Conservation Agriculture -Policy Environment REGIONAL CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE STUDY TOURS MARCH 2010 Lindiwe Majele Sibanda (PhD) Harare, Zimbabwe 24 March 2010

MAJOR CHALLENGES Halving poverty by billion people to feed then Ratio of arable land to population declining by 40-55% Growing water scarcity Climate change

CROP POTENTIAL Source: Adapted from FGGD (FAO 2007).

COMESA: 2003 CROP YIELDS (MT/ha) COMESA vs. GLOBAL CropCOMESAGlobal Maize Rice Wheat Sorghum Cassava Beans Bananas

Source: M. Rosegrant (IFPRI) NCAR A2a Global production = -16% CLIMATE INDUCED CHANGE IN PRODUCTION IN 2050: RAINFED MAIZE

FOOD SECURITY RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 1.Promote agriculture growth with technology and institutional innovations 2.Innovate in crop systems [ICT, insurance, ] 3.Facilitate open trade and reduce market volatility 4.Expand social protection and child nutrition action [public, private]

PUTTING FARMING FIRST: KEY PRINCIPLES

Limited awareness Need for change in mindset in conventional tillage Weed control Maintenance of soil cover especially during the dry season Livestock integration in CA Lack of supportive infrastructure Farmers’ limited purchasing power (CA implements and inputs) POLICY ENVIRONMENT

POLICY CHALLENGES Inadequate knowledge on CA High vacancy rate at field level High illiteracy level Low incomes with inadequate or non-existent access to finance for working capital Uncontrolled grazing Labour demand

POLICY CHALLENGES Fertilizer management Weed management Inadequate Training Documenting success with real time data Collaborative links both regionally and internationally Poor information flow

POLICY CHALLENGES Lack of Vision, Policy, and Support Confused promotional strategies: – Responsibilities are split nationally among Agriculture & Environment and Water Affairs – Agriculture policy is more trade- oriented than practice- oriented – There is poor information generation and dissemination – Dual agriculture mandate-household food security versus national food security and commercial agriculture

WHAT TO DO – the development of a national (medium to long term) CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE strategy – the inclusion of CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE into agric policy framework

Monitoring and Evaluation Agenda Setting Decision Making Policy Implementation Policy Formulation THE POLICY ACTORS Civil Society Donors Cabinet Parliament Ministries Private Sector Source: John Young, Networking for impact. Experience from CTA supported regional agricultural policy networks, 2007