Out scaling climate-smart technologies to smallholder farmers in Malawi, Zambia & Zimbabwe: prioritization report

Abstract

Under the project “Out-scaling climate-smart technologies to smallholder farmers in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe” stakeholders aim to evaluate the impact of a changing climate on current farming systems and identify appropriate adaptation measures. This reports summarizes the process and outcomes of a two-staged process to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies designed to reduce the impact of climate change on smallholder farmers. Meetings were held in-country (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and in a regional workshop in Lusaka, Zambia to prioritize these technologies. With the exception of Zimbabwe, the meetings were well attended and went through a defined process to identify the technologies. In both in-country meetings and the regional workshop the participants prioritized a range of options that were common. These were: Diversification (rotation and intercropping strategies). The use of drought-tolerant varieties. Different forms of conservation agriculture seeding (ripping, direct seeding and basin planting). The use of organic manure. Staggered planting. Soil and water conservation. Irrigation and improved climate information services were often mentioned but the capital investments needed as well as the lack of infrastructure make this currently very challenging. This would require Governmental will to advance in the future. The information gathered will inform the formulation of a feasibility study to be used as a base for developing a larger investment proposal for funding climate-smart agriculture in the region.