Darwin Background to Project zimbabwe

Brief Background to the Project: 

Brief Background to the Project Bronte Hotel, Zimbabwe 16 April 2004

Justification: 

Justification Aware of the value of agrobiodiversity to individuals, communities and nations (ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic) Concerned that agrobiodiversity is being significantly reduced by certain human activities (introduction of a few uniform varieties and alien and invasive species, overexploitation, war etc) Aware that the best way of conserving agrobiodiversity is to manage it in its natural habitat (on-farm)

Justification 2: 

Justification 2 Aware of the lack of consensus on the best way to support on-farm conservation of agrobiodiversity, what incentives/interventions (pay farmers or move towards conservation through utilization) Also aware of the fact that many studies have been done to understand on-farm conservation dynamics (IPGRI, FAO, GTZ) Realising that no best practice guidelines and concrete policy recommendations for supporting and scaling-up on-farm conservation efforts have been developed

Objectives: 

Objectives To assess the potential for scaling-up different kinds of grass-roots level support for on-farm conservation of agrobiodiversity in Eastern and Southern Africa To provide information for grass-roots development workers, national policy makers and the international biodiversity community on what kinds of support are most effective and what are the pre-conditions for their success The focus is on looking at the institutional conditions for success. Success being assessed using defined indicators (biodiversity, knowledge, livelihoods)

Methodology: 

Methodology Regional Methodology Workshop Held in Lusaka, June 2002 To build the project team Develop a shared understanding of the issues in agrobiodiversity Develop and field test research methodology Identify case study projects

Methodology 2: 

Methodology 2 Data Collection (Field) Team of two per case study (biodiversity expert, participatory expert) Tools used (semi-structured interviews, scoring, institutional mapping, stakeholder analysis, time lines, trend analysis) Data Analysis Workshop Held in Addis Ababa, February 2003 Analyse data Synthesize reports Develop project web site

Case Studies: 

Case Studies Ethiopia: Ethio-Organic Seed Action Project (EOSA) – Tamiru Mulualem & Joanne Manda Kenya: The East African Sub-Regional Pilot Project for Farmer Field Schools, Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM FFS) Martin Kimani & Abisai Mafa Zambia: Ipongo Development Programme (IDP) Arthur Nkonde & Tamiru Mulualem Zambia: Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia (OPPAZ) Arthur Nkonde

Case Studies 2: 

Case Studies 2 Zimbabwe: A programme for the Development of Strategies for in situ Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in the Semi-Arid Regions of Zimbabwe. Elijah Rusike & Morag Ferguson Zimbabwe: Southern Africa Landrace Research, Extension and Development (SALRED) Project. Abisai Mafa & Joanne Manda

IPGRI/FAO – Zimbabwe: 

IPGRI/FAO – Zimbabwe 1997 in Zimbabwe and Mali incl Tcholotcho, 120km Bulawayo conservation measurement (surveys) farmer, molecular, GIS), research & support Two Wards, ? farmers Seed fairs, seed banks, farmer field fora

IPGRI/FAO - impact: 

IPGRI/FAO - impact Marginal ↑ # varieties – all improved; 4 MVs replaced 5 FVs of sorghum Knowledge thru’ farmer field fora only Livelihoods: prizes, what else? Seed fairs ↑ interaction (highly valued), but not much control

IPGRI/FAO – institutional conditions: 

IPGRI/FAO – institutional conditions Traditionally strong community sharing and pulling together Shifting objectives & staff changes Poor communication channels top-down Long funding chain Limited/conflicting incentives Inadequate capacity building for community control eg seed fairs Drought, politics

EOSA – Ethiopia: 

EOSA – Ethiopia Since 2002, various sites nationwide incl. Ejere conservation thru’ organic farming + marketing 530 farmers at Ejere community seed supply (loans, seed banks), organic production techniques, market links to national + international

EOSA - impact: 

EOSA - impact Increased on-farm biodiversity (total), enhanced farmers varieties, focussing on durum wheat Positive impact on livelihoods: production, income, access to markets Integrated modern + trad. production + conservation systems 530  1,000 farmers. Improved coordination + organisation thru’ community groups: training, demo plots

EOSA – institutional conditions: 

EOSA – institutional conditions Long-standing relationships (since 1994) Appropriate technologies Potentially sustainable funding from industry (strong links) 20-30% price premium; 40,000 t p.a. unfilled demand Poor infrastructure Increasing climatic variability Policy environment Limited availability of seed + staff

Ipongo – Zambia: 

Ipongo – Zambia Since 1994, 188km NW of Lusaka food security through adapted IRDP 1,000 farmers in 36 farmers’ clubs Micro-credit + revolving fund for seed, cattle, cash; extension + CAWs for sust. agriculture Farmer seed multiplication, CSBs, on-farm storage, seed fairs

Ipongo - impact: 

Ipongo - impact 10-13 (modern) varieties, min. 2 new crops Ecological farming building on local knowledge ↑ ha, 50% farmers food secure but local infrastructure 1,000 farmers in 36 clubs (1 out of 5) Goal=self-managing CBO

Ipongo – institutional conditions: 

Ipongo – institutional conditions Grassroots empowerment Appropriate agricultural techniques local service delivery Price negotiation in agribusinesses Local infrastructure inadequate

OPPAZ - Zambia: 

OPPAZ - Zambia Since 1999, Kabwe, Mazabuka, Mpongwe income generation thru’ organics for export 70+ large farmers, 4,500 small farmers in 48 groups Advice on all aspects organic production + marketing, organic ag. research, certification

OPPAZ - impact: 

OPPAZ - impact Promotes targetted field cash crops (esp. groundnut), high value spp. (essential oils) +wild plants (moringa) Knowledge of organic production Household incomes (untapped potential) 4,500 small farmer members

OPPAZ – institutional conditions: 

OPPAZ – institutional conditions High international demand Staff commitment Multiple national partnerships Market liberalisation Diverse requests, limited resources Export delays EU organic import regulations