonpea intercropping

Early growth• Pigeonpea does

not compete with maize

Late growth• Maize does not

compete with pigeonpea

Page 18: Climate smart agriculture

Time (minutes)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

Infiltration rate (mm

hr-1

)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Continuous maize1 year intercropping3 year intercropping5 year intercropping

Duration of intercropping on rainfall infiltration

• Long-term large biomass production in combination with reduced tillage

Page 19: Climate smart agriculture

Pigeonpea vs. communal grazing

• late maturity of pigeonpea delays free-grazing of cattle

• allows farmers to retain crop residues as mulch if they choose to

• use of ‘ratoon’ pigeonpea reduces costs of seed and the need for tillage

Page 20: Climate smart agriculture

Relay intercrop vs. climatic risk

Vunduzi (2009/10 season)

Days after planting

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Cum

ulative rainfall (mm

)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

54 Days

• Relay intercropping reduces climatic risk of total crop failure

Page 21: Climate smart agriculture

Pushing the envelope - where to apply cattle manure?

Homefield Outfield

Yield

A

B

C

Midfield

D

E

• Should farmers maintain current status

• Or they should rebuild fertility of the outfields at the expense of homefields

• Manure quantities are often limiting at the farm level

Page 22: Climate smart agriculture

Results – yield recovery potential

• Application of 100 kg N ha-1 maintained yields below 1 t ha-1 in sandy homefields but approached zero in sandy outfields

• Restoration of crop productivity in the degraded sandy soils was only relevant when a combination of mineral fertiliser and manure were used

• Yields on outfields were significantly smaller than on homefields after nine seasons for both soil types.

Page 23: Climate smart agriculture

Trade-off analysis on crop residue use suggested that…

farmers who own cattle have limited scope to allocate crop residues for soil cover as it leads to significant loss in animal productivity and economic value

e.g. retention of all crop residues in the field reduced farm income by US$937 and US$738 per year for RG1 and RG2 farmers respectively

(a) crop versus animal productiviy

Maize grain yield (t farm-1)

3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0

Cattle body w

eight (t farm-1

)

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4.0

4.2

20% manure retention40% manure retention60% manure retention

(b) crop yield versus milk produced

Maize grain yield (t farm-1)

3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0

MIlk for household (t farm

-1)

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

Page 24: Climate smart agriculture

Summary

(a) Crop production intensification is needed but options need to be targeted for improved impact

(b) There is limited scope for CA for most farmers in

southern Africa - adoption currently does not exist

(c) Maize–legume intercropping has potential to push the boundary of crop production and reduce the risk of total crop failure

(d) Cattle manure need to be applied in combination with fertiliser and targeted to fields where crop responses are large

(e) External ideas should be used to stimulate local innovations in search of locally adapted solutions for improved crop productivity

Page 25: Climate smart agriculture

Climate smart cropping systems

Climate Smart Cropping Systems (CSCS) must remain productive and profitable under variable weather circumstances, weather shock and projected climate conditions.

High resource efficiency • Water• Nutrients

CSCS should reduce GHG emissions (CO2).

Page 26: Climate smart agriculture

Why Conservation agriculture?

Page 27: Climate smart agriculture

Why intercropping?

Vunduzi (2009/10 season)

Days after planting

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Cum

ulative rainfall (mm

)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

54 Days

• Relay intercropping reduces climatic risk of total crop failure

Page 28: Climate smart agriculture

Research objectiveTo explore alternative

cropping and farming

systems for increased

productivity, efficiency,

resilience and adaptive

capacity of smallholder

farmers in SSA.

Page 29: Climate smart agriculture

Framework to develop a climate smart cropping systems (CSCS).

Page 30: Climate smart agriculture

Modelling approach………….

The seasonal analysis option of DSSAT model will be used to predict the response of maize and or legume under the three climate scenarios

DSSAT - Simulates growth and development of a crop growing on a uniform area of land under prescribed management and soil conditions.

Parameterization of the DSSAT crop growth model to explore scenarios of performance of maize-based cropping system under possible climate and weather pattern

Page 31: Climate smart agriculture

Data sources – experimental data

CIMMYT long-term on-farm and on-station trials under ‘CA’ in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Experiments been running since 2004/2005 season

Tillage, mulching, fertility, rotation

Page 32: Climate smart agriculture

Climate change scenarios - MarskSim

• BCCR_BCM2.0, CNRM-CM3, CSIRO-Mk3.5, ECHam5, INMCM3.0, MIROC3.2 (medres)

• AVERAGE (CNRM-CM3, CSIRO-Mk3.5, ECHam5, MIROC3.2 (medres))

Page 33: Climate smart agriculture

Expected outputs

Quantified impacts of climate change on the perfomance of current and novel farming systems

Cropping systems and resource allocation domains for farming systems adapted to future climate conditions

Several peer reviewed manuscripts

Collaborations (SIMLESA, COMESA, ABACO, DREAM, CCAFS, UR SCA, UMR Innovation, GCAP-CIMMYT)

Page 34: Climate smart agriculture

Who am I ? …………my family

Dalitso Thabo5 years

Steve Melusi8 weeks

Gra

ce