1. www.fanrpan.org Conservation Agriculture -Policy Environment REGIONAL CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE STUDY TOURS MARCH 2010 Lindiwe Majele Sibanda (PhD) Harare, Zimbabwe 24 March 2010 lmsibanda@fanrpan.org

2. www.fanrpan.org MAJOR CHALLENGES Halving poverty by 2015 9 billion people to feed then Ratio of arable land to population declining by 40-55% Growing water scarcity Climate change

3. www.fanrpan.org CROP POTENTIAL Source: Adapted from FGGD (FAO 2007).

4. www.fanrpan.org COMESA: 2003 CROP YIELDS (MT/ha) COMESA vs. GLOBAL CropCOMESAGlobal Maize1.394.47 Rice1.123.84 Wheat1.382.66 Sorghum0.671.30 Cassava8.1810.76 Beans0.600.70 Bananas4.69 15.25

5. www.fanrpan.org Source: M. Rosegrant (IFPRI) 2009. NCAR A2a Global production = -16% CLIMATE INDUCED CHANGE IN PRODUCTION IN 2050: RAINFED MAIZE

6. www.fanrpan.org FOOD SECURITY RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 1.Promote agriculture growth with technology and institutional innovations 2.Innovate in crop systems [ICT, insurance, ] 3.Facilitate open trade and reduce market volatility 4.Expand social protection and child nutrition action [public, private]

7. www.fanrpan.org PUTTING FARMING FIRST: KEY PRINCIPLES

8. www.fanrpan.org Limited awareness Need for change in mindset in conventional tillage Weed control Maintenance of soil cover especially during the dry season Livestock integration in CA Lack of supportive infrastructure Farmers’ limited purchasing power (CA implements and inputs) POLICY ENVIRONMENT

9. www.fanrpan.org POLICY CHALLENGES Inadequate knowledge on CA High vacancy rate at field level High illiteracy level Low incomes with inadequate or non-existent access to finance for working capital Uncontrolled grazing Labour demand

10. www.fanrpan.org POLICY CHALLENGES Fertilizer management Weed management Inadequate Training Documenting success with real time data Collaborative links both regionally and internationally Poor information flow

11. www.fanrpan.org POLICY CHALLENGES Lack of Vision, Policy, and Support Confused promotional strategies: – Responsibilities are split nationally among Agriculture & Environment and Water Affairs – Agriculture policy is more trade- oriented than practice- oriented – There is poor information generation and dissemination – Dual agriculture mandate-household food security versus national food security and commercial agriculture

12. www.fanrpan.org WHAT TO DO – the development of a national (medium to long term) CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE strategy – the inclusion of CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE into agric policy framework

13. www.fanrpan.org Monitoring and Evaluation Agenda Setting Decision Making Policy Implementation Policy Formulation THE POLICY ACTORS Civil Society Donors Cabinet Parliament Ministries Private Sector Source: John Young, Networking for impact. Experience from CTA supported regional agricultural policy networks, 2007