Integrated Soil Water and Nutrient Management and Dry ... - Icrisat

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The farmers decided on the experiments by first holding a meeting with the community and listing problems affecting yields, such as dry spells and shortage of moisture due to the inadequate rainfall in the area. They decided to make ridges in order to harvest runoff water. The topics covered were based on crop and soil conditions and operations carried out from land preparations and planting up to harvesting and storage. A committee was formed and a FFS plot chosen, after which work began. The land – about 0.4 ha – was first tilled, and about half a ton of manure applied. Ridges were made on half of the plot and the rest was left without ridges, so that farmers could compare the differences between planting on ridges and on flat land. They then planted sorghum variety Macia on ridges and on the flat land, and the maize farmer variety Bhabhadla on ridges and on flat land. The farmers greatly appreciated and welcomed the program. They were happy that it enables even illiterate people to do practical work without needing to learn only theory. The results, they felt, are very encouraging – the methods learned help them maintain soil fertility and moisture in their land, and enable them to harvest better yields even if there is very little rainfall. Farmers are willing to share information with others and spread the FFS by introducing more FFS to the community in the area. However, they expressed their need to be supported with seeds, fertilizer, and more knowledge because they are not trained. Ten of the 27 members of the FFS have taken up the practices. Tied ridges involve a lot of labor but farmers have developed a method that uses an animal-drawn plough. Some farmers hire extra labor from neighbors. Farmers’ perspectives: Tsholotsho: Manzimahle Joram Ndlovu, Chairperson, Manzimahle Farmer Field School, Tsholotsho Tsholotsho falls under natural regions 4 and 5, which have very short growing seasons. The rainfall averages 450 to 600 mm per season, which is too low for attaining good crop yields. The moisture retention capacity of the soils is very low. The soils found in the area are black clays and sandy soils. The crops commonly grown here include maize, millets, cowpeas, groundnut, and bambara. Farmers prefer to plant hybrid maize, especially on fields with black 9
clay soils, while farmers with fields on sandy soils mostly plant millet. Soil fertility varies greatly from place to place and so do the required nutrients. Farmers’ preference for growing maize given the sparse rainfall limits the yields. A few farmers started working with ICRISAT in individual trials. Field days hosted by trial farmers led other farmers to become interested in the trials. However, it was not possible to involve everyone in these. At this point, FFS were initiated in order to be able to accommodate at least 25 farmers in the program. After village level meetings and discussions, meetings were organized with AREX officials and researchers. The farmers identified and ranked the major crop production problems they face: low rainfall, poor soils and very low yields. They agreed to do something about these in order to get better yields. Interested farmers volunteered to form the group. About 36 people initially volunteered but only 22 remained active farmers. Current members consist of 20 female and 2 male farmers. As in Mkhubazi, membership is mostly made up of women because the men are working in South Africa. After formation, farmer-members elected a committee to lead the group. The farmer group decided on the site after the village head and villagers agreed to allow them to set up the project. Plots were marked, tied ridges constructed, furrows opened, and farmyard manure applied. Different rates of fertilizer were applied in different plots and the seed was planted on the same day, as required for the experiment. During the 2001/2002 cropping season the group was very successful. Although the plot was small, the farmers were able to understand and teach each other the differences made by the treatments. Their trials looked at developing crops that could mature earlier, and how moisture could be retained in the field. They planted hybrid maize SC401 and sorghum variety Macia, comparing tied ridges versus flat land (Table 1). They also tried to compare the use of farmyard manure versus chemical fertilizer to see which was stronger and more beneficial and by how much. They observed that where they applied organic manure and top dressing, crops matured quickly, produced good yields, and did not get burnt, as commonly believed. The farmers focused mostly on soil nutrient management, moisture conservation, crops suitable to the region, and other operations performed throughout the growing period of the crop, such as application of inorganic fertilizer and pest control up to harvesting time and storage. 10
Page 2 and 3: Citation: Citation: Rusike J, Heinr
Page 4 and 5: The opinions expressed in this publ
Page 6 and 7: Synthesis Synthesis of Workshop Out
Page 8 and 9: • Increased crop and variety dive
Page 10 and 11: udgets are now activity- and perfor
Page 12 and 13: Appendix Introduction Background an
Page 16 and 17: Table 1. Manzimahle Farmer Field Sc
Page 18 and 19: egistered to become members of the
Page 20 and 21: The farmers appreciated the fact th
Page 22 and 23: The groups discussed problems affec
Page 24 and 25: • Fuel shortage • Low mileage r
Page 26 and 27: • Pre-planting tied ridges are no
Page 28 and 29: completed in all FFS. Installation
Page 30 and 31: wider options available and whether
Page 32 and 33: for the whole country. Provincial t
Page 34 and 35: • Participating farmers liked sha
Page 36 and 37: • There is high staff turnover of
Page 38 and 39: Responses of farmers and extension
Page 40 and 41: years, ranging from 23 to 87. On av
Page 42 and 43: Government extension officers and N
Page 44 and 45: Table 11. Allocation of government
Page 46 and 47: Impact of Master Farmer, Farmer Fie
Page 48 and 49: Compared to the control group, the
Page 50 and 51: Empowerment Farmers were asked whet
Page 52 and 53: farmer-to-farmer visits, a sense of
Page 54 and 55: to the majority of farmers, conduct
Page 56 and 57: This study conducted a comparative
Page 58 and 59: Participants Alibaba, S Provincial
Page 60 and 61: Makumbe, Willie Senior Agricultural
Page 62 and 63: Ndebele, Crispen Crop Research Offi
Page 64 and 65:
Tsikisayi, Sylvester Director ZFU P
Page 66:
ICRISAT-Patancheru (Headquarters) P
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