Online Congress, Bern, Switzerland, June 21-23, 2021
The Future of Farming: Profitable and Sustainable Farming with Conservation Agriculture
Conservation Agriculture:
Smallholder Farmer Innovation
Programme
2014-2021
Case Study
23 June 2021
Kruger E, Dlamini M, Mathebula T, Madondo T,Malinga
M,N Mdletshe and Smith H.
.
Goals:
The long-term aims for this project
are to promote the use of CA;
•to increase farming production and
profitability,
•to improve the natural resource
status and quality allowing
sustained crop production /
intensification and
•to promote systems for providing
appropriate value chain support.
Objectives:
•OBJECTIVE 1; To engage in participatory research related
to the smallholder conservation agriculture farming
system; including aspects of soil health, water
conservation and increased productivity and diversity
using a learning systems approach
•OBJECTIVE 2; To increase the sustainability and
efficiency of CA systems in the study areas giving
specific attention to the value chain and incorporation
into the broader agribusiness environment.
•OBJECTIVE 3; To strengthen and use different innovation
platforms, as avenues to scale out sustained collective
action and CA practices.
The CA-SFIP: Goals and Objectives
Farmer-centred
Innovation
System
Awareness raising
and Access to
Information
Incentives and
Market Based
Mechanisms
On-farm,
farmer-led
Research
Education and
Training
Farmers days,
symposiums, cross
visits, conferences,
popular articles
Subsidies, Village
Saving and Loan
Associations, farmer
centres, group based
access to equipment
and infrastructure
Farmer experimentation;
intercropping, crop
rotation, cover crops,
livestock integration.
Learning groups;
practical
demonstrations,
workshops, field
assessments
Programme strategy
Stakeholder interaction,
partnerships, horizontal
and vertical scaling
Results and Analysis: Social agency
Social agency results
Indicator
2014
2020
Participants
53
482
Learning groups
7
43
Gender
89%
75%
Local savings and
loan associations
0%
58%
Innovation
platforms
0
6
Analysis
•Horizontal scaling can double
the number of CA participants
annually
•Village level focus ensures the
involvement of poorer farmers
and women
•VSLAs are central to ensuring
continuity and sustainability
•Multi stakeholder innovation
platforms involve and increase
public-private-community
partnership
Suite of socio-economic, productivity and value chain indicators
-A mix of qualitative and quantitative
-Individual interviews, focus group discussion, surveys, technical
monitoring
Value chain resultsAnalysis
•CA improves food production by
between 200–400% over a
period of 4–6 years in the
smallholder farming system
•Farmercentersplayan
important role in building social
agency and local economic
development options
•Matching grant funding provides
some opportunities for
development of agricultural
infrastructure.
•Learning groups independently
undertake local value chain
activities that improve their
overallsustainability.
Months of food
provisioning
1 to 3
100%
8%
4 to 6
0%
39%
7 to 9
0%
38%
10 to 12
0%
15%
Local sale of crops
0%
25%
Saving for inputs
0%
28%
Farmercentres
0
6
Cooperatives
0
4
Co
-financing of
local infrastructure
0
4
Mechanization
committees
0
4
Results and analysis: Value chain
Productivity resultsAnalysis
•CA implementation assists in
improving and stabilizing crop yields
under extremely variable climatic
conditions.
•Crop diversification in CA
implementation improves food
security by providing access to a
wider range of food crops as well as
feed and fodder for poultry and
livestock.
•Increases in SOC are possible in
smallholder CA systems despite the
variabilityinclimaticconditions
•CWP is significantly increased through
the practice of CA and the inclusion of
diverse species in inter cropped plots.
Reduced labour in CA plots
0%
78%
Reduced weeding in CA plots
0%
39%
Use ofCA planters
Hand hoes
97%
26%
Hand planters
0%
69%
Animal-
drawn planters
3%
5%
Tractor-
drawn planters
0%
10%
Average Maize yield for CA and
conventional plots (t/ha)
4,5 (CA), 2,5 (Conv)
Crop rotation
0%
20%
Intercropping
-maizeandbeans
0%
92%
Intercropping maize and other
legumes
0%
17%
Wintercovercrops
0%
31%
Covercrops: summer mix
0%
26%
Seed saving
0%
11%
Fodder: provisioning for livestock:
through cut and carry, hay
0%
15%
Reduced run
-off in CA plots
0%
92%
% RunoffforCA plots
13,5%
6,9%
Percentage organic carbon per annum
Midlands(2018 to 2020)
5,7%
6,7%
SKZN (2018–
2020)
5,7%
6,4%
Bergville (2018–
2020)
4,8%
4,1%
WaterProductivity(kg/m
3)
0,88
1,66
Results and analysis: Productivity
Multiple benefits have been realized
for smallholders in CA learning groups
who have undertaken farmer level
experimentation and then
implementation of a range of practices
aimed at improving productivity
across their diverse farming system
and they have taken large strides
towards creating a sustainable
farming system under difficult climatic
and economic conditions.