Presented by Regis Chikowo, Robbie Tichardson, Sieg Snapp (MSU), Wezi Mhango, Fanny Chigwa, Agness Mangwela (LUANAR), Isaac Nyoka (ICRAF), Sileshi
(ICRAF), Desta Lulseged (CIAT), Owen Kumwenda and Anilly Msukwa (DAES) at the Africa RISING East and Southern Africa annual review and planning meeting,
Lilongwe, Malawi, 3-5 September 2013
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Take AIM: Agro-ecological Intensification in Malawi through action research with smallholder farmers
1. Take AIM: Agro-ecological Intensification in
Malawi through action research with
smallholder farmers
Regis Chikowo, Robbie Tichardson, Sieg Snapp (MSU); Wezi Mhango,
Fanny Chigwa, Agness Mangwela (LUANAR); Isaac Nyoka and Sileshi
(ICRAF), Desta Lulseged (CIAT), Owen Kumwenda and Anilly Msukwa
(DAES)
Africa RISING East and Southern Africa annual review and planning meeting,
Lilongwe, Malawi, 3-5 September 2013
2. Background - the project recognizes that
There are action-learning and systems approaches
that have been proven effective, yet they have
rarely been applied at scale
Knowledge transfer mechanisms that broadly work
across:
ofarmer typologies and
oagro-ecologies
3. Worrying facts
management recommendations generally at variance
with local farmer circumstances (consideration of
agricultural risks, resource constraints and farmer
production objectives)
The levels of labor, fertilizer, manure demanded are
often far beyond the capabilities of all but the
wealthiest households
Wealthy farmers <10% (Shepherd and Soule,
1998, Mapfumo and Mtambanegwe, 2005; Tittonell et
al., 2005, 2011; Zingore et al, 2007)
5. Closing the yield gaps:
Requires knowledge assimilation by farmers through
simple pathways
Plausible approaches include learning by doing – farmers
empowered through experimentation
(NO TO DEMONSTRATIONS ONLY)
…….. Why ? – the very poor often left out, no opportunity
for hands-on innovating, elitist and top-down, scientists in total
control and fulfilling their fantasies, farmers by-standers, etc
6.
7. Riding on our past experiences
The mother and baby approach as a learning and
agricultural technologies transfer platform
Farmers at all levels identify with the approach
(scientists coming down to earth without compromising
scientific rigor)
The philosophy - co-learn with farmers through a basket
of technologies on ‘mother’ trials, while concurrently
‘variants’ of elements within these are acceptable at
farmers’ ‘baby’ fields
9. What we did during 2012/13 season
Intervention site
‘Section’
Village cluster 1
Mother Trial A
40-60 baby trials
Village cluster 2
Mother Trial B
40-60 baby trials
10. What we plan to do in 2013/14 ....
consolidate and expand ..............>>
Intervention site
‘Section’
Village cluster 1 (old)
Mother Trial A
80 baby trials
Village cluster 2 (old)
Mother Trial B
80 baby trials
Village cluster 3
(new)
Mother Trial C
80 baby trials
> 900 directly
experimenting
farmers
11. Farmers experimented with….
Grain legumes (cowpea, groundnut, soyabean,
common bean, pigeonpea)
Different crop mixtures
maize/legume intercrops
Legume –legume intercrops (doubled-up legume
technology based on different crop growth
habits/architecture
Different soil nutrient mangement regimes
(organic-inorganic nutrient resources, and their
combinations
17. Could it be too difficult to interpret
his thoughts..
18. ... and MSU administrators came to the field in
Malawi to see our AR intensification ideas at work
Provost
19. Outputs
We have effectively secured buy-in from partners
in projects sites (DAES, DC office, NGOs)
Successfully established 4 action research sites
(Linthipe, Golomoti, Kandeu and Nsipe)
Held a farming systems and modeling workshop
for partners in Malawi (spiced by some 3
participants from Ghana and Mzee Mateete)
Recently held nutrition workshops in the action
sites
23. Biochemistry with smallholder farmers in Malawi!
Production of soyabean flour for nutritious soya
porridge! (mixture of soya, groundnut and maize)
24. The Ntcheu DC in support of healthy
communities through Africa RISING
25. Lessons learnt
Appropriate selection of pigeon pea varieties
essential for success in mixed crop-livestock systems
– long duration varieties likely to be damaged by
goats during July/August
Despite repeated explanations, a good proportion of
farmers can not separate R4D activities and
Development programs – this leads to ‘excessive’
demands on free inputs – seed, fertilizers, etc.
26. What worked
Farmers in intervention sites take ownership
of the project
Farmer experimenting (and innovating)
DAES as convenors of R4D platforms
27. What did not work
Intensive field soil surveys completed but soil
analysis lagging behind
Ideally this should contribute to informing our
next steps
Livestock component not prioritized during
Year 1. We have added relevant skills onto the
research team for 2013/14 and beyond