Maricho November Edition

NOVEMBER

Issue

A resource for Agribusiness

1

14

32

MANAGING DROUGHT IN TOBACCO

PRODUCTION

Self-limiting ‘Friendly’ technology offers

hope for controlling fall armyworm

Cannabis Consumption Reflects Dramatic

Changes Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

2020

I

Contents

Editor’s note and contactsII

About the publisher & contributorsIII

MANAGING DROUGHT IN TOBACCO PRODUCTION 1

Parks and wildlife legislation poised for reform5

HOW TO GROW A SUCCESSFUL CHICKEN BUSINESS 7

5 key factors for increasing productivity 8

Agronomist notebook: Dealing with whiteflies, thrips on tomato farm10

A programmatic shift to net metering in Zimbabwe13

Self-limiting ‘Friendly’ technology offers hope for controlling fall armyworm14

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How food innovation hubs will scale technology to transform our food system17

How to manage risk in agriculture (Part 1)19

Global food system emissions alone threaten warming beyond 1.5°C22

Zim targets US$8.2 billion agric output by 202524

About half of Zimbabweans living in abject poverty 27

Nigerian farmer chooses innovation for healthier crops, better harvests30

Cannabis Consumption Reflects Dramatic Changes Amid COVID-19 Pandemic32

Designer livestock, poultry not ideal for rural Africa34

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II

Editor’s note and contacts

EDITOR’S NOTE AND CONTACTS

Agriculture remains central not only in driving economic

growth, but also on powering the industrialisation and value

chains strategy, according to the Minister of Finance and

Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube. Prof Ncube

said this when he was presenting the 2021 National Budget

in Parliament.

He highlighted the interventions in the agriculture sector

that are informed by the Agriculture and Food Systems

Transformation Strategy, whose objectives include assurance

of national and household food security, creation of decent

jobs as well as contributing towards sustainable industrial

development through supply of raw materials and use of

domestically produced agricultural inputs.

Starting with the 2021 National Budget, the target is to

increase agriculture output to US$8,2 billion by 2025 and

accordingly, ZWL$46,3 billion has been allocated to Ministry

of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement.

This is encouraging given that agriculture is central to

economic recovery and development. More resources and

facilities should be directed towards this critical sector. This

does not mean that other sectors are less important.

We are also pleased to note that there are concerted efforts

towards capacitating the sector which should guarantee food

security. This puts greater responsibility on our farmers and

other stakeholders to put their shoulders on the wheel. It is

time to work.

The rains are upon us and we have no excuse to continue

importing food post this season. Farmers are advised to use

the right seed for their regions to avoid planting varieties that

take very long to mature, which might result in yield loss if

rains stop falling earlier than anticipated.

Farmers should also apply right quantities of fartilisers or

manure to ensure that they get the best possible harvest .

Enjoy interesting stories from our writer including agronomist

Wendy Madzura and Charles Dhehwa among others.

Conrad Mwanawashe

Editor

Editor- maricho@agricnexus.co.zw

maricho@agricnexus.co.zw

@AgricNexus

+263 713 111 292

www.agricnexus.co.zw

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About the publisher &

contributors

III

PUBLISHER

Agricnexus

DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Pascal Madiri

CONTRIBUTORS

1. James Gorman

2. General Beven Mundida

3. Wendy Madzura

4. Ann Macharia

5. Eng. John Murira

6. Mark Lynas

7. Prosper Mukaro

8. John Lynch

9. Justin Cremer

10. Dr. Molly McCann

11. Charles Dhewa

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Old Dogs, New

Research and the

Secrets of Aging

The ways that dogs grow and age may provide potentially

useful similarities with people.

By James Gorman

Dogs go through stages in their life, just as people do, as is

obvious to anyone who has watched their stiff-legged, whitemuzzled

companion rouse themselves to go for one more walk.

Poets from Homer to Pablo Neruda have taken notice. As have

folk singers and story tellers. Now science is taking a turn, in

the hope that research on how dogs grow and age will help us

understand how humans age. And, like the poets before them,

scientists are finding parallels between the two species.

Their research so far shows that dogs are similar to us in

important ways, like how they act during adolescence and old

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age, and what happens in their DNA as they get older. They may

be what scientists call a “model” for human aging, a species that

we can study to learn more about how we age and perhaps how

to age better.

Most recently, researchers in Vienna have found that dogs’

personalities change over time. They seem to mellow in the same

way that most humans do. The most intriguing part of this study

is that like people, some dogs are just born old, which is to say,

relatively steady and mature, the kind of pup that just seems

ready for a Mr. Rogers cardigan. “That’s professor Spot, to you,

thank you, and could we be a little neater when we pour kibble

into my dish?”

Mind you, the Vienna study dogs were all Border collies, so I’m

a little surprised that any of them were mature. That would

suggest a certain calm, a willingness to tilt the head and muse

that doesn’t seem to fit the breed, with its desperate desire to be

constantly chasing sheep, geese, children or Frisbees.

Another recent paper came to the disturbing conclusion that the

calculus of seven dog years for every human year isn’t accurate.

To calculate dog years, you must now multiply the natural

logarithm of a dog’s age in human years by 16 and then add 31.

Is that clear? It’s actually not as hard as it sounds, as long as you

have a calculator or internet access. For example the natural log

of 6 is 1.8, roughly, which, multiplied by 16 is about 29, which, plus

31, is 60. OK, it’s not that easy, even with the internet.

To bring the comparisons home, the researchers compared an

aging Labrador retriever to an aging Tom Hanks. They used a lab

because that’s the kind of dog they studied. And they used Tom

Hanks, because, well, everybody knows Tom Hanks. For most of

us, of course, there is no pleasure in seeing a dog get older, but

seeing even a beloved celebrity subject to the irresistible march

of time is somehow reassuring. Sometime in the future the A-list

may be able to purchase immortality, but not yet.

Insert Image 1 -A border collie taking part in a touchscreen

experiment at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna,

which found that older dogs benefit from mind games, just as

Sudoku and other brain exercises help their owners stay mentally

agile.

A border collie taking part in a touchscreen experiment at the

University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, which found that

older dogs benefit from mind games, just as Sudoku and other

brain exercises help their owners stay mentally agile.Credit...Alex

Halada/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Scientists also reported recently that adolescent dogs share

some of the characteristics of adolescent humans, like, say,

“reduced trainability and responsiveness to commands.” Not your

children, of course, but those of other parents.

Scientists also reported recently that adolescent dogs share

some of the characteristics of adolescent humans, like, say,

“reduced trainability and responsiveness to commands.” Not your

children, of course, but those of other parents.

However, teenage dogs don’t torment their actual mothers.

They complain to their humans. That means a double whammy

for some pet owners. If you happen to have adolescent human

children as well as adolescent dogs and you all are stuck at home

in close proximity because of a worldwide coronavirus pandemic,

then all I can say is more research is required.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be flippant about these research projects.

They involve some groundbreaking work and could have

potentially important conclusions. Take that paper with the

natural logarithms, for example. To come to those conclusions

researchers sought patterns of chemical changes in DNA, a

process called methylation that doesn’t alter the content of

genes, but does change how active they are.

Lab tests can tell how old a human is just from the pattern of

methylation. Thanks to this research, the same can be done for

dogs. The results will help researchers studying aging in dogs to

translate findings to humans. None of this research was done on

dogs kept in a laboratory. All of the

dogs in the aging comparison study

were pet Labrador retrievers and the

owners gave permission for blood

samples.

Scientists are unsure about whether

the physical decline seen in aging

in dogs and humans, in fact in all

mammals, is related to the process

of development in earlier life, or

whether the decline is a different

process altogether. The researchers

found that the pattern of methylation

suggested that the same genes may

be involved in both processes.

Insert Image dogs2 caption - Do

the 30-year-old dog (by the rule of

seven) and the 30-year-old Tom

Hanks look like they are at the same

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stage of life? Scientists think not. But the photos are only meant

to be suggestive. The research compares genetic changes

during the lifespan of dogs and humans.Credit...Ideker et al., Cell

Systems 2020

Good methods of comparing dog and human ages are important.

Dogs are increasingly seen as good models for human aging

because they suffer from it in many of the same ways humans

do. As the Dog Aging Project, which is collecting genetic and

other information from a vast number of pet dogs, puts it on its

website, the goal of the research is “Longer, healthier lives for all

dogs … and their humans.”

As an aging human, I can’t fault that approach. In, 2018 the codirector

of the project, Daniel. E. L. Promislow at the University

of Washington, Seattle, laid out the reasons dogs make a good

animal in which to study aging and get results that will help

people. In essence, they suffer a lot of similar ailments, such as

“obesity, arthritis, hypothyroidism, and diabetes.”

just get there more quickly. This is one thing that makes the dog

a “good model for human aging and mortality,” as Dr. Promislow

wrote.

“Dogs age a lot faster than people do,” Dr. Karlsson of the Broad

Institute explained. “And so if you want to study aging with the

idea that you want to help people within our life span, then you

want to be able to study something that’s aging much faster

than us. You can learn about it more quickly than waiting eighty

years until somebody dies.”

On this point, of course, what is a benefit for science is a great

sadness for dog lovers. Dogs die too soon. And it is left to us to

witness it, time and again. It’s never easy. As one version of the

folk song, “Old Blue,” has it, “Old Blue died and he died so hard,

shook the ground in my back yard.”

SOURCE – The New York Times

That’s not all of course, but when we imagine that an old dog

walks funny for the same reasons we do (it hurts), we’re not being

anthropomorphic.

Elinor Karlsson at the Broad Institute described her research in

genomics and dogs: “One of the things that we’re really interested

in is figuring out, first of all, whether there are things in the DNA

of dogs that you can find that actually explain why some of them

live a remarkably long time.” Those findings might be of use in

extending healthy aging in people.

The study on the changes in dog personality over time used Border

collies that were part of the Clever Dog Project at the University

of Vienna. The Border collies were all companions, volunteered by

their human owners. Humans are said to grow more easygoing,

stable and agreeable as they age. We can all think of exceptions,

probably in our own family, but overall statistics cannot predict

the behavior of outliers like Uncle Rasputin or Aunt Ratchet.

How do you test dog personality? The Border collies were put

through many different tests. In one, a stranger walks into a room

and pets the dog. In another, the owners dress up their dogs in

human T-shirts. One-fifth of the dog owners admitted to having

done this before, on their own, not for research purposes. In

another test, the owners dangle a sausage in front of their dogs

just out of reach for a minute or so. Be assured this was approved

by an ethics board, and the dogs were fed the sausages once the

time was up.

Insert Image dogs 3 caption - A volunteer at the Clever Dog Lab

at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.Credit... The

Clever Dog Lab/University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna

The researchers found that dogs do change as they grow older

just as people do. They become less active and less anxious. But

one of the authors of the study, Borbalu Turcsan, of Eötvös Loránd

University in Budapest, noted that some dogs don’t change as

much over time. “People with more mature personality profiles

change less as they age,” she said. “And we found exactly the

same in the case of dogs.”

The end of aging is of course the same in dog and human. Dogs

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5

Parks and wildlife

legislation poised

for reform

Zimbabwe has started consultations towards reviewing

the Parks and Wildlife Act (Chapter 20:14) to align with

the Constitution and international conventions and

norms while ensuring that it meets the current needs

of society.

Wildlife conservation and tourism stability are deemed key factors

in supporting the growth and performance of the country’s

economic pillars, hence the focus.

“Our country is a signatory to several conventions that regulate

our wildlife management like, Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)

Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD) and Convention on

Migratory Species (CMS) to mention but a few.

There is need to ensure that while maintaining our national

sovereignty we domesticate provisions of these conventions

and that we are, where possible, guided by them as we enact

our laws,” said Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality

Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu at a Legislative Review

Consultative Meeting.

This is a process of ensuring that all laws do not contravene

the constitution which is the supreme law of the land. What is

expected is for government ministries to evaluate their laws

against the Constitution.

The Act provides for the establishment and management of

protected areas, conservation and management of wildlife

resources and associated habitats.

The Constitution of Zimbabwe places an obligation on ZimParks

Authority, which is under Ministry of Environment, Climate,

Tourism and Hospitality Industry to ensure the protection of the

environment, and to take reasonable measures to secure the

ecological sustainable development and use of natural resources

while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

With more than 80 000 elephants in Zimbabwe against a

carrying capacity of 40 000, this is posing a challenge on how

to ensure, for example, the country’s contribution to the growth

of the global elephant population without compromising the

existence of other species that share ecological niches with the

gentle giants.

“We need to address issues such as habitat loss while also

ensuring that there is equitable distribution of the benefits derived

from the commercial use of natural resources, particularly by

these directly affected by HWC,” said Minister Ndlovu.

Why the review

This process involves identifying those sections of the law which

are ultra vires the Constitution and

--- repeal, or

---amend, or

---come up with a new law altogether

Zimbabwe is endowed with flora and fauna and unique

ecosystems and is managed through Acts of Parliament. The

Parks Act (20:14) is the key legislative framework for wildlife

heritage conservation and management in Zimbabwe.

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6

expectations.

Other areas that are set for review include:

• Schedule 9 of the Parks and Wildlife Act identifies the rhino

as a dangerous animal:- the rhino must simply be classified

as a protected animal to refute the defence of self-defence

used by accused persons in court.

• Eighth schedule- some animals listed as problematic are

specially protected animals and need to be removed from

the list.

• Specially protected animals should have a mandatory

sentence.

Proposed areas for review

The change in society, like the increase in human population,

has seen the emergence of differentiated needs from wildlife

resources, such as tourism, leather industry, transport industry,

manufacturing industry, electricity generation, agriculture, which

results in the ministry having several stakeholders with various

• Elephants, rhinos and other large herbivores should be given

a stiffer penalty.

• Section 128 should be reviewed to include the killing of

elephants

• High court is granting convicted poachers bail despite well

tabulated evidence (sensitisation of the High Court is critical)

– Zambia came up with a specialised courts and convictions

became very effective

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HOW TO GROW A

SUCCESSFUL CHICKEN

BUSINESS

By General Beven Mundida

The number of chickens you start with do not matter.

You can begin with one, three or five chickens and end

up being a millionaire if you do the following;

Analyse: You need to take time to investigate and

analyse. Learn a few things on how to start and run your chicken

business perfectly.

Understand the risks and rewards: Any business requires an

entrepreneur to be a risk taker. As you investigate, get to learn

the risks you will have to take and the rewards that will come

thereafter.

Keep records: This is one of the most important tools in any

successful business. As you start, always keep detailed records

of expenses and profits earned. Keep an inventory of all the

equipment you may have bought. This helps you to understand

your financial position and helps you to identify your strengths

and weaknesses. Correct all the mistakes and maintain the

strengths.

own feeders, drinkers, and make your own feeds. Ensure that

your compound is well fenced to barricade the predators from

entering and causing loses. This will help in maximising profits.

Be patient and focused: Before you start a business, you must

be clear on what you want to achieve and how to get to your

destination.

Many people want to start making profits immediately, but always

remember the old saying: Rome was not built in a day. They start

a business without considering the factors involved in building

the business.

Do not give up easily. Stay focused and achieve the best.

Accept competition: You may see some people around you

investing in the same line of business. Competition is good for

business.

General Beven Mundida (Livestock consultant)

Contact call/ WhatsApp +263 776 420 161

Email: gbmundida@gmail.com

Be organised and be punctual: Chicken farming business is not

a lazy man’s business. You will have to

organise your work well and be an early

riser. You have to do things at the right

time and perfectly. The chicken house

should always be clean.

Ensure that there is continuous supply of

clean water and proper feeds. Vaccinate

the chickens on time to prevent diseases.

To manage this, you should have a table

of day-to-day activities so that you do not

forget important tasks.

Be creative: As the saying goes,

necessity is the mother of invention. Think

about what other things you need to do as

an individual to reduce the costs of rearing

chickens. You can decide to make your

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5 key

factors for

increasing

productivity

Wendy Madzura

Agriculture is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s

economy, contributing approximately 17 percent to

the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing

over 70 percent of its population. Increasing crop

productivity plays a pivotal role in the attainment

of food self-sufficiency at household and national levels. From

food self-sufficiency or food security comes food surplus which

reduces the import bill and ushers in more exports.

The realisation of the above lies in the ability to bridge the current

yield gaps through the adoption of good agronomic practices for

unlocking the genetic potential of seed. This 2020-2021 summer

cropping season, it is prudent that profitability enhancement

factors be discussed to prepare farmers for a productive season.

There are a thousand reasons for low yields, but only two reasons

for high yields (high productivity):

i) Selecting the best germ-plasm/ seed for a given crop

ii) Employing Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs)

The selection of the best germ-plasm is guided by the knowledge

of a wide range of areas as well as the crop and variety traits/

attributes that bring out the best from the seed (maximum

attainable yield). Integration of the above in a bid to increase

productivity is best achieved by understanding the following five

factors:

1. Seed factor (right seed)

a. Yield potential

b. Drought escape/ tolerance

c. Disease tolerance

d. Crop standability

2. Climatic factors (abiotic/ non-living factors)

a. Altitude and air temperature

b. Rainfall amount and distribution (seasonal forecast)

3. Soil (biotic & abiotic) factors

a. Soil fertility

b. Soil pH

c. Soil structure

4. Biotic factors (living)

a. Diseases

b. Insects

c. Weeds

5. Crop management

a. Planting dates and

b. Irrigation scheduling

c. Pest management

d. Rotation plan

Selecting the right seed is hinged upon a farmer’s desired

outcome and knowledge of the end use. For household

consumption, farmers should select crops or varieties that

contribute to both household food security and nutrition. Such

crops include maize, which is the staple crop, traditional grains,

legumes and vegetables.

Farmers are implored to embrace the “climate-smart”, modern

innovative seed technologies which are aimed at mitigating

against the effects of climate change. In maize production, these

include ultra-early maturing maize varieties like SC 301 (90-120

days to reach physiological maturity), drought-tolerant maize

varieties like the very early maturing SC 419 and early maturing

SC 529 and SC 555, medium maturing SC 649, SC 659 and the

late maturing SC 719.

In addition to this, farmers are encouraged to be health conscious

and adopt bio-fortified crops. These include the bio-fortified

orange maize ZS 242 with vitamin A. The choice of crop or

variety to grow should always be guided by market analysis and

seasonal suitability. Crop and variety choice is the cornerstone

to profitable farming, hence farmers should always seek advice

from agronomists .

Climatic factors such as humidity, cloud cover, wind, altitude, air

temperature and the rainfall pattern are important elements in

farming because they act as enablers for the crop to grow. The

altitude (height above sea level) is a measure used to describe

the angle of inclination of an area and this has a bearing on the

rate of growth of crops.

Crops established in areas of high altitude tend to take a longer

time to reach physiological maturity due to the cool weather

conditions associated with the low heat units (Growing Degree

Days) while crops established in areas of low altitude tend to

grow much faster because of the higher heat units experienced.

The duration of growth therefore affects a farmer’s cropping

plans and level of productivity as it affects the days to maturity.

The rainfall amount and distribution is an important yield

determinant, especially under rain-fed agriculture.

Farmers should always align their cropping plans with the nature

of the season to enable informed crop and variety choices to be

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made. Rainfall distribution is also understood based on the agroecological

regions which were revised in September 2020.

Knowledge of these new agro-ecological regions enables farmers

to understand the average rainfall received in a given season

and relate it to the seasonal forecast. The 2020-2021 cropping

season has been said to have a normal to above normal rainfall

pattern for most parts of the country, especially in the second

half of the season (January to March 2021).

The soil is the main growing media in which crops grow and as

such, is a key ingredient in increasing crop productivity. Soil pH,

fertility status and structure determine the crop’s ability to utilise

available nutrients to achieve an intended yield level.

The pH level describes the soils acidity or alkalinity on a calcium

chloride scale or potassium chloride scale. This unit of measure

has a bearing on the availability of crop nutrients to the crop and,

therefore, affects fertiliser use efficiency. In Zimbabwe, 70 percent

of the soils are acidic and as a result farmers are not reaping the

full benefits of organic or inorganic fertiliser applications because

acidic soils reduce availability of macro and micro-nutrients for

crop growth, thereby reducing the fertiliser use efficiency.

In some cases, only 20 to 30 percent of the total fertiliser applied

is utilised by the crop, resulting in low yields and reduced crop

productivity. The best way to address soil pH and understand the

nutrient requirements of crops is through SOIL ANALYSIS.

The soil structure affects root growth, water infiltration and

beneficial microbial activity, thereby impacting crop production.

Soils with poor drainage (plough pan or heavy clays) tend to

reduce water infiltration and promote runoff. This is a cause for

concern given the past three years associated with low rainfall

where “every drop counts”.

Improving the soil structure is one way of ensuring that we

preserve the abundant growing media in a way that allows for

effective crop growth without compromising the environment for

future generations (sustainable agriculture).

The adoption of conservation agriculture which is hinged upon

three pillars; i) minimum soil disturbance ii) permanent ground

cover iii) rotations is one way in which the soil structure can be

maintained. Farmers are also encouraged to use manure and

mulch (organic matter) to improve the structure of their soils

and promote effective crop growth which results in increased

productivity.

Biotic factors are amongst the major yield-reducing factors,

therefore, farmers should always be on high alert. Before

establishing any crop, farmers should understand the

problematic insect pests and diseases that might affect the crop

and prepare for them. Some varieties may be resistant or tolerant

to problematic diseases like Maize Streak Virus (MSV) and Grey

Leaf Spot (GLS) in maize, leaf rust in soya bean and selection of

such varieties may have a cost-saving effect, thereby, increasing

profitability in farming.

Regular scouting is encouraged to determine insect pest pressure

before economic threshold levels are reached for effective

control. It also reduces over application of agrochemicals

which can promote the development of insect resistance. Weed

management plays a pivotal role in crop production.

Weeds compete with crops for nutrients, water and growing

space, resulting in low yields. Effective weed

control for the first 10 to 12 weeks after crop

emergence is encouraged. However, it is best

to maintain a weed free-field until harvesting to

reduce admixtures that may affect the quality

of the crop at harvesting.

Lastly, farmers should never under estimate

the secret ingredient in farming (a farmers’

foot print) in the field. This is one of the most

important management aspects of any

profitable farming venture. In addition to this,

farmers should be conscious of the choices

made (crop choice, variety, seed rates),

Timeliness of farm operations such as planting

dates (irrigated or dryland crops) and fertilizer

application type, time, rate (basal versus top

dressing).

It is also key to be aware of weed management

(pre-emergence versus post), choice of land

preparation (conventional versus conservation)

and supplementary irrigation during periods

of crop stress as well as timeous harvesting.

Farmers should integrate the above factors

to obtain optimum yield levels for increased

PRODUCTIVITY and PROFITABILITY

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Agronomist notebook:

Dealing with whiteflies,

thrips on tomato farm

Whiteflies infestation is high during

the warm season and affects a wide

variety of crops, including French

beans

miner, there are other pests such as whiteflies and thrips that

affect tomatoes and lower their yields.

Whiteflies suck the cell sap from plant leaves and produce a sticky

substance known as honeydew. A high infestation of whiteflies

on the plants makes them extremely weak.

The honeydew makes it difficult for

the plant to carry out photosynthesis,

as it blocks the stomata on the

leaves. With time, the honeydew

gives way to a black, sooty substance

on the surface of leaves, a sign that

whiteflies have been feeding on the

plant sap.

One may also notice the presence

of ants as they are attracted to the

honeydew since it is sweet-tasting.

The leaves wilt, turn yellow or pale as

the crop gets stunted.

New generation of whiteflies

Pic by Francis Mureithi | Nation Media Group

By Ann Macharia

IN SUMMARY

• Whiteflies suck the cell sap from plant leaves and produce a

sticky substance known as honeydew.

• The presence of eggs on the leaves is an indication of a new

generation of whiteflies, hence the need to control them.

• Yellow sticky traps can also be used to control the whiteflies

as the pest are attracted to the yellow colour.

• Thrips are attracted to white and yellow blossoms and easily

transmit the tomato spotted wilt virus.

Apart from Tuta absoluta, which is also known as the tomato leaf

need to control them.

Moses scouts for whiteflies on the

underside of the leaves, around the

veins looking for white insects, eggs

or the larva. The presence of eggs on

the leaves is an indication of a new

generation of whiteflies, hence the

The eggs hatch into larva, which also starts feeding on the cell

sap. One may also easily notice the whiteflies by shaking the

plant and small, white flying insects will fly away.

Whiteflies infestation is high during the warm season and affects

a wide variety of crops, including French beans. They are usually

active during the day. Whiteflies should be controlled earlier to

avoid a decrease in yields. To begin with, start by observing field

hygiene as unwanted plants act as a breeding ground for the

pests.

Avoid planting tomatoes in a field where whiteflies host plants

such as beans had been previously planted as this helps in

breaking the pest life cycle.

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Rainy season

Go for systemic chemicals, which are absorbed by the plant’s

leaves. The whiteflies, being sucking insects, will suck the

chemicals in the sap. It is also important to use chemicals with a

different active ingredient as the pests easily develop resistance.

While spraying, especially in the rainy season, use a spreader or

sticker as this prevents the chemicals from being washed away

by the raindrops.

It also ensures the chemicals efficiently spread on the leaves’

surface and penetrate to the underside. Yellow sticky traps can

also be used to control the whiteflies as the pest are attracted

to the yellow colour.

Market trends

Apart from whiteflies, Moses has battled thrips, a common

tomato pest. They are small, black or slivery slender insects

that suck juices from tomato leaves, flowers and fruits. Affected

plants appear discoloured, twisted and sometimes scarred.

The thrips leap or fly for shorter distances when disturbed.

Affected fruits usually have marks on the surface of the fruit.

Since thrips highly affect onions, it is vital to avoid planting

tomatoes next to onions or where the previous crop was onions.

Thrips are attracted to white and yellow blossoms and easily

transmit the tomato spotted wilt virus. Mechanical method such

as the use of the blue stick traps can be used to trap thrips as

they are attracted to the blue colour. This is what Moses has been

using.

In our next article, we shall focus on the current market trends

of tomatoes.

PROTECTING

THE NATION’S

HARVEST

For effective control of

Fall Armyworm

and Maize Stalk Borer

MARICHO

All in one protectant against

Larger Grain Borer, Moths,

Weevils and Dried Bean Beetle.


13

A programmatic

shift to net

metering in

Zimbabwe

By Eng. John Murira

Introduction

In previous instalments I discussed the feasibility of engaging

in sustainable solar irrigation farming in Zimbabwe, especially

in light of erratic rainfall during the growing season. Farming

can be done sustainably if the country adopts solar irrigation

systems.

In this instalment, I shift attention to net metering. I first discuss

the background to this movement in order to put the discussion

into perspective. After conceptualising net metering, I then

discuss the merits and also some challenges that are attendant

to the shift to net metering.

Background

From 2007, Africa started to experience power shortages.

Generally, all countries in Southern Africa were not spared by

this power crisis which saw Zimbabweans going for as long as

18 hours without power. The situation later on improved due

to Kariba expansion. However, this reprieve did not last long as

another crisis set in. One of our biggest and reliable hydroelectric

power generating stations was hit by water shortages.

This was the first time ever in the history of Lake Kariba for water

levels to go below pumping level. With climate change upon us,

anything is possible. It is against this background that there has

been a rush, almost a spontaneous one, to embrace net metering.

What is net metering?

Net metering is a process whereby distributed generators

generate enough power for self-consumption with excess power

stored in the grid.

Why net metering?

In this article, my focus is solar photovoltaic distributed

generators. Solar generates electrical energy from light energy

from the sun. This means that technically there are times when

there is no power generation such as at night. In addition, there

will be very little power generated during cloudy days and times.

In summary, the power coming from solar PV is known to vary

throughout the day.

The variation is a result of many factors ranging from day of the

year, time of the day, season, cleanness of the sky, tilt of the solar

panels and so forth. Therefore, if a solar plant is designed to supply

a load, there are always times when there is need to supplement

this power. This is when storage comes into play. One common

method of storage is using batteries. However, the electrical grid

can also store the excess power that gets generated from the

solar generator.

In Zimbabwe, as I write this instalment, net metering is being

implemented. If a client already connected to Zesa grid decides to

generate and use the grid as a storage facility, they simply put up

an application stating their planned size and type of components

they will use. For example, what size or type of inverter are they

going to use? If approved, the client will install a meter that is

capable of measuring power to and from the grid.

At the end of each billing period, the net power flow will be

calculated. For every unit stored in the grid, 10 percent of it is

retained by the grid as compensation for power management

during such a time when the client will be feeding energy into the

grid. Why should Zimbabweans consider net metering?

Benefits of net metering

From an economic point of view, net metering allows the client to

save money. Once the solar plant is up and running, it also gives

flexibility in terms of economic operations by the client. In other

words, they would have established a reliable source of power

as they would have solar to take over in the event the grid is not

available due to many reasons.

The grid may not be available due to reasons varying from faults,

load shedding and statutory maintenance schedules. Also in

the event of cloud cover, the grid will take over and supply the

shortfall. This initiative is good and sustainable, for instance, for

wheat commercial farmers who require continuity in irrigation.

This can be supplied cost effectively with continuity in energy

supply. Although a solar PV system is capital intensive, over a

period of time the energy from solar becomes cheaper.

The sustained global downward trajectory in the cost of solar

components is making solar plants payback periods to be shorter.

Net metering reduces the need for bigger battery banks. This

comes as an advantage considering that the most expensive

component of a solar system is the battery.

On top of the battery being the most expensive component, it is

MARICHO


14

also the one with the shortest lifespan. Very good gel batteries

are expected to last at most three to four years, inverters 10

years, and solar panels 25 years. From these life expectancy

figures, it is clear that investing more in panels and inverters is

advantageous in the long term.

If embraced on a large scale, Zimbabwe, which is struggling to

generate enough foreign exchange, can save the little that it

generates through cutting down on energy imports. Currently,

the country spends foreign currency on energy imports from

Eskom, South Africa and Kabora Bassa, Mozambique.

Net metering would go some way towards energy self-sufficiency

and, therefore, reduce energy imports considerably. The saved

foreign currency could then be channelled towards other

requirements such as funding the health system.

Limitations of net metering

At the moment, not many people possess the requisite skills to

install proper solar PV systems. What is commonly found around

are just brave people who masquerade as skilled technicians

when in fact their capacity, knowledge and experience is limited.

Conclusion

Both commercial and domestic institutions are encouraged to

embrace net metering. Not only is a financial return guaranteed,

but also a more reliable and dependable energy supply system

for both commercial and domestic users. To add to the list of

advantages is the fact that solar energy is environmentally

friendly. While start-up costs tend to be high in the final analysis

it is cost-effective.

Engineer John Murira can be contacted on

johnmurira@gmail.com

While in general net metering has several merits, one would agree

that nothing is fool proof. One of the limitations of net metering

is that the start-up costs are generally high. The other limitation

relates to skilled personnel for the installation of such systems.

Self-limiting ‘Friendly’ technology

offers hope for controlling fall

armyworm

By Mark Lynas

Oxitec, the Oxford University spinoff company that produces

environmentally-friendly insect control solutions today

announced a collaboration with the life sciences giant Bayer to

scale up its programme targeting the destructive fall armyworm

crop pest.

Like its existing programmes against dengue- and Zika-carrying

mosquitoes, the fall armyworm effort will use Oxitec’s “Friendly”

self-limiting insect technology. This employs genetic engineering

to introduce a gene that prevents offspring of the pests surviving

into adulthood, thereby dramatically reducing the population.

Fall armyworm (FAW) is one of the most destructive crop pests in

the world. In recent years, it has moved from the Americas into

Africa and Asia, devastating maize and other crops and seriously

threatening food security for hundreds of millions of subsistence

farmers.

Conventional control tends to depend on toxic insecticides,

which increase farmers’ costs and can damage human and

environmental health. In addition, fall armyworm has become

increasingly resistant to insecticide sprays.

Oxitec’s programme is initially focused in Brazil, where field

trials have been conducted under Brazilian regulatory agency

approvals. The company already has a successful mosquitocontrol

effort underway in the country, with pilot efforts

generating over 90 percent suppression in target diseasecarrying

mosquitoes.

Oxitec’s “Friendly” technology in the mosquito species Aedes

aegypti was granted full biosafety approval in Brazil in May this

year and can now be used nationwide.

The fall armyworm is a particular worry for farmers because its

caterpillars attack a wide range of crops. The FAW prefers maize,

but can also feed on more than 80 other crops, including wheat,

sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton. While the

insect-resistant Bt maize grown by most Brazilian farmers offers

some protection, the FAW can develop resistance unless other

MARICHO


15

control strategies such as Oxitec’s are deployed simultaneously.

The use of different pest-control strategies in this way is

a fundamental tenet of the integrated pest management

(IPM) approach — an agro-ecological strategy pioneered by

Cornell University’s Professor Tony Shelton. Prof Shelton, an

entomologist, recently worked with Oxitec on a similar programme

against diamondback moth, a pest that targets cabbage and

other brassica crops.

In a post published on the social media site LinkedIn, Oxitec

CEO Grey Frandsen wrote: “The Oxitec ‘Friendly’ fall armyworm

is a safe, non-toxic and species-specific control tool that has

no impact on beneficial species like bees and butterflies and is

self-limiting in the environment. This collaboration represents

our collective effort to develop safe, sustainable and highly

effective technologies to bolster farmers’ ability to manage these

devastating pests.”

Grey continued: “As fall armyworm spreads rapidly beyond the

borders of North and South America to Africa and Asia, we

believe collaboration will lead to significant advances that will

help counter this challenge.”

According to the company, more than 100 peer-reviewed studies

have been published about its technology. Bob Reiter, head of

crop science research and development at Bayer, added: “The

collaboration between Bayer and Oxitec in the development of

a ‘Friendly’ fall armyworm explores a promising new approach to

support integrated pest management, helping farmers manage

destructive pests in a more sustainable way, while reducing the

need for other inputs.”

According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture

Organisation: “FAW represents a real threat to food security and

livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers. FAW has spread

across all of sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East and Asia. It will

likely soon be present in southern Europe. FAW is a resident pest

and once it has arrived in a country, it is there to stay.”

FAW spread across central and western Africa from the Americas

in 2016, eastern Africa in 2017 and moved into India in 2018. It hit

China in 2019 and reached Australia in 2020. FAW control efforts

have been substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,

further increasing worries about harvest losses and global food

security.

Once established in a country, FAW is almost impossible to

eradicate as an adult can fly up to a hundred kilometres in a

single night. According to FAO, “based on 2018 estimates from

12 African countries, up to 17,7 million tonnes of maize could be

lost annually due to FAW on that continent — enough to feed tens

of millions of people. The most direct impact of these losses hits

smallholder maize farmers, most of whom rely on the crop to

stave off hunger and poverty.”

Dr Neil Morrison, Oxitec’s head of agriculture programmes,

added: “We are working around the clock to develop solutions

that will help address food insecurity for billions of people

worldwide. We’re doing so with technology that doesn’t harm

the environment. This allows us to deliver benefits to consumers,

growers and the environment, which is what we should expect

of innovative pest control technology in the coming decades.”

Oxitec’s approach is likely to be the most environmentally friendly

of all control strategies because it is entirely species-specific:

male self-limiting fall armyworms find and mate with female fall

armyworms while doing no harm to beneficial species like bees

and butterflies and helping reduce the use of pesticides.

The self-limiting approach means that, after release stops, the

gene will disappear from the environment, leaving no lasting

effects other than fewer pests and improved harvests.

“Fall armyworm knows no boundaries,” CIMMYT’s Dr B.M Prasanna

said. “We need an integration of various approaches, including

biological control, to help farmers manage this devastating pest.

We support effective, scalable and sustainable solutions, and

look forward to learning more about the Oxitec-Bayer research

collaboration as it moves forward.”

Source – ALL FOR SCIENCE

MARICHO


In the field

KUTSAGA

PUBLICATIONS

16

Attention Tobacco Growers!

Hot of the Press!

Second Edition of The Guide To Seedling Production

Using The Floating Tray System

Hurry, Hurry Whilst Stocks Last!

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Flue-cured Recommendations Handbook

Kutsaga Farmer’s Production Record

Common Field Pests, Diseases and Disorders of Tobacco

Flue-cured Tobacco Field Guide

Flue-cured Tobacco Barn Manual

Cured-leaf Disorders of Flue-cured Tobacco

MARICHO

For further information contact Kutsaga:

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or visit us at Kutsaga Research Station, Airport Ring Road, Harare.

Whatsapp 0714 980 980, email: sales@kutsaga.co.zw


Kutsaga Research– Maximizing Economic Value

17

How food innovation hubs will

scale technology to transform

our food system

This article is part of the Bold Actions for Food as a Force for Good

Innovation can make food systems inclusive, efficient,

sustainable, nutritious and healthy. To ensure everyone

in the global food system can benefit from technological

advances, we need local innovation ecosystems to increase

investments, create policy incentives, build capacity and

develop smart partnerships.

The World Economic Forum, UN World Food Programme (WFP)

and other partners are developing regional food innovation hubs

to drive solutions to meet local challenges and scale impact.

Imagine Sandra, a smallholder farmer in Utopia, providing for her

family of four by growing maize and tomatoes. She struggles

to make ends meet and sometimes depends on assistance

programmes. She wants to improve her income and the soil

health of her farm which has been deteriorating due to frequent

droughts.

Start-up Precis.IO has a precision agriculture technology that

uses big data and machine learning to help farmers plan and

apply the optimal inputs. These tools could help Sandra improve

yield and even lead to significant reductions in GHG emissions.

However, Precis.IO is struggling to scale up their impact and

reach smallholder farmers like Sandra.

Meanwhile, Company Inc. has invested in IOT technologies to

reduce food loss for farmers across the tomato supply chain, but is

struggling to meet processing requirements as the produce from

farmers like Sandra does not meet the sustainability standards

needed for procurement. Company Inc. needs partnerships with

NGOs, farmer-producer organisations and financial institutions

to deploy better inputs, financing, manage risk, advise and train

farmers for better production practices.

Michael is an affluent urban consumer in Utopia who uses an app,

Idea.IO., which scans food labels and provides information on the

product’s environmental footprint. He likes that the tomatoes

from Sandra’s farm have lower GHG emissions and he is willing

to pay a higher price for them, but he wants to ensure that

farmers are receiving this premium. But Idea.IO needs investors

or partners to develop this feature.

The key priorities of the Utopia government is addressing food

security and nutritional goals, and dramatically reducing the

environmental footprint of food production. It recognises that

technology innovations can provide leapfrog opportunities, but

physical and technological infrastructure is needed to unlock

such investments. It also wants to ensure equitable access to

benefits for farmers like Sandra.

MARICHO


18

As Utopia illustrates, technology and innovation provide

enormous opportunities to make food systems inclusive, efficient,

sustainable, nutritious and healthy. However, no one stakeholder

is able to navigate the complexities of food systems on their own

to meet the necessary scale and impact.

How to scale technology in the global food system

Approximately 40 percent of the world’s agricultural land is

degraded. Globally, almost 2 billion people do not have access

to safe, nutritious and sufficient food, and 690 million suffer from

hunger. Food loss and waste costs the global economy $940

billion annually and emits 8 percent of GHGs. Now, Covid-19

threatens to push 270 million people to the brink of starvation.

With fewer than 10 years left to achieve the Sustainable

Development Goals, we need to fundamentally change the way

food is produced and consumed. This includes changing the

practices of more than 500 million smallholder farmers and the

consumption patterns of 7,7 billion individuals.

When deployed appropriately and rooted in local needs,

innovation has the potential to solve several of these challenges

– from cutting across the production cycle with advances in

logistics and ingredient development, to enhancing market and

consumer access. Mobile phones can facilitate complex financial

transactions.

Blockchain can help safeguard quality in end-to-end supply

chains and lead to fairer prices and financial accountability.

Remote sensing and artificial intelligence are helping farmers

in developing countries plan and use optimal agricultural inputs

in real-time. To leverage the role of technology innovations, The

UN World Food Programme (WFP) has an Innovation Accelerator

which sources, supports and scales innovation to achieve a

world without hunger.

Yet, the food and agriculture sector is decades behind in adoption

and delivery of technology, and there has been a historic lack of

investments in food and agriculture) tech.

Technology and innovations can help identify bottlenecks

and accelerate cooperation, both of which are needed at an

unprecedented scale. However, we need to move beyond specific

technologies, initiatives or stakeholders, to take an ecosystem

view that recognizes all key actors in the system, and looks to

solve overarching challenges.

What is needed is a deliberate and coordinated effort towards

developing a vibrant local “innovation ecosystem” – an

environment focused on increasing investments, creating policy

incentives, building capacity and developing smart partnerships

– that can enable solutions to meet local challenges and achieve

scalable impact.

Silicon Valley hails “unicorns” – start-ups with a billion-dollar

valuation. Imagine if we elevated “social impact unicorns” –

star-tups that could positively impact millions or even billions of

people’s lives?

Introducing food innovation hubs

The World Economic Forum, UN World Food Programme (WFP)

and several other partners have been working to catalyse

regional food innovation hubs focused on strengthening local

innovation ecosystems. Building on the forum’s Innovation with

a Purpose initiative, the food innovation hubs aim to create

human-centred and purpose-driven networks that are locally

owned and leveraged for scale and impact.

With country-led approaches, the hubs will drive both high-end

and low-cost grassroots innovation that could have scalable

impact, as well as innovations encompassing supply chains,

partnerships and business models that can enable systemic

change.

The food innovation hubs will be multi-stakeholder platforms

– neutral coordinating entities that are pre-competitive and

work with governments, private sector, innovators, farmer

organisations, investors, donors and civil society. They will link

those who need technology and innovations, those who are

developing it, and those who might finance and scale it.

Further, the hubs aim to connect various ecosystem actors

to enable co-creation, develop linkages and alignment and

generate innovative and inclusive governance models that

enable collaboration and unlock barriers to scale.

In doing so, the hubs aim to unlock investments and enable

policy incentives, improve resiliency of food systems and

mitigate unintended consequences. In addition, the hubs will

work towards capacity development for farmers and incentivize

consumer demand for more sustainable outcomes and practices.

More than 20 organisations are leading on the food innovation

hubs with work already underway in Colombia, India, ASEAN

and several countries in Africa. With the UN Food Systems

Summit in 2021 as a key milestone to deliver action and broader

engagement, these hubs are working with local stakeholders to

forge partnerships that develop impactful innovations.

For example, in Zambia, initial work is focused on providing

financial, advisory and capacity-building support to smallholder

farmers to move towards more sustainable agriculture practices.

An interoperable data and analytics platform in development will

generate insights for Zambian farmers.

Over the next year, the hubs will also develop a community of

innovators and entrepreneurs across geographies to share

learnings and build capacity, including through more South-

South collaborations.

At the core of the food innovation hubs is a vision to empower

stakeholders across the food value chain with the necessary

tools to ensure that the 7,7 billion people currently in our food

systems can collectively benefit from the promise of innovation.

We invite other stakeholders to join us in exploring the potential

of technology and innovation to bring transformational change

to food systems.

Source – World Economic Forum

MARICHO


19

How to manage

risk in agriculture

(Part 1)

need to be implemented in order to achieve good harvest which

in turn boosts the economy.

Risks which are inherent in agriculture include uncertainties

in yields, weather conditions, government policies, prices and

global market fluctuations and these have a huge impact on

income. These risks also affect the quality of agricultural yield.

There are various sources of agricultural risks that should be

managed in order to stabilise your earnings on your farm. The

most important way to analyse risks is to find out how often

such risks occur and the impact of each risk, if it does occur.

Let us take a look at some of the risks that farmers in Zimbabwe

encounter.

Production risks

These are risks which have an impact on the level of yield on

your farm. They may cause a farmer to get a very low yield

than the yield he/she was expecting. These mainly arise from

unfavourable weather conditions such as excessive rainfall

during planting or harvesting period, frost or droughts.

By Prosper Mukaro

It is high time we stop the misconception that the word risk

means the same as loss. Risk is just a deviation of the actual

results from the expected results. This means that you can get

a profit where the expectation was to break-even or to make a

loss.

Agriculture is the most vibrant sector in Zimbabwe and Africa

at large. It is at the heart of Zimbabwe’s economy, providing

employment and income to a large population.

Therefore, since it is a major source of income and wealth, it

implies that good risk management strategies and techniques

Pests such as armyworm, insects such as locusts and diseases

including anthrax have all caused challenges to famers in

Zimbabwe. Each farming season, the country’s agricultural

sector encounters one or more of these risks. Farmers of

millet and sorghum face challenges of bird flocks while other

smallholder and communal farmers each year have to fight

baboons destroying their crops or hyenas eating their livestock.

Breakdown of machinery such as irrigation equipment, and

other farming implements is also likely to affect operations of

a farmer.

In February this year, The Herald, reported that 20 cattle in

Shurugwi in the Midlands Province had died after being struck

by lightning. These incidents may not happen often, but their

impact when they occur is usually massive. Stock theft is also

on the rise, despite attracting huge penalties of up to 15 years

in jail if found guilty.

MARICHO


20

How can you manage production risks?

1. Purchase agriculture insurance packages which cover crops

from risks which are usually encountered during the growing

of crops or those that relate to livestock. Some insurance

packages in Zimbabwe cover your yield against theft or fire,

from the growing stage to the day they are sold.

2. Use tags on livestock to prevent stock theft.

3. Acquire knowledge of recommended agricultural practices

from reputable organisations

4. Embrace diversification - growing different crop varieties or

completely new crops.

5. Adopt risk mitigating practices such as drip irrigation, tile

drainage, trap crops or resistant varieties.

6. Proper selection of site - use fields less susceptible to frost

or pests and rotate crops.

7. Properly maintain equipment and keep facilities in good

working condition.

Marketing risks

These risks relate to the possibility that you will lose the market

for your products or that the price received or offered by the

buyer will be less than the price that the farmer expected.

These risks mainly emanate from lower sales and prices due to

increased numbers of competing growers or changing consumer

preferences.

These marketing risks can also emanate from closure or relocation

of a processor or wholesale buyer, thereby leading to loss of

access to the market. A product may also fail to meet market

standards, which may lead to a drop in the quantity sold or the

farmer might be forced to sell at a reduced price than expected.

How can you manage marketing risks?

1. Market through multiple channels or outlets to reduce over

reliance on a single market.

2. Spread harvest and sales over the season by scheduling

planting and considering storage.

3. Enter into sales or price contracts with buyers.

4. Form or join a marketing cooperative to enhance prices and

guarantee a market.

5. Increase direct marketing efforts to capture a higher price.

Good risk management is very important in order to make profit

in agriculture no matter how big or small the project or farm is.

The insurance industry should come up with a flexible insurance

package which covers unexpected decline of market prices

during the growing year. This will help to reduce stress and

anxiety of farmers regarding marketing risk.

In the words of Hunter S. Thompson; “So we shall let the reader

answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he

who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed

securely on shore and merely existed?”

Surely, with good risk management practices, a farmer can brave

the storm and make a fortune.

MARICHO


21

MARICHO


Global food system emissions alone

threaten warming beyond 1.5°C

22

We can act now to stop it

By John Lynch

How people grow food and the way we use the land is an

important, though often overlooked, contributor to climate

change. While most people recognise the role of burning fossil

fuels in heating the atmosphere, there has been less discussion

about the necessary changes for bringing agriculture in line with

a “net-zero” world.

But greenhouse gas emissions from the global food system

are growing. Unless there are significant changes in the way

we produce and deliver food from fields to tables, the world

will miss the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, even if we

immediately phase out fossil fuel use.

In a new paper, my colleagues and I explored how food system

emissions fit into remaining carbon budgets which are intended

to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

We estimated that if global food systems continue to develop at

their current rate – known as a “business as usual” trajectory –

the resulting increase in emissions from this alone would likely

add enough extra warming to take Earth’s average temperature

beyond a 1.5°C rise in the 2060s.

The good news is that this outcome is not inevitable. There

are improvements to what we eat and how we farm it that are

achievable, and can be pursued right now.

Carbon budgets

Thanks to the Paris Agreement, the world has an internationally

agreed target of keeping global warming below 2°C, and striving

for 1.5°C.

To meet any given temperature target, there’s a fixed carbon

budget – a finite amount of CO₂ that can be emitted before global

temperatures surpass the limit. This surprisingly straightforward

link between CO₂ emissions and global temperature helps

scientists set useful targets for reducing emissions.

Achieving this temperature target means keeping total CO₂

emissions within the carbon budget by phasing out fossil fuel

burning so that we reach net-zero emissions before exceeding

the budget.

The same applies to CO₂ emissions from agriculture. We have to

switch the energy sources powering farms and food production

from fossil fuels to renewables, while halting the deforestation

that creates new farmland.

But here things get complicated, as CO₂ is only a relatively

small part of the total emissions from food systems. Agricultural

emissions are dominated by nitrous oxide (N₂O), mostly from

fertilisers spread on fields (both synthetic and animal manures),

and methane (CH₄), largely produced by ruminant livestock such

as cows and sheep, and rice farming. So how do these two gases

fit into our carbon budgets?

Nitrous oxide lasts in the atmosphere for around a century,

making it relatively long-lived

(though still a lot shorter than CO₂

on average). Each N₂O emission

subtracts from the carbon budget

in a similar way to CO₂ itself.

Methane only survives in the

atmosphere for around a decade

once emitted. Each emission

causes a significant, but fairly

short burst of warming, but doesn’t

contribute to long-term warming

and reduce the available carbon

budget in the same way as CO₂ or

N₂O. To account for this, we used

a new approach which treats

methane differently to longer-lived

gases in order to incorporate it in

carbon budgets.

MARICHO


23

Keeping warming below 2°C

Using this new framework, we considered how food system

emissions might affect the world’s remaining carbon budget in

lots of different scenarios. These included what might happen

if we made the typical diet more or less sustainable, if people

wasted less food, or if farms produced more food from the same

amount of land.

Given that there’s an increasing human population that is, on

average, eating more food – and more emissions-intensive types

of food such as meat and dairy – the world is on track to exceed

the carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C due to these food

system emissions alone, and take up a large share of the 2°C

budget.

But there are many changes we can make to avoid this.

Switching to healthier diets that are more plant-based and lower

in calories or reducing food waste could allow the same number

of people to be fed with less overall food production and a smaller

environmental footprint.

Improved farming methods, including more efficient use of

fertilisers could help produce more food with fewer resources.

These are achievable changes which would significantly reduce

food system emissions.

Even better, implementing all of these measures could actually

expand the total carbon budget the world has left. If the amount

of food the world needs and how it was produced were carefully

planned, more land could be freed for other purposes.

That includes rewilding, which would expand wild habitats on

former farmland, encouraging biodiversity and fixing carbon

from the atmosphere into plants.

People will always have different dietary preferences, and climate

change could limit how much we are able to improve agricultural

efficiency, even if warming remains below 1.5°C. But even if

some strategies are only partially fulfilled, pursuing multiple

approaches simultaneously could still significantly reduce food

system emissions overall.

Keeping global warming to 1.5°C gives the world very little wiggle

room. It’s essential that emissions from burning fossil fuels are

eliminated as rapidly as possible. The world must build on the

plunge in emissions that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic

and force similar declines every year onwards.

We have shown that if – and it is a big if – the world does actually

manage to decarbonise this quickly, we have a good chance of

keeping food system emissions low enough to limit warming to

between 1.5 and 2°C. We can waste no more time in achieving

this.

John Lynch is a postdoctoral researcher in physics at the

University of Oxford.

SOURCE – ALL FOR SCIENCE

MARICHO


24

Zim targets

US$8.2 billion

agric output

by 2025

Allocates ZWL$46.3 billion to Ministry of

Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural

Resettlement

We publish here excepts from the 2021 National Budget

presented to Parliament by the Minister of Finance and

Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube on November

26 2020. The 2021 Budget was presented under the theme:

Building Resilience and Sustainable Economic Recovery

Starting with the 2021 National Budget, the target is to increase

agriculture output to US$8.2 billion by 2025 and accordingly,

ZWL$46.3 billion has been allocated to Ministry of Lands,

Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement.

Hence, for the forthcoming and subsequent agriculture seasons,

four factors, among others, are imperative and these are:

• Access and timely financing arrangements;

• Mitigating against climatic change;

• Guaranteeing viability and competitiveness of farming

business and

• Protecting the environment for sustainability of the sector.

Access and Timely Financing Arrangements

Current policy on financing of agriculture emphasises on sharing

of the financing burden between the public and private players

including farmers.

While Government focusses on supporting vulnerable households

through various input support programmes, the banking sector

and other private players are encouraged to support commercial

farming, while Government facilitates the financing arrangements

through guarantees and other capacity building services.

Through the 2021 National Budget, Government total support

to agriculture amounts to ZWL$46.3 billion. This is in addition to

the ZWL$6.1 billion provided under the ZWL$18.2 billion Stimulus

Package towards stimulating agricultural production.

Government support is being complemented by private sector

and individual farmer initiatives as well as development partner

support.

Consequently, for the 2020/21 farming season, a contract

equivalent to US$253 million has been signed with local banks

to support commercial farmers, and Government is providing

guarantees on a case by case basis.

However, Treasury, the GMB and the respective banks will

cooperate on loans recovery to ensure sustainability of the

facilities. Currently, already the financing initiative excludes

defaulting farmers.

Agriculture remains central not only in driving economic growth

but also on powering the industrialisation and value chains

strategy.

Interventions in the agriculture sector are informed by the

Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy, whose

objectives include assurance of national and household food

security, creation of decent jobs as well as contributing towards

sustainable industrial development through supply of raw

materials and use of domestically produced agricultural inputs.

In addition, the Strategy particularly seeks to transform farmer

mindset from subsistence orientation to taking farming as a

business.

Security of Tenure

Government is pursuing the issue of 99-Year Leases, which are

acceptable to financial institutions as collateral and also taking

cognisant of provision in the Constitution.

Land and Agriculture Development Bank of Zimbabwe

(LADBZ)

Government took a decision to re-model and restructure

Agribank into a Land and Agriculture Development Bank as part

of measures to strengthen and diversify agriculture and rural

financial services across the entire agriculture value chain.

Restructuring of Agribank will promote and complete a

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sustainable agrarian reform process for accelerated development

of the country. The LADBZ will be capitalised through the Budget

from 2021.

Support to Vulnerable Households

availability of the cooking oil raw materials.

Each household will be supported with 20kg cotton seed, 100kg

basal fertilizer and 50kg top dressing fertilizer.

The support to cotton farmers is targeting about 300 000

household beneficiaries. This will also be complemented by

private sector initiatives resulting in estimated rebound in cotton

output at 102 000 tons in 2021.

Meanwhile, Government assures cotton farmers that they

would be paid their outstanding dues. Farmers are therefore

encouraged to open bank accounts, so that the money can be

deposited and this process is being facilitated by Government,

Reserve Bank, banks and COTTCO and will ensure that farmers

do not bear the burden of travelling.

Mitigating Against Climatic Change

Insurance

The incessant droughts have forced Government to undertake

a paradigm shift in the day to day farming approach. Supported

by civil society partners and the private sector, focus is on

promotion of the “Pfumvudza/Intwasa” farming concept

among communities as a new farming business model. The

concept has several advantages including climate proofing

agriculture, less erosion and higher nutrient retention as well as

reduced pest infestations, among others.

The agricultural activities have become more prone to climatic

shocks and hence high risks of crop and livestock failure.

Farmers are therefore encouraged to secure weather-based

index insurance to protect their businesses through managing

such risks.

Sovereign Drought Risk Insurance

In this regard, the Budget has set aside ZWL$4 billion for

vulnerable households with farming inputs for maize, traditional

grains, soya beans and cotton.

The programme is targeting 1.8 million households with each

getting 5kg maize seed, 1x50kg basal and 1x50kg top-dressing

fertilizers, 200ml army worm pesticide, as well as 5kg of oilseed

(soyabean).

For the drier regions, households are getting 2kg of small grain,

1x50kg basal and 1x 50kg top-dressing fertilizers, 200ml army

worm pesticide, as well as 1kg of oilseed (eg sunflower).

This support will ensure household food security and income

generation.

Through this programme alone, at estimated yields of 2 tons

per hectare, about 3.6 million tons of grains is expected from

subsistence farmers under normal weather, financing and other

conditions.

Cotton

As part of reviving value chains, Government is supporting

vulnerable farmers in drier regions of the country with cotton

inputs to ensure that they increase cotton production, which is

pivotal in reviving the clothing industry and in ensuring domestic

Government on its part has subscribed to the Africa Risk Capacity

(ARC) under the AU and financed by AfDB and other various

sources. The ARC provides capacity building on preparedness

for climatic shocks, as well as insurance against risks such as

drought.

Following Government’s participation in the African Risk

Capacity (ARC) drought risk insurance policy, complemented by

the UN WFP Replica Policy for the 2019/20 agricultural season,

Government received a total pay-out of US$1 755 890 in June

2020.

The pay-out assisted the country’s substantial number of

vulnerable households in select districts, through disbursement

of unconditional cash transfer assistance to food insecure

labour-constraint households (chronically ill, older person

MARICHO


26

headed households) in the worst drought affected wards.

A total of 77 767 households from Masvingo, (Chivi), Mat

North (Binga), Mat South (Bulilima), Manicaland (Buhera) and

Mashonaland East (UMP) benefited from the scheme.

Guaranteeing Viability and Competitiveness of Farming Business

It is evident that there is low productivity in the agriculture sector

with maize yields standing at 0.6 tons per hectare in 2020 a

slight improvement from 0.5 ton per hectare recorded last year.

The productivity of smallholder cattle herds is low, with average

calving rates of about 45% against a potential of 60%, and off

take rates of about 6%, against a recommended 20%.

Productivity, which facilitates both viability and competitiveness

is also a function of a number of factors which include levels of

mechanisation, farming skills, financing and marketing systems,

utility supply and research and new technologies.

Stepping up Irrigation Programmes

Government has, to date invested ZWL$693 million under the

National Accelerated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development

Programme, which seeks to exploit irrigable potential in every

district as part of our drought proofing strategy.

At least 80 projects, mostly A1 and communal schemes are under

implementation, with potential to deliver 10 000ha. Under the

• Rehabilitation and development of 10 557 ha at 101 irrigation

schemes.

• Maintenance of 14 000 ha of communal irrigation schemes

• Produce 30 irrigation design reports.

Mechanisation

To improve mechanisation of the agricultural activities,

Government targets to invest US$90 million in both acquiring

new machinery and rehabilitation of the old equipment. Of this,

the 2021 National Budget will provide ZWL$487.5 million.

To close the gap, Government will continue to engage potential

private sector suppliers of farm mechanisation equipment which

will be accessed through financial institutions to deserving

farmers. This approach is informed by past experiences where

some beneficiary of Government mechanisation programmes

avoided their responsibility to repay.

Examples include the John Deere, Pedstock and Belarus

facilities as part of the farm mechanisation programme. The

US$50 million deal with John Deere Tractors to supply farming

equipment to Zimbabwe was concluded. The prospect of a

further US$200 million deal with the same US company to supply

additional farming and construction equipment to Zimbabwe is

being pursued.

In addition, Government has concluded a second US$58 million

Belarus Mechanisation Facility which will be accessed by farmers

in the form of over 800 units of farming equipment comprised of

60 self-propelled grain harvesters, 210 precision seed drills and

474 tractors, among others.

Electricity Supply

NDS1, the target is to increase the area under functional irrigation

to at least 350 000 ha by 2025 through irrigation revitalisation

and expansion.

Therefore, overall support during 2021 for irrigation rehabilitation

and development amounts to ZWL$3.9 billion, covering the

following, among others:

Some crops like wheat and barley are grown in the dry season

and are 100% irrigated. These are strategic crops with potential

to save the country foreign currency through import substitution.

Any disruption in irrigation schedules due to power outages

result in lower productivity.

Government is already addressing the power generation issues

and will facilitate uninterrupted power supply to farmers through

clustering.

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27

About half of

Zimbabweans

living in abject

poverty

More than 6 million Zimbabweans are extremely

poor but the number of poor people measured

by the lower-bound poverty line rose to 8.9

million from 8.0 million during the rising

from 4,5 million in 2017,, according to a

Joint Zimbabwe Poverty Update 2017–19 produced by the

Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) and World

Bank.

stressed the livelihoods of many Zimbabweans, thereby

affecting households in urban areas more in relative terms

compared to households in rural areas.

In 2017 the ZimStat completed a Poverty, Income,

Consumption and Expenditure Survey (PICES) that

generated a welfare and poverty estimate for that year.

However, the economic and social events in late 2018 and

early 2019 may have led to changes in the poverty levels of

the population, suggesting the need for an update. Notably,

rapid food price inflation, coupled with poor rainfall during the

2018/19 agricultural season, may have significantly affected

Furthermore, whereas the number of extremely poor people

in urban areas increased by about 327,000, it rose by 1.1

million in rural areas. The increase in poverty rates and the

number of extremely poor and poor people during the period

under review can be attributed to high inflation coupled with

the contraction of the economy and a poor 2018/19 rainfall

season.

These negative changes in the economy are likely to have

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28

poverty levels. These events also increased the proportion of

food-insecure Zimbabweans, especially during the lean season

when household stocks are exhausted.

The decline in the exchange rate of the Zimbabwean dollar led to

rising costs of imports. This, combined with increasing transport

costs, has also negatively impacted households since 2017. In

this regard, government and its development partners indicated

the desire to obtain an updated picture of poverty levels and

living conditions in the country, triggering the need for the Mini-

PICES 2019.

The two major objectives of the Mini-PICES 2019 were to:

• update the poverty estimates for the country; and

• obtain a quick understanding of living conditions post 2017.

The survey was guided by the PICES Technical Committee,

chaired by ZIMSTAT, and comprised members from the World

Bank, United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations

Development Programme, the Ministry of Finance and Economic

Development, and the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and

Social Welfare.

The report showed that Extreme poverty rose from 30 percent

in 2017 to 38 percent in April–May 2019, and general poverty

(measured by the lowerbound poverty line) rose from 43 percent

to 51 percent during the same period. Although extreme poverty

increased in both urban and rural areas, in relative terms, extreme

poverty rose more in urban areas. In absolute terms, rural extreme

poverty remained much higher than urban extreme poverty

The general poverty rate based on the lowerbound poverty line

remained high. It changed marginally for the rural population,

but in urban areas it rose sharply, from 16 percent to 24 percent

during the same period.

The proportion of the extreme poor covered by social assistance

programs increased between 2017 and 2019, but such programs

still reached only half of the extreme poor.

All programs were shown to be progressive, benefiting the poor

more than the rich, but there is scope to improve the targeting

of the poor because only 40 percent of all social assistance

program beneficiaries are extremely poor. The cash-for-work

program was the most effective in terms of having an impact on

poverty reduction.

Simulations show that the rapid price increases that affected

Zimbabwe between April–May 2019 and December 2019 may

have increased extreme poverty from 38 percent to 52 percent.

The study shows that the price increases of maize, bread, and

cereals had the largest impact on poverty.

According to the PICES 2017 data, the share of maize meal in total

household consumption is three times higher in urban areas (1.8

percent) than in rural areas (0.3 percent). Maize meal subsidies

thus benefit urban households more than rural ones.

It was also noted that within urban areas, maize meal subsidies

were more likely to benefit the middle groups than the poorest

groups. Rural households were unlikely to benefit from maize

meal subsidies because they rely on their own produced

maize grain, which forms 11 percent of their total consumption

expenditure.

However, this is unlikely to be the case in a poor rainfall year such

as 2018/19, when rural households have to purchase maize grain

and maize meal.

MARICHO


SAVANNA TRUST

29

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MARICHO

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www.savannatrust.com | information@savannatrust.com


30

In the field

Nigerian farmer chooses

innovation for healthier

crops, better harvests

By Justin Cremer

Patience Koku knows better than most the damage that

bollworms can cause to a textile industry. A former fashion

entrepreneur, Koku watched in frustration as the pests

devastated cotton crops across Nigeria, bringing the entire

textile industry to its knees.

Although the entrepreneurial farmer left fashion years ago

to grow rice, soya, maize and vegetables on her 500-hectare

farm in northwest Nigeria, her heart went out to those

whose livelihoods were impacted by the cotton-destroying

bollworm.

“The cotton industry in Nigeria was completely crippled by

bollworms,” she recalled. “The textile industries shut down

and our nation of 200 million people depends entirely on

MARICHO


31

cotton imports.”

In search of a solution, Koku began urging Nigerian officials to

approve the country’s first genetically modified (GM) crop —

insect-resistant cotton. That effort bore fruit in July 2018 and

now Koku is among thousands of Nigerian farmers hoping to

achieve the same high yields and reduced pesticide use that GM

cotton growers have achieved elsewhere in the world.

“Going into farming, I found that

people did things a certain kind of

way for years,” Koku said. “Even if

it didn’t work, they kept at it. They

were not willing to change. They

weren’t willing to embrace new

things. What I did differently was

I tried out new things. We set up

our farm in a way that we had R&D

(research and development) on

different sections. We would try out

different things. Three years ago,

we had fields that had probably

six different varieties of corn in

the same season. So, we kind of

learned what works and what

doesn’t.”

less hunger, lower poverty levels and improved farmer health.”

She’s looking forward to trying other GM crops now under

research, including insect-resistant maize, salt- and droughttolerant

rice that uses less nitrogen fertiliser and diseaseresistant

cassava.

“We have challenges with insects and pests,” she said. “It would

be good to have a GM maize seed resistant to the fall armyworm.

In the past two years, we spent a lot of money on pesticides

trying to control the fall armyworm. A Bt [insect-resistant GM]

crop would also be good for the farmers’ health because in our

country, pesticide safety regulations are not observed properly

by the farmers. Most times, you find that the farmers are spraying

in their field without protective clothing and that makes them get

sick. A Bt maize crop would really help us go a long way toward

solving that problem as well.

“Now that we have access to GM crops in Nigeria, farmers will

still have the option of growing hybrid or conventional varieties,”

Koku continued.

“What is likely to happen is people will plant both and see what

does better or what gives a better yield or what costs you less

and stick with those. I don’t see GM as being a threat to local or

conventional.”

SOURCE = ALL FOR SCIENCE

Koku next focused her advocacy on pushing for the adoption of

GM cowpea, which has inherent resistance to the devastating

pod borer (Maruca vitrata) pest. That effort also succeeded, and

late last year, Nigeria approved the world’s first GM cowpea, an

important source of protein for millions of West Africans.

“GM crops will make a whole world of difference for Nigerian

farmers,” she said. “It’s the dawn of a new day. We have finally

gotten crops that we can plant and get excellent yields and a

bumper harvest.”

The move was cheered as a way for Nigeria — the world’s largest

consumer and producer of cowpea — to boost food security

and end its reliance on imports by helping local farmers achieve

better yields. Koku hopes to cultivate GM cowpea on her farm this

year, saying the importance of an insect-resistant variety, which

reduces pesticide use, can’t be overstated.

“Healthier plants mean higher yields and, therefore, more food on

the table for Nigerians and ultimately less food shortage,” Koku

said.

“It also means improved farmer health because the more the

farmers spray chemicals on their fields, the more their health is

put at risk. Plant health is vital in order to ensure higher yields,

MARICHO


32

Cannabis Consumption Reflects Dramatic

Changes Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

consumers.

Broad Increase in Consumption

More than 4 in 10 (42%) among

current* cannabis consumers

report having increased their

overall cannabis use during the

pandemic — one-quarter (25%)

of respondents reported a small

increase, and nearly one-fifth

(18%) reported a large increase

in consumption. An additional

42% of consumers said that their

use remained steady, with 16%

reporting that their overall use

declined since the beginning of

2020.

Age and Parenthood Related

to Increases in Use

By Dr. Molly McCann

Ed.D., Director of Industry Analytics, New Frontier Data

The number of COVID-19 infections in the United States surged

beyond 11 million last week, with American deaths from the

disease exceeding 250,000 and increasing at a rate of more

than 1,000 daily.

As new cases increase, states and local jurisdictions have been

pausing or reversing their previous reopening measures, and in

some cases issued second rounds of stay-at-home advisories

or orders.

Despite such setbacks, recent events have also included

some promising news in vaccine development — testing trials

conducted by both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s, respectively, have

reportedly shown over 90% efficacy in early analysis.

While some vaccine doses may be ready as early as December,

significant logistical hurdles remain to be overcome, and mission

experts anticipate that vaccines will not be available to the

public at large until mid-2021 at earliest.

Ten months after the World Health Organization declared a public

health emergency of international concern, and amid arguably

the most dramatic and sudden widespread shift in behavior

of the last century, New Frontier Data is revisiting the topic of

consumer behavior amid the pandemic in an upcoming report

with new survey data involving more than 4,600 U.S. cannabis

Changes in overall consumption

varied significantly across certain

consumer segments. Half (49%) of consumers under 55 years

old reported an increase in use, compared to less than onequarter

(22%) among consumers 55 and older. The likeliest

consumer segment to report an increase in consumption were

parents living with children under age 18: 56% of them reported

increasing their use, compared to 39% of consumers without

children, and 25% of those with adult children.

Perhaps predictably, heavier-use consumers were considerably

more likely than were lighter-use consumers to increase their

consumption, and conversely less frequent consumers were

more likely than were very frequent consumers to report a

decrease in consumption. A similar pattern of divergence has

been observed in Europe during the pandemic.

While some variables like age and parenthood were strongly

related to changes in consumption, other variables notably lacked

correlation. Broad changes in use were remarkably consistent

across states with adult-use, medical, and illicit markets,

indicating that state regulation frameworks do not shape those

core aspects of consumption behavior. A consumer’s gender

was also found unrelated to changes in overall use.

Flower Gains Share Over Vapes

Flower was the product form that saw the largest increases

in use and share of sales during the first six months of the

pandemic. More than one-quarter (27%) of consumers reported

an increase in use of flower, while 15% reported a decrease.

Edibles and vapes saw roughly equal numbers of consumers

MARICHO


33

either increasing or decreasing uses of each form.

Flower is a staple product for many regular consumers, and it is

typically a more cost-effective option when compared to other

product forms. With 55% of consumers reporting having selfisolated

at home during the pandemic, consumers are less likely

to opt for vapes over flower as a less-conspicuous option for

consuming outside the home.

Consumers Will Continue to Adapt Over the Holidays

The changing seasons, dropping temperatures, and shortening

days are again causing consumers to adapt to new pandemic

routines, and the next six weeks will see necessary modifications

to holiday traditions, and perhaps creation of new ones.

In the last few years, the holidays have seen strong cannabis

sales, with sales on Green Wednesday and Black Friday — the

days flanking Thanksgiving — typically outperforming all other

days of the year aside from 4/20.

Thanksgiving weekend’s strong sales have been attributed to

the social aspect of the holiday, which for many will be limited

or avoided this year. It remains to be seen whether consumers’

overall increase in consumption during the pandemic might play

into holiday sales.

The exploration of changes in cannabis consumer behavior in

the time of COVID-19 will continue in an upcoming Cannabit, as

well as The Impact of COVID-19: A Supplement to the 2020-2021

U.S. Cannabis Report, due for release in December.

*Note: current cannabis consumers are defined in this study

as those who consume at least annually. Source - https://

newfrontierdata.com/

MARICHO


34

Designer livestock,

poultry not ideal

for rural Africa

By Charles Dhewa

Livestock-based development

interventions in many African countries

have largely focused on replacing local

breeds with imported ones. This is in

spite of imported cattle, pigs, goats

and chickens struggling to survive in dry regions

characterised by climate-induced shocks. The

fact that most imported livestock breeds survive

on specially designed commercial feed make

them fit to be called designer livestock.

Breeding for resilience and productivity

Instead of promoting single value chains

like hybrid cattle, goats or hybrid chickens,

development agencies could achieve more

by learning from how local communities have used their

knowledge to select and breed livestock for generations.

The fact that indigenous goats and chickens are visible in

most rural areas is a sign that they do much better than

imported breeds which often disappear as soon as an NGO

project that introduces them ends.

For generations, indigenous knowledge has enabled

African livestock farmers and keepers to breed animals

that are equipped with the right mixture of adaptation and

productivity. Development agencies and animal scientists

that tap into this knowledge will go a long way in using

livestock as a development catalyst.

While some livestock scientists have been criticising rural

livestock farmers for promoting inbreeding, farmers have

unique indigenous knowledge on the right combination of

genes. The knowledge has been acquired through studying

livestock behaviour as opposed to depending on laboratory

work.

While indigenous livestock knowledge does not receive

much attention, it is a crucial part of adaptive capacity on

which pastoralists in East Africa thrive.

Instead of embracing a one-size-fits-all approach to livestock

development, African countries and their development

partners should learn from how pastoralists and livestock

farmers have adapted to a myriad of environments in which

they breed a large number of breeds that fit respective

habitats and socio-cultural requirements. In order to

contend with constantly changing environments, livestock

communities prefer keeping heterogeneous herds unlike

relying on single livestock breed and value chains.

Livestock breeds have to be within the reach of poor

farmers

Like hybrid maize seed, most commercial livestock breeds

are becoming increasingly unaffordable for poor African

farmers. For instance, where an imported Boer goat would

go for US$2 000, that money is enough to buy a whole

herd of goats for many families in ways that promote a local

sharing economy.

Excessive commercialisation of livestock breeds shows why

so-called superior livestock breeds should not be distributed

by the private sector as doing so will make it impossible for

poor people to own productive livestock. In some cattle

MARICHO


35

sales, a single bull can go for as much as US$20 000, which

is an abnormal price for ordinary farmers.

These are some of the critical issues to be considered

before rolling out large scale crossbreeding programmes.

Ideally, such programmes should creatively combine

environmental adaptation with productivity. Through their

own experiments, African pastoralists and livestock farmers

are always continuously doing field trial and error research

with remarkable results.

Farmer experiments and studies demonstrate that mixing of

breeds is not inherently detrimental. Crossbreeding certainly

has the potential to improve food security and livelihoods in

the African continent when applied in a strategic manner.

Breed complementarity versus breed purity

Knowledge about livestock breeds should be shared widely

so that more farmers can understand the art and benefits

of crossbreeding in ways that take advantage of breed

complementarity rather than being always obsessed with

maintaining breed purity.

In fact, the majority of livestock farmers, indigenous breeders

and pastoralists are less concerned with purity unlike ‘purist’

livestock scientists who unfortunately do not understand the

limited utility of ‘purity’. The livestock scientific community

sometimes forgets that investigating the history of livestock

development in Africa would not be possible if farmers and

pastoralists were not conserving their breeds for decades.

Sustainability is more important than yield

It is not just about pure breeds and hybrids. African

communities are tired of crop and livestock programmes

that promote hybrids with a narrow focus on increasing yield

and household income at the expense of the environment.

In a rapidly changing climate, farmers are incurring

downstream costs on the local ecosystem due to introduced

chemicals that erode topsoil, pollute groundwater, and

decrease biodiversity.

In turn, these environmental costs result in economic and

health costs for the larger population that far outweigh

measured benefits in targeted farmer households. In some

countries, this is in leading to resource-induced conflict

between people and wildlife.

Charles Dhewa is CEO of Knowledge Transfer Africa.

He can be reached on 0772 137 717, Email Charles@

knowledgetransafrica.com

MARICHO


Maricho November Edition

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