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Museka, R.M.

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Museka
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R.M.
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Museka, R.M.

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    Role of the interaction space in shaping innovation for sustainable agriculture: Empirical insights from African case studies
    (Elsevier, 2023) Hermans, T.D.G.; Smith, H.E.; Whitfield, S.; Sallu, S.M.; Recha, J.; Dougill, A.J.; Thierfelder, C.; Gama, M.; Bunderson, W.T.; Museka, R.M.; Doggart, N.; Meshack, C.
    Publication
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    Out scaling climate-smart technologies to smallholder farmers in Malawi, Zambia & Zimbabwe: piloting report
    (CIMMYT, 2018) Thierfelder, C.; Mwila, M.; Sikota, S.G.; Gama, M.; Museka, R.M.; Marongwe, L.S.
    To address increasing threats of climate change and declining soil fertility, a cross regional agronomic study was conducted in southern Africa, covering 19 on­farm communities in contrasting agroecologies ranging from around 500 mm to more than 1800mm of rainfall. The 19 on­farm communities have been under long­term research by CIMMYT and national partners in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The aim of this study was to assess how different climate­smart agriculture technologies perform under a variable climate and to pilot new doubled­up legume systems of groundnuts with pigeonpea in 6 selected target communities. Yield results from all the sites showed primarily positive response of CSA as compared to the conventional control practices, although, these differences were not always significant. In 11 out of 19 communities there was a significant maize yield benefit recorded when CSA was practiced. In 9 out of 13 communities with full maize­legume rotation, the legume yield under different CSA practices had significantly greater yields than the conventional control treatment. Maize yield benefits of close to 100% were recorded in some sites, which shows great potential of these systems to withstand climate variability and change. Although these results were mostly positive towards CSA, the data from the 6 pilots were incomplete as the pigeonpea yields from the doubled­up systems were not collected in full. Farmers planted the pigeonpeas too late, had problems with beetles that attacked the pots, had challenges with harvesting, which all contributed to inconclusive result. The adaptive capacity of CSA practices is widely acknowledged. However, the mitigation benefits is unclear and often leads to wrong statements about its potential. We therefore conducted a cross regional soil carbon study to assess how much soil carbon is being stored in the different systems. Soil carbon data from the sites was mostly the same between treatments and in some there was a positive response towards CSA. This was mainly in manual systems of Eastern Zambia and in some sites in southern Zimbabwe. In all other sites the soil carbon gain in on­farm systems was small. There are many reasons that could be responsible for the lack of carbon increase: grazing of crop residues by cattle, burning of residues by mice hunters, bush fires, and the long dry season that might have reversed the positive effect of soil carbon gain expected from CSA. Also in sites of Malawi, all cropping systems (even the conventional treatment) are in full rotation with legumes, and crop residues are often buried in the local conventional practice (e.g. the ridge and furrow system) which might have reduced this gain. Finally, the short duration of this study did not allow for a proper assessment of carbon sequestration or resilience in the 6 pilot trials and we would recommend that this project should be continued for another cropping season to better assess the new diversification elements that have been introduced by the project in the pilots.
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    Out scaling climate-smart technologies to smallholder farmers in Malawi, Zambia & Zimbabwe: feasibility study
    (GIZ-ACCRA, 2018) Thierfelder, C.; Mutenje, M.; Mwila, M.; Sikota, S.G.; Gama, M.; Museka, R.M.; Marongwe, L.S.
    Climate variability and change is projected to increasingly affect smallholder farming systems in southern Africa and the maize value chain will particularly suffer from the late onset of and more erratic rainfalls. Heat stress will further affect maize­based cropping systems as temperature is projected to increase by 2.1­2.7°C. Based on CSA practices, prioritized in national and regional workshops, a study was conducted using historical data collected by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and its national partners to better understand the benefits and challenges of CSA technologies and to assess their feasibility for a large out scaling initiative in southern Africa. The specific objective of the study was to assess their economic, biophysical, environmental and social benefits using existing available long term data. For completeness a summary of challenges in their implementation was also provided. The study was carried out in target areas of Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe where such long­term data existed. The CSA technologies under survey were mostly conservation agriculture (CA)­based interventions as this was the only long­term data available. All sites had at least two CSA comparisons and a conventional control practice which was considered not climate­smart. Maize­based cropping systems consisted of other complimentary CSA practices e.g. rotations with legumes and agroforestry species, drought­tolerant maize varieties, targeted application of fertilizer and manure amongst others, which were however not the primary focus of this study. Based on partial budget conducted for all the areas, the results showed positive economic indicators for most CSA practices in form of a positive Net Present Value (NPV) and a greater Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which was greater than the discount rate. All the prioritized CSA options required at least a year to provide economic returns (increased productivity and income) as reflected by the payback period. In Malawi the CA­maize/legume intercropping treatment had the greatest NPV, IRR, Return on Investment (ROI), Return on Labour (ROI) as compared with the conventional practice. In Eastern Zambia, the CA­maize/legume intercropping treatment was the most profitable manual systems, whereas the rip line seeded CA­maize­legume rotation was the most profitable animal traction system as compared to the conventional practice. In Zimbabwe the CA­ripline seeded maize­legume rotation was again the most profitable practice while direct seeding was more profitable in southern Zambia. The biophysical benefits have been greatest in system comparisons in Malawi and in southern Zambia. CSA systems out­yielded the conventional control in most cases and in some it reached more than 60% yield gain. The benefits were usually more consistent, the longer the CSA practice was applied. The benefits in the CSA systems practiced in Eastern Zambia and Southern Zimbabwe were less obvious, mostly due to the relatively short duration of implementation, variability between farm sites and unpredictable weather events (floods and droughts) at the respective sites. Overall, at all sites averaged, there was a clear positive yield benefit across sites and seasons when comparing CSA practices with conventional control treatments. An additional regional study across many agro­ecologies clearly show increased resilience against heat and drought stress especially on sandy and loamy soils. Yield benefits under CSA management are likely a response of improved soil quality which is a result of no­tillage, residue retention and crop rotations and additional complimentary practices implemented at the sites. CSA systems increased water infiltration which translated into increased soil moisture during the cropping season. The CSA systems also reduced soil erosion and increased soil carbon at some sites. Supporting soil quality data were derived from strategically located on­station trials where soil carbon and erosion measurements were possible. The data from on­farm soil carbon measurements, which is currently been summarized, will further support the results of this study. Social benefits of CSA included reductions in farm labour for weeding and planting which preferentially benefit women and children. Labour benefits for planting were dramatically reduced specifically in Malawi where farmers practice ridge and furrow land preparation as the conventional control practice and where weed control is manual with a hoe. Direct seeding and weed control with herbicides could potentially reduce the labour burden on women and children by 25­45 labour days. In addition, the more diversified diet resulting from rotations and intercropping systems with legumes greatly benefitted livelihoods as they improve the nutrition of smallholders in the households. Challenges in the implementation of a range of CSA practices have been documented and require some adaptive and participatory action. However these challenges are surmountable and will enable cash constraint and risk averse farmers to adopt climate­smart options. We conclude that CSA practices provide substantial financial and biophysical benefits which often increase over time. These translated into environmental and social benefits for smallholder farmers which is the base for a strong business case for scaling.
    Publication