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Location: Mozambique

The voice of farmers in Malawi and Mozambique: Mother-baby trials

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IMG_1372In February 2012 several CIMMYT staff working in Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA), including project leader Mulugetta Mekuria, Peter Setimela, and Isaiah Nyagumbo, as well as the national coordinators, made field visits and met with farmers who are collaborating in participatory trials in their own fields. SIMLESA is a four year program that was launched in March 2010 and is being funded by the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR). The project has adopted mother-baby trials (MBT), where farmers choose varieties that interest them from a central “mother” trial and test them out on their own farms in “baby” trials, as a way of evaluating new drought tolerant maize and legume varieties under farmer-managed conditions.

In the Manica Province of Mozambique, SIMLESA has been able to gear up its MBT activities through collaboration with farmers’ association IDEEA-CA, reaching out to more farmers through the association’s networks in and around the province. Improved varieties, appropriate use of commercial fertilizers, and the adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) practices have the potential to significantly improve the livelihoods of poor resource farmers in the region. The “yellow trial”, for example—with replications with and without fertilizer—demonstrates the advantages of using fertilizers.

The trials have provided a voice for farmers as they try out new drought tolerant maize and legume varieties in their fields and have the opportunity to influence seed companies to multiply the varieties they prefer. “It took me two seasons to appreciate the yields of the new hybrid,” said Marcello Chikukwa of Sussundenga District. “I was suspicious of the small plant size as compared to our local variety. But I realised that the local variety takes long to mature and had too much herbage, and the stem was very tall but the yields were very low.”

The testimony of farmers like Chikukwa is building momentum as farmers gain exposure to new drought tolerant maize and legumes in combination with CA practices and fertilizer use. The project also facilitates the creation of seed road maps, collaborating with diverse partners to produce certified seed and run promotion activities. Seed companies like Dengo Commercial in Mozambique are participating in seed production and promotion of new drought tolerant varieties, which are expected to produce good yields despite erratic rainfall in the region. Nine maize varieties and ten soya bean varieties are being promoted in three districts of Mozambique and six districts in Malawi.

Drought tolerance, conservation agriculture, and double-cropping: A recipe for success in Mozambique

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Copy-of-IMG_1029“Increasing Sustainable Agricultural Production in Mozambique through Drought Tolerant Maize and Conservation Agriculture” is a USAID-supported initiative bringing together two key components of CIMMYT’s work: Breeding for drought tolerance and sustainable land management to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Demonstrations in rural farming communities of Mozambique are currently exhibiting four varieties, which were selected for drought tolerance in Harare, Zimbabwe, and are currently being multiplied by two seed companies in Mozambique: Lozane Seed and Dengo Commercial. Farmers are also being shown several different cropping systems for these new varieties: conventional (burning residues and significant soil movement), conservation agriculture (CA) with seeding into previously dug planting basins, and CA seeded with a pointed stick or jab planter and retaining of crop residues. Farmers are showing significant interest in these new methods, favoring the jab planter and dibble stick as the fastest way of sowing.

During 16-24 February 2012, CIMMYT scientists, partners from the University of Tennessee, and USAID representatives travelled to project sites in the Manica and Sofala Provinces, to monitor project progress and evaluate the quality of implementation. The demonstrations also feature growing maize in full rotation with cowpeas, a technique previously unused. “We never thought of growing cowpeas as a sole crop in rotation with maize and are amazed about the good crop stand and the yield we will get. We will try this on our own fields in the coming season,” said Raimundo Luis, a farmer from Sussundenga, Manica Province.

Maize is the staple food crop for farmers in Mozambique, with most growing just one crop, during the rainy season from November to April. Average yields are generally low, often less than one ton/hectare. However, with the advent of new varieties, such as the CIMMYT-developed short season open pollinated variety (OPV), ZM309, farmers can harvest their early seeded maize crops in February, a time when many grain stores are diminished. CA systems with residue cover enable greater conservation of soil moisture, and therefore allow farmers to plant a second maize or legume crop, for harvesting in June or July.

Double cropping will assure food security for farmers in Mozambique, and by planting protein-rich legumes as the second crop, nutrition of farm families can also be increased. The use of these methods will also reduce the risk of crop failure and increase productivity of the land.

Maize-legume project launched in southern Africa

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During 11-15 May 2010, CIMMYT scientists from the Conservation Agriculture, Socioeconomics, and Maize programs met with SIMLESA partners in Malawi and Mozambique, coinciding with each country’s official SIMLESA launch. SIMLESA (Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa) is new four-year project to improve farm-level food security and productivity in eastern and southern Africa. The project is a collaboration of international and national agricultural research programs, led by CIMMYT, funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and implemented in collaboration with national partners.

On 12 May in Malawi, the Principal Secretary of Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Andrew Daudi, announced the beginning of SIMLESA-Malawi. Daudi expressed his gratitude to the Australian Government and ACIAR for their generous financial assistance to SIMLESA, and to CIMMYT and its partners for developing the program document and preparing for the start of field activities.

Two days later, the Governor of Mozambique’s Manica Province, Ana Comuane, officially launched SIMELESA-Mozambique on 14 May in Chimoio, the province’s capital city and where the national maize research program is based. The Governor congratulated all those who assisted with the project’s development and encouraged SIMLESA partners to maintain the partnerships and collaborations fostered by the project, which will help meet the goal of increased productivity. She also extended her gratitude to ACIAR and the Australian government for their financial assistance.

SIMLESA project leader Mulugetta Mekuria, along with CIMMYT and ICRISAT scientists Bekele Shiferaw, Patrick Wall, Mosses Siambi, and Emmanuel Monyo presented project specific objectives and facilitated the subsequent discussions. National agricultural research institutes and private sector partners also outlined the current status and challenges of research in their respective organizations. In both Malawi and Mozambique, partners indicated their commitment to the implementation of the planned project activities. TV and press media in Malawi and Mozambique extensively covered the launch and inception meetings, and related government officials, SIMLESA project leaders, and national coordinators gave interviews.