September 2021
Climate Resilient Agriculture: To
double production for local markets
CRITERIA (110 participants)
•KZN: 4-6 Villages per year x 2
•CRA learning group members already
implementing CA, intensive homestead food
production and livestock integration
•Intention is to “double” production and
support and set up localised marketing
options
•Learning group of ACTIVE farmers
•Women headed households
•Unemployed
•Loss of jobs and income
•No grants/ pension
•Must have some access to water and labour
ACTIVITIES
•Climate change analysis and choice of
CRA practices
•Learning sessions in CRA practices
•Farmer level experimentation with a
basket of options in
•Intensive gardening – tunnels plus
•Field cropping – conservation agriculture
and livestock integration
•Small livestock – broilers, layers, traditional
poultry
•Marketing options and ideas to try out
Project Description
§Minimal soil disturbance
§Diversified cropping
- Intercropping
- Mixed cropping (multi-species)
- Crop rotation
§Keep living roots in the soil
- Extension of season – late season
cover crops
§Permanent organic soil cover
- Inclusion of cover crops
- Crop residues and mulching
•Integrate livestock
- Fodder production, grazing of
Conservation Agriculture: Five principles
CA implementation in Bgvl
Category
Description
Bergville
Socio
-Economic information
Gender
% women
77%
Age
31
-39yrs
40
-49
50
-59
60
-69
>70
10%
17%
37%
30%
7%
Income
Farming
40%
Avemonthlyfarming income
R1
585,71
Grants
90%
Avemonthlyincome from grants
R2 648,21
Aveoverallmonthly income
R3 241,07
Per capita income (monthly)
Averagemembers per household(
7 )
R463,01 (7)
VSLA membership
53%
Averagenumberofyearssaving
5
Saving for farming inputs; annual
amounts
Min
Max
Ave
R200,00
R3 000,00
R1 275,00
Bulk buying
33%
Active in learning groups
43%
Collaborative working
43%
No of years of CA implementation
Average
Range
4
1 to 7
Area, (No of
villages
No of participants
1000m2
trials
(10x10 ’s)
400m2
trials
Strips
Fodder species
Seed
Poultry
Tworowplanter
Short season
maize
Actual planted
(hectares)
Bergville
(12)
172
71
69
79
12
5
5
9
29
14,01
CA implementation in Bergville
–Field cropping; CA.. Maize, beans, cowpeas, SCC, pumpkins,
gourds, potatoes.
–Areas between 0,2-1ha
–Enough for household consumption (home milling), selling
surplus maize and beans in the community and at pension
points
–Feeding of poultry (seed from sunflower, sun hemp, sorghum,
yellow maize) and livestock (fodder, stover, yellow maize)
–Womenstartingtokeepandfeedlivestock
–Major improvements in yields, reduced run-off (~60%<
ploughed fields), less erosion, increased SOC (0,5t/ha/yr)
•Agroecological practices
including; composting, deep
and shallow trench beds,
mulching, mixed cropping,
natural pest and disease
control, crop diversification,
grey water management
•Microclimate management;
shade cloth tunnels
•Improved irrigation practices;
drip irrigation, irrigation
scheduling (chameleon
sensors)
Intensive homestead food production practices
Tunnel and gardening training
First tunnel training in Bergville; Ezibomvini and Eqeleni
Second combined with intensive organic gardening and S&W conservation in Ozwathini
Tunnels in Bergville
•Learning workshops and
experimentation:
supplementation, nutrition,
and condition scoring
•Manual balers; for veld
grass, lab-lab, cowpea, Teff
and maize stover
•Poultrymanagement
workshops and
implementation
Foddersupplementationandsmalllivestock
Foddersupplementation
PoultryProduction
Marketing
Bergville Emmaus marketing stall at Emmaus pension point
A range of products from around 33 farmers
Marketing cont.
Summary of market incomes for Bergville: April
-July 2021
Date
No of
farmers
Villages
Amount
Market
Produce; in order of sales
2021/04/10
11
2
R2 419,00
Emmaus,
Bgvl
Pork meat, dry beans, traditional mats, vegetables,
pumpkins, processed chilli, green maize, eggs
2021/05/09
16
3
R1 580,00
Emmaus,
Bglv
Vegetables, pork meat, dry beans, dry maize, sweet
potatoes, pumpkins, incema, broilers
2021/06/09
18
4
R5 072,00
Emmaus
Stulwane,
Bgvl
Pork meat, broilers, vegetables, pinafores, dry beans,
dry maize, processed chilli, vegetables
2021/07/10
16
4
R3 415,00
Emmaus
Stulwane,
Bglv
Pork meat, vegetables, broilers, processed chilli, dry
beans
TOTAL
R12,486.00
Note 1: Bergville vegetables include: Spinach, cabbage, mustard spinach, brinjals, tomatoes, onions, spring onions, green
peppers
Note 2: Bergville: Little to no sale of butternut, eggs, traditional craft, brooms
Marketing: sales to date
Zodwa Zikode
Unemployed. Woman headed
household, looking after 1 orphan.
•0,14ha, mostly under CA; Maize,
beans, cowpeas, SCCs, potatoes,
pumpkins
•Able to supply her own annual staples
and vegetables from her farming
•Sale of crops in community, pension
points, selling of sweets and snacks at
schools and local loan shark.
•Pigs (8); slaughters and sells locally.
•Livestock stolen
Case study