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Abstract:
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The overall goal of the Lake Chilwa Climate Change Adaptation Program (LCCCAP) is to secure the livelihoods of 1.5 million people in the Lake Chilwa Basin and enhance resilience of the natural resource base. The Basin is located in the three districts of Machinga, Phalombe and Zomba and covers vast stretches of land with resources and populations that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. To contribute towards the goal of the LCCCAP, the Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM) is engaged in an exercise to facilitate conservation agriculture practices in the basin. Fortunately, conservation Agriculture (CA) is also a "flag carrier" in the Department of Land Resource Conservation (DLRC) which is overseeing different projects that are operating in the Basin. Various CA and farming technologies are being promoted including reduced tillage, crop residue management and incorporation, use of herbicides, and agroforestry. FRIM conducted a survey to come up with an overview of CA activities in the various hotspots. The survey is aimed at gathering information on CA interventions, key players and promoters and preferred technologies. The survey is also meant to lay a solid ground for facilitating the implementation of Conservation Agriculture in the basin and to establish a basis for assessing the impact of the program. The survey involved discussions with the Department of Land Resource Conservation, site visitations, general landscape observations and interviews with key informants. Among the key informants were District Agricultural Development Officers (DADOs), Agricultural Extension Development Coordinators (AEDCs), District Forestry Officers (DFOs), NGOs that are implementing CA in the area, Lead Farmers (LF), farmers that are practicing CA and those farmers who have not adopted CA. The survey confirmed that many CA interventions are being promoted in the basin and that some farmers are adopting them in various combinations to maximize their benefits. Adoption of the technologies is with varying intensity between districts. The common technologies that are being practiced are for soil and water conservation, such as use of contour marker ridges and proper ridge alignment. The adoption of CA interventions in some parts of the basin is hindered by the high cost of inputs, excessively poor soil types, small land holding, high labour demands and reluctance of most farmers to practice unknown technologies, project rigidity on specific CA intervention technologies. Poor extension services have also been blamed for low spread of spread of the CA interventions between communities. |