This document discusses drought tolerant cowpea varieties as a climate-smart agriculture option for smallholder farmers in Mozambique. Mozambique is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts like droughts and floods. Climate-smart agriculture aims to increase productivity and farmer incomes while improving resilience to climate risks. Drought tolerant cowpea varieties could help smallholders by escaping terminal droughts. The document outlines efforts to involve farmers in selecting, testing and adopting new drought tolerant varieties suited to their needs and conditions.

1. 1
Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies for
Adaptation to Climate Change: The case of
Drought Tolerant cowpea varieties
Rogério Marcos Chiulele,
Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering,
Eduardo Mondlane University
Maputo, Mozambique
Maputo, 25th
October 2017; Radisson Hotel

2. 2
Presentation outline
 Mozambique vunerability to Climate Change
extreme events
 Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and the
Pillars
 How drought toletant cowpea varieties can
bring resilience to smallholder farmers
CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties

3. 3
Background
 Mozambique, 5th World most vulnerable country
to CC (Global Risks Advisory Firm Maplecroft,
2011)
 Extreme vulnerability due to high susceptibility
and lack of coping and adaptive capacities
 CC manifest mostly in the form of climate
extreme events (drought, floods and cyclones)
CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties

4. 4
Years Floods Cyclones Drought
Name Affected area
1976 Incomati River Claudete Maputo and Gaza.
1978 Limpopo River
1979 Buzi, Púngue and Zambezi Rivers Angelle Nampula.
1982/83 Gaza and
Inhambane
1984 Umbeluzi River Demoina Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane.
1988 Filão Zambézia.
1991/92 Sofala
1994 Nadia Nampula.
1996 Limpopo River
1997 Buzi, Pungue and Zambezi Rivers Bonita Zambézia.
1999 Inharrime and Govuro Rivers 3 S Inhambane.
2000 Umbeluzi, Incomati, Limpopo, Save
and Buzi Rivers
Eline Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane,
Sofala and Manica.
Hudah Zambézia and Nampula.
2001 Pungue, Zambezi, Chire and
Licungo Rivers
2002 Atang Cabo Delgado. Sofala
Licungo, Melule, Monapo Rivers Delfina Cabo Delgado, Nampula and
Zambezia.Revubue, Mirahoto, Maguide
Rivers
2003 Save, Muare, Ripembe Rivers Japhet Inhambane, Manica, Sofala
and Gaza.
Sofala
Storm Maputo City and Province.

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Sector
Climate change Impacts
Change
inTemp
Change in
rainfall
Drought Floods Cyclones Sea
rise
Sea temp
rise
Water Resources ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• •• •
Infra-structure • ••• ••• ••
Agriculture •• ••• ••• ••• ••• •
Food security •• ••• ••• ••• ••• •
Forestry •• ••• ••• •• ••• •
Industry • ••• ••• ••• •
Energy • •• • ••
Health •• • •• •• •• • •
Tourism •• • •• •• ••• • •
Transport •• • ••• ••• ••
Biodiversity and
conservation
areas
•• ••• ••• ••• ••• • ••
Coastal zones • • • ••• ••• ••• ••
Human
resettlement •• •• ••• ••• ••• ••• •
Fisheries • • • •• •• •••
Source: MICOA (2012); Key: ••• High; •• Moderate; • Low (or not known)

6. CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties 6
Figure 1: Risk of drought (Left Map), floods (Centre Map) and tropical
cyclones (Right Map) in districts of Mozambique; Source: INGC

7. CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties 7
How CSA can help address CC in Moz
FAO (2013) defined CSA as an approach to develop technical,
policy and investment conditions to achieve sustainable
agricultural development for food security under climate change

8. CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties 8
3 Pillars of CSA
 Productivity: CSA is a sustainable intensification approach
to increase agricultural productivity and incomes from
crops, livestock and fish, without having a negative impact
on environment.
 Adaptation: CSA aims to reduce the exposure of farmers
to climate risks, while strengthening their resilience by
building their capacity to adapt and prosper in the face of
climate change.
 Mitigation: CSA should reduce and/or remove GHG
emissions (Avoid deforestation from agriculture and
manage soils and trees to maximizes their potential to
acts as carbon sinks and absorb CO2 from the
atmosphere)

9. CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties 9
Why Cowpea and drought
 Cowpea: 4th
most important food
crop after Maize, Cassava and
groundnut
 Smallholder farmers crop
countrywide (grain, leaves and
animal feed)
 Most produced in South
(Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo)
 North (Nampula and Cabo Delgado
 Central (Tete and Zambézia)
 Mostly important in drought
prone areas!!!!

10. CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties 10
Why Cowpea and drought
 Cowpea Yields are very low!!!!!!
 Farmers fields: 50-500Kgha-1
vs On-farm trials: 750 – 1500
1500 Kgha-1
; On-station > 1500 Kgha-1
 Production Constraints
 Pests and diseases; Poor soil fertility and Drought most
limiting constraint!!!!;
 Why Drought????
 100% of cowpea production is Rainfed
 Rainfall: high intra and inter-annual and spatial variability
 Intermittent and terminal drought affecting productivity
 Drought tolerant and farmers preferred varieties lacking!!!

11. CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties 11
What CSA options for smallholder resilience
 Different options for smallholders to use
 Early maturing varieties meeting farmers preferences to
escape terminal drought
 Drought tolerant Varieties (incorporating morphological and
physiological resistant traits)
 Diverse type of varietal options
 Market oriented vs household consumption;
 Grain vs dual purpose (grain and leaves)
 Spreading types to use as cover crop in conservation
agriculture (moisture retention, weed suppression)
 High nitrogen fixation contributing to boost maize yields

12. CSA: Drought tolerant cowpea varieties 12
How are we Ensuring Acceptance and Potential
Adoption
 Farmers involvement
 From programme design
 Participatory varietal selection
 Varietal testing On-farm and demonstration plots
 Engage farmers groups through farmers field schools
 Involvement of extension services (Public and NGOs)
 Involvement of seed companies in testing pre-release

13. Khanimambo!!!!!