ACT presentation to Southern Africa Conservation Agriculture Working Group

1. CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE :
UPDATES FROM AFRICAN CONSERVATION
TILLAGE NETWORK (ACT)
Presented to
SA CARWG
30th October 2014
by
Saidi Mkomwa
Executive Secretary
www.act-africa.org

2. Contents
What has been done in 2014
What are Strategic Plan aspirations?
What did we actually achieve?
Lessons learned
Challenges encountered
Way forward

3. The Strategic Targets
1. Adoption and scaling up of CA strengthened
2. SLM and climate change resilience improved
3. Capacity building and partnerships enhanced
4. Communication, information and knowledge
management improved
5. Entrepreneurship and business development
strengthened
6. Network management and support functions
strengthened.

4. Implemented in 2014
 Projects
 Agro-ecology Based Aggradation-Conservation
agriculture (ABACO) – EU.
 CA for increased resilience to climate change and
improved food security - NORAD
 COMESA-EAC-SADC tripartite climate change
programme in ESA
 Farm Power and CA for Sustainable Intensification
(FACASI) – CIMMYT/ACIAR
 CA for Resilient Food Security and Profitability in
Machakos and Laikipia Counties of Kenya - AGRA.
 Networking and partnership establishment
 Advocacy and publicity

5. 1. Adoption and scaling up of CA strengthened
 Appropriate approaches, methods and tools for scaling up CA
identified, promoted and adopted
 Model Farmers
 Lead farmers
 Service providers, ripping, spraying, and direct seeding
 Farmer Field Schools On farm trials
 Learning Centres
 Co-innovation platforms
 Farmers Field Days
 Exhibitions
 Training and workshops
 Student placement under CA Projects
 Study tours ; Exchange visits
 Promotional materials
 Online platforms –Website, Social media

6. What is strategic?
 A comparative analysis of the approaches being
done
 Institutions and service providers engaged and
participating effectively in scaling up CA
 Centres of Excellence: Gwebi College, ARI Uyole, Yei CTC, KARI Njoro
 World vision, AGRA,
 Colleges – Bobo Dioulasso; Makerere
 Documentation of changes in number of farmers
adopting and area under CA in the target areas

7. 2. Sustainable land management and
climate change resilience improved
 Technologies and practices identified and
promoted – R&D mainly ABACO sites
o Direct seeding mulch-based cropping systems
o Runoff and soil losses in the direct seeding mulch-based
cropping systems.
o Cover crops on yields
o Conventional tillage (CT) and No-Tillage (NT)) +
mulching and cover crops
o Millet + legumes association; intercropping and direct
seeding;
o Fertilized cereals after legumes + manure
 About 15 publications, 2 book chapters
 Results sharing in end-of-project w/shop in March

8. 3. Enhancing capacity building and
partnerships
 University and college training
on CA
o Training on agroecology -
sustainable intensification to
52 MSc students University of
Bobo Dioulasso.
o Gwebi college – Diploma
 Tailor made and International
training courses (with SACAU,
KAPAP, CFGB, etc.)
 Short training/excursion
missions
 Partnerships and strategic
alliances
o NEPAD, COMESA, FAO
NORAD, CFU, GART, Gvt of
Zambia in the IACCA
o COMESA tech Committee
o With TAP and CFU in
Tanzania
o ACT sits in the WCCA
Steering Committee
representing interests of
Africa

10. 4. Communication, information and
knowledge management improved
4.1 Communication stakeholder categories and
their communication needs identified and
documented
 Inclusive KIM Strategy for the Network being
developed.
 Providing guidance on projects implementation
wrt KIM
 Communication needs of wide target audience
and how they should be addressed was studied
as an input to strategy

11. 4.2 Knowledge products and services for
developed and availed
Documentaries
First Africa congress materials
Technical notes
Articles for scientific peer reviewed journals (CABI)
Leaflets
Videos

12. 4.3 Pathways for communicating CA products
and services developed and utilized
 Meetings and Workshops
 Trainings  farmers/ extension staff
 Print – e.g. Posters, brochure
 Electronic – e.g. News alert
 Online – www.act-africa.org,
 Project portals: http://www.act-africa.org/content.php?com=5&com2=28&com3=50&com4=#.VFFT7E0cT4g ;
http://facasi.act-africa.org/ ;
 Demonstrations plots- On-station and on-farm trials in 7 countries
 CA Documentary
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9BXsaN0yiA )
 Social media

13. ACT website – social media

14. 5. Entrepreneurship and business
development strengthened
5.1 Entrepreneurship and business thrusts established
 IACCA had entrepreneurship as theme. CFU and NWK have
good tractor based models. Innovative models for hand tool
farmers needed
 Operationalizing the IACCA using entrepreneurship
5.2 Development, access and utilization of CA equipment &others
 FACASI india trip; R&D on smallholder mechanization
 CA equipment manufacturers workshop Dec 2014
5.3 CA supportive policies and legislations advocated for
 Study tour policy makers to Zambia and Zimbabwe (COMESA
and NORAD)

15. 6. Management and support function
strengthened
 Permanent staff number – 22 (Nairobi, Dar es
salaam, Harare, Ouagadougou).
 Financial resource mobilization and
management
 Grants
 Consultancies
 Online procurement system
 New Constitutions

16. No Category Description Entry point Number
1 Directors Subscribers (9),
Chairman, Executive
Director, Company
secretary
Appointed by
the Subscribers
12
2 CA Communities
of Practice (CoPs)
Chairpersons of each of
the 5 CA COPs
Admitted by
Board
5
3 ACT Sub-regions Sub-regional
representatives from
each of the 4 ACT sub-
regions
-ditto- 4
4 Institutions Representation of
Institutions
-ditto- 4
GRAND TOTAL 25
NEW - COMPOSITION ACT AGM

17. 7. Lessons Learnt
 Working through farmer groups such as FFS &
Lead farmers is preferred by stakeholders
 Need to change approaches to engage at least
70% of community inhabitants
 Create access to CA equipment services and
not ownership per se. Need to promote farmers
as CA service provision.
 Linking farmers to markets & credit is vital.
 Need to emphasize the power of market pull as
opposed to technology push

18. 8. Challenges
 Inadequate investments in CA.
 Private sector not adequately engaged.
 More strategic engagement for policy support required
 Focused research on appropriate CA/CSA
technology packages and enterprises
o Integration of small stock with CA
o Rural processing of surplus produce and cover crops for food and feed
o Crop-livestock-trees integration.
 Limited quality assurance on CA services
 Project-based funding vs strategic plans

19. The Huduma Kwa Mkulima 25
= Mechanised CA Services =
 Practices: Farmers – along value
chain
 On the Services: residue
management, herbicide
application, ripping, direct
seeding and processing.

20. I THANK YOU
Brachiaria undersown in maize
www.act-africa.org