INVC Bridging Activity Report for the Annual Review and Planning Meeting

Introduction CRS is implementing the INVC Bridging Activity in 6 EPAs in Balaka, Machinga and Mangochi Districts. Targeted traditional authorities are: Chathunya, Kachenga, Msamala and Sawali in Balaka District; Chamba, Chiwalo, Mposa and Nyambi in Machinga District, and Chowe, Chimwala and Mpondasi in Mangochi District. CRS was specifically contracted to do activity 2 under component 2 The specific activities included: Beneficiary identification and training in seed fair methodology Training of local partner staff and MoA personnel in seed fair methodology Seed availability and quality assessment conducting seed fairs Conducting community trainings in agronomy and marketing of legumes Payment to vendors Analysis of seeds accessed Follow up with farmers on planting, germination, crop development, harvest and marketing Conducting harvest and yield assessment

Seed Fair Planning Preparation and Hosting Training of local partner staff on seed fair methodology Planned number of local staff: 10 Achieved number of local staff:10 ***These included both technical and support staff Seed availability and quality assessment This was done in collaboration with seed inspectors from District Agriculture Staff It was done through inspection of seed supplier shops and warehouses before the seed fairs and also checking packaging information before and during the seed fairs. The assessments showed that in some districts like Mangochi and Machinga, there wasn’t enough seed available hence it was agreed to invite back up agrodealers from other districts such as Zomba and Mwanza Conducting Seed Fairs No of seed fairs planned: 36 No. of seed fairs conducte: 36

Seed Fair Planning Preparation and Hosting Conducting community trainings in agronomy and marketing of legumes practices farmers were informally trained in agronomy for the 3 value chains during community sensitization meetings and seed fairs The informal trainings focused on aflatoxin management for groundnuts, utilization of nitro fix in soya beans and proper seed rates for the all the three value chains. AEDCS and partner staff were also reminded about the gross margin analysis during the quarterly review meeting

Progress of Seed fairs Activities Continued Number of seed fairs beneficiaries and vendor payments Targeted number of beneficiaries for seed fairs: 18000 (7200 M;10800 F) Achieved number of beneficiaries who accessed seed: 17965 (6167 M, 11798F) Summary of seed fairs results for the 3 districts was as presented in a table below: ***However some 24 farmers in Bazale EPA (Balaka) shared seed with their neighbours. Therefore, the new number of beneficiaries increased to 17989 (6179 M, 11810F). Targeted Bene. Actual Beneficiaries Vendors Amount Traded (MKW) Seeds Accessed (kg) M F Total Groundnuts P. Peas Soya 18,000 6,169 11,796 17,965 31 503,020,000 71,572 69,651 53,594

Progress of seed fairs continued

A glimpse of the Seed Fair methodology Vendor registration and online seed inspection Beneficiary onsite registration and verification Voucher acquisition Seed purchase by beneficiaries Vendor reconciliation Vendor payment *** Supporting documents (beneficiary register, seed voucher, voucher surrender form, voucher redemption form)

Monitoring germination, crop development and marketing Monitoring was done through lead farmers (LF) reports Targeted no. of LF to provide expert advice to farmers:720 Actual no. of LF who provided expert advice to farmers:50 *** Lead farmers were not motivated due to lack of training Monitoring was also done through a project review meeting which was conducted with government and partner staff. It was learnt that seed fairs contributed to increase in hectarage and production for legumes For instance it was reported that in Balaka legume hectarage increased from 4527 to 7426 while the production increased from 350kg/ha to 650kg/ha

Monitoring germination, crop development and marketing Continued… Surveys Periodic surveys were conducted during the project period A recent survey which reached a total of 221 beneficiaries from all the six EPAs in June, 2017 was conducted to assess, among others, the variables listed below: Quantity of seed planted Area planted Seed germination Cropping system engaged Quantity of seed harvested Utilisation of yield

Monitoring germination, crop development and marketing Continued… Recent survey results Average Amount of seed planted per beneficiary per seed type District Average Quantity of seed Planted per beneficiary Groundnuts Soya beans PP Balaka 3 2 3.1 Machinga 4 2.9 Mangochi 3.81 2.7 3.41 Overall Average 3.60 2.53 3.50

Monitoring germination, crop development and marketing Continued… Area Planted Seed germination: pigeon peas 81.5%, Soya beans 66.95% and ground nuts with 62%. ***Reasons for low germination were mainly to do with dry spells which occurred immediately after planting especially in Balaka and Mangochi Cropping systems engaged: 93% of soya was grown on pure stand, 98 percent of groundnuts was also on pure stands while 45% of pigeon peas was on pure stands. ***Pigeon peas was intercropped with other crops because land was already allocated to other crops District Average Area Planted in hectares per beneficiary per crop type Groundnuts Soya beans PP Balaka 0.36 0.23 0.37 Machinga 0.29 0.44 Mangochi 0.13 0.18 Overall Average 0.26

Monitoring germination, crop development and marketing Continued… Average Quantities Harvested in kilograms per beneficiary per seed type:

Monitoring germination, crop development and marketing Continued Utilization of crop produced from the seeds accessed: the project encouraged farmers to keep their produce for early planting during the 2017/18 growing season Estimated value of groundnuts and pigeon peas Crop Name Estimated value of produce Average yield (kg) Average Unit Price Estimated Value (MK) Groundnuts (0.26 ha) 69.32 300 20796 Soya beans (0.23 ha) 24.55 135 3314.25 Total   24110.25

Success Story: Quality seed through the INVC project has contributed to increased legume production in Balaka from 350kg/ha to 650kg/ha Groundnuts for George Bwanali of Matipa Village, GVH Mpinganjira, T/A Sawali in Balaka District Soya beans for Matiyasi Moyenda from Chimatiro village, Mpinganjira in T/A, Sawali in Balaka District

Challenges Low germination especially in groundnuts caused by dry spells Inadequate time for community sensitizations and preparation for seed fairs and agronomic messages Pests such as termites and white grabs Inadequate coordination with African Rising who mounted demonstrations on improved technologies

Way Forward To support the previous beneficiaries with maximum agronomic support to produce more legumes for seed as well as market interaction.

Conclusion The INVC Bridging Activity was relevant to the targeted farmers because farmers managed to get quality seed which will assist them to have start up seed for the next growing season.

Thank You for Your Attention