The agriculture sector in Zambia is key to the economy of the country as it contributes average about 19 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs about three quarters of the population.
However, the current food system and the livelihood of people is facing a hard time due to the advent effects of climate change, whereby calling for a strong transformation in both food production and consumption patterns in a sustainable way.
Further, strengthening climate resilience of agricultural livelihoods calls for farmers to adapt and build resilience to the increasing challenges of climate change where nutritious food is available for all.
It is against this backdrop that agricultural experts are calling for farmers to develop an efficient, competitive, and sustainable agricultural sector which assures food and nutrition security, increased employment opportunities and incomes.
And one of the ways to build resiliency in agriculture is for farmers to adapt the agroecological approachwhich strengthens the capacity for farmers to plan for climate risks that threaten to derail development gains, promote climate resilient agricultural production and diversification.
Agroecology is a holistic approach that seeks to reconcile agriculture and local communities with natural processes for the common benefit of nature and livelihoods.
The farmer’s traditional knowledge combined with innovations in practices and the sustainable use of technologies is at the core of an agroecological farming system.
Joseph Ngenda Mwitumwa from the Community Technology Development Trust says agroecological approach is naturally designed to mitigate the effects of climate change as it is a natural way of farming.
He said that the approach is a holistic way of farming which promotes planting of trees, the use of manure and indigenous crop varieties.
“As Community Technology Development Trust, we are promoting a number of agroecological practices and among them is promoting the utilisation of bokashi and the use of indigenous seeds because they are resilient to climate change, considering the environmental challenges caused by climate shocks,” he said.
He said indigenous seed varieties that are late maturing perform better than hybrid crops adding that indigenous seeds easily adapt to the local environment which makes them perform well compared to hybrid seeds.
He further stated that despite the high cost of fertilizer, farmers are able to produce with the utilization of manure which is less costly when using indigenous crops.
Mr. Mwitumwa however said they face challenges when implementing the agroecological approach due to the knowledge gap when it comes to the use of manure that can help preserve other traits found in indigenous seeds.
“There is significant knowledge gap on the benefits of agroecology approaches and most farmers especially smallholder farmers are not aware of indigenous seeds which promotes diversification of farming practice,” he said.
He said diversification can help farmers to become food secure and households will have different types of sources of nutrition from different crops produced.
He however commended the government’s efforts in recognizing and improving agroecological practices through the introduction of the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CATSP) which seeks to promote the adoption of the approach.
“Government has changed the policy on plant variety and seeds act while breeders act is being changed and we are optimistic that these approaches will be included in the new seed loans,” Mr. Mwitumwa said.
Indeed, building an effective agricultural adaptation strategy is imperative to ensure food security in a country challenged by climate change constraints.
Government and the private sector in the country should work together to adopt short and long- term response strategies to cope with erratic climate change impacts.
Authored by National Agricultural Information Service
Two continental higher education and research institutions, working to promote agricultural development and education in Africa, have launched a research project that will receive an injection of millions of euros to support Regional Centres of Excellence, or RCoEs, in green transition across the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), alongside partners, have launched the Regional Multi-actor Research Network (RMRN). Its overall aim is to increase the science, technology and innovation capacities of the regional centres in the field of agro-ecology.
Other partners include the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), and the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA).
Three broad objectives
It will have three main broad objectives, including strengthening scientific and technological capacities of the Regional Centres of Excellence, to produce, collect, access, process, share data and carry out research activities using a “gender-sensitive approach”.
In addition, it hopes to increase the network’s contribution in agro-ecology through “transformative quality research and scientific knowledge-generation”, and dissemination.
This is besides enhanced gender-sensitive support to agro-ecology practitioners, scientists and policymakers, said the coordinator, Dr Kwaku Antwi, during its launch on 19 March.
Dr. Kwaku Antwi, RMRN Project Coordinator, FARA, at the RMRN project launch meetings, March 2024, Kampala
It will also lead to the establishment of a platform for knowledge exchange and information-sharing, he noted.
Practice-based programme
The European Union funded the 36-month project, which will also see an RMRN formed that includes universities, and will engage in capacity-building through the short-term training of staff, MSc and PhD students, besides student exchange and internships.
However, the universities have not yet been identified as they will be selected through a competitive process, with those successful becoming part of the consortium and host the Centres of Excellence, said Dr Florence Nakayiwa, the deputy executive secretary of RUFORUM.
Dr Florence Nakayiwa, Deputy Executive Secretary, RUFORUM, at the RMRN project launch meetings, March 2024, Kampala
“This is a practice-based programme that is aimed at building capacity through short-term training for staff and students, including PhDs and masters. It will involve student exchanges and internships. It accommodates both African and European institutions with specific support from the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission,” she told University World News.
Strengthening consortia
The initiative will also attract funding from the European Union. It is a two-track funding system. On the first track, the participating organisations (CORAF, ASSARECA and CCARDESA) that will host the RMRN, will each receive €4.75 million (US$5.14 million). Then, on the second track, both FARA and RUFORUM will each access a total of €2 million.
While some centres will be hosted by the universities, others will be hosted by research institutions after the selection process, she added.
“The number of universities to be picked to participate in the project cannot be stated at this moment because it is a competitive process. Neither can we tell now how many universities will be part of the Centres of Excellence which will bring together different partners,” she explained.
At the end of the project, the technical capacities and skill of researchers and scientists involved would have been built, enabling them to carry out scientific studies in agro-ecology. Participating institutions would also have had their science infrastructure enhanced.
Overall, this initiative will help strengthen existing collaborations and synergies among the African agricultural research, education and innovations institutions.
The EU is funding the initiative as part of its Regional Multi-Annual Indicative Programme for Africa, whose aim is to support strengthening consortia of Africa-based institutions to lead interventions on the continent.
While it has many interpretations, agro-ecology basically implies the study of the relation of agricultural crops and environment for sustainable farming that works with nature.
The RMRN Project is funded by the European Union (EU) as part of its Regional Multi-year Indicative Programme (MIP) for Africa. The MIP will support strengthening the consortia of Africa based institutions to lead interventions in Africa in several domains including multi-stakeholder partnerships to bring agroecological innovations to scale, using co-learning, co-creation, and multi-stakeholder approach. The Africa-based and Africa-led research organisations include FARA, CORAF, ASARECA, CCARDESA, universities under the RUFORUM Network and Africa in general and other research institutions. The proposed actions will promote partnership with relevant institutions such as Farmer organizations under the Pan African Farmers Organization (PAFO), extension institutions under the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory services (AFAAS), NGOs, CSOs, the private sector, and financial institutions. The project targets countries in Eastern, Western, Southern and Central Africa. The initiative fits within the EU’s alignment to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity to help eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities, and achieve sustainable development. The proposed action is also highly relevant to the AU-EU partnership on agriculture and food systems development priorities.
Group photo of Partner representatives and participating organizations
Agroecology has been suggested as a promising concept for reconciling agricultural production and environmental sustainability by optimizing ecological processes that deliver ecosystem services (ES) to replace external inputs. Agroecology, defined as the application of ecological concepts and principals in farming is one of the holistic approaches that has been identified to enable understanding agriculture within the context of various interacting economic, environmental, and social systems and contribute to food security and improved livelihood among the rural communities. The transition towards agroecological food systems and the development of both productive and resilient farming systems and value chains are complex processes and requires new knowledge, competencies, and policies to address complex problems, co-create solution based on agroecological principles and integrate scientific and local knowledge.
Dr. Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director (FARA) addressing partners and participants during Day 1 of the RMRN Inception Meetings and Field visits to NaCORI and RUFORUM
All institutions in the project pledged commitment and synergies to ensure that the initiative contributes to a sustainable food system for Africa.On their part, Prof. Patrick Okori, Executive Secretary of RUFORUM and Dr. Aggrey Agumya, both leaders of the continental implementing institutions emphasized how this initiative will further strengthening and existing collaborationand synergies among the Africa Agricultural Research, Education, and Innovations Institutions (AAREII). On behalf of the African Union Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Gariba, a Senior Communications Specialist representing the AUC, pledged the full commitment of the Commission to the realization of the project’s objectives.
Dr. Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director (FARA) shaking hand with Prof. Patrick Okori following the project MoU signing.
To officially launch the Project, theMinister of State for Animal Industryof the Republic of Uganda, Hon. Bright KanyontoreRwamirama,stated that, “we are no longer talking about production but productivity due to the challenges faced by increased population. Science is the way to go and where renowned scientists are gathered like this, it is an opportunity to think differently and do things differently to achieve and sustain Africa’s prosperity.”Also present at the inception meeting were the Executive Directors and/or representatives of AFAAS, CCARDESA, CORAF, ASARECA, PAFO/EAFF, NARO and delegation from the EU including EC-JRC, EC-INTPA and the EC-Delegation to Uganda.
Hon. Bright Kanyontore Rwamirama, Minister of State for Animal Industry of the Republic of Uganda
As outlined by the Coordinator of the Project, Dr. Kwaku Antwi, the project has three main objectives :
Strengthened scientific and technological capacities of RMRNs in Agroecology to produce, collect, access, process, share data / information and carry out research activities using a gender-sensitive approach.
Increased RMRNs contribution in agroecology through transformative quality research and scientific knowledge generation and dissemination.
Enhanced gender-sensitive support to agroecology practitioners, scientists, and policymakers.
Dr. Kwaku Antwi addressing the congregation of partners and participants
At the end of the three years of the project, technical capacities and skill of researchers and scientists would have been built to carry out scientific studies in agroecology; improved infrastructural access by the RMRNs to carry out quality research and studies in Agroecology; available and accessible quality agroecology knowledge products and information; platform for knowledge exchange and information sharing/exchange would have been established; improved research-policy linkage; strengthened collaboration between the RMRNs and the Pan-African Network for economic Analysis of Policies (PANAP), and increased Advocacy for agroecology principles and practices; he concluded.
