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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

• There is high staff turnover of late in the civil service, which is directly impacting the project. Strategies for future implementation: As a way forward, officers suggested the following: • There is a critical need to network with the different agro-industries and NGOs in respective areas. It was suggested that officers approach seed houses and chemical companies to assist in input supplies. • Farmers should contribute more in terms of inputs. They could be encouraged to establish revolving funds in their localities towards running of FSGs. From donors and the current self-financing scheme, the government should then chip in and provide travel and subsistence and stationery costs for the officers. This way sustainability could be enhanced. • Facilitators trained in the full-season courses should train provincial staff with assistance from the extension workers who trained together with farmers using the training branch budgetary allocation. The course could then be one of the many in-service courses run by the ministry/ department. • There is need to encourage facilitators to write pamphlets about IPPM in the vernacular. There was however need to develop a culture of writing in the extension personnel. • There is need for a refresher course for ToTs and farmers so they can update each other often on activities in their respective provinces and share experiences. Tours may be necessary for those success stories so others can adapt and adopt some of the successful methods. • Proposals for potential donors such as FAO (UN), FACHIG, NRI, and the Rockefeller Foundation should be developed at different levels for continuation of FFS and to train the youths, and for more farmers in IPPM in their areas. • Inclusion of IPPM in school curricula at the different levels should be advocated. • Incorporation of FFS into the current AREX delivery system. The required inputs should be sourced from the relevant budgets i.e. crops vote for crop production and livestock vote for livestock production. They would then be treated as normal AREX demonstrations. • The IPPM/FFS certificate could be recognized at national level just like the MF Training Certificate, to encourage farmers to fund their own FFS operations in anticipation of the certificate. 31
• There is need to publicize IPPM as a technology and FFS as an extension methodology through the media, both electronic and print, to have a wider coverage. • Farmer-led FFS should be promoted based on the fact that most farmers interviewed were willing to train others. • Follow-up programs on trained officers and farmers should be intensified. • Trained farmers in newly resettled areas should be identified and encouraged to create and facilitate farmer-led groups with backup from the ToTs. • Competitions for best FFS and best facilitator of the year should be held to further enthuse the farmers. • There is need to train more officers at provincial level using the ToTs as facilitators. All those extension workers who participated during the running of FSGs should be encouraged to run more FSGs in their areas with backup from the ToTs. The focus crops to date are cotton, soybean, maize, and horticultural crops like tomato and sugar bean. NB: One of the trained officers has embarked on small livestock IPPM in Chinamhora. Conclusion A strong plea for continuation of the project was put forward, particularly with its long-term sustainability in mind. It is important that a further period be looked at during which time more enterprises and involvement of other stakeholders with a larger geographical area must be considered. It was most encouraging to note the impacts of the technology and methodology to such levels that it seems most sensible to improve and expand the project so that it becomes a self-financing ongoing program. From the information gathered countrywide, both IPPM and FSG had positive impacts in their intended purposes. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. Adoption of IPPM as a technology and FSGs as an extension training methodology has been positive but definitely more resources are required. It is important that the farmers’ suggestions be considered for future planning. 32
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 14 and 15: The farmers decided on the experime
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 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

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?