Climate Smart Agriculture PES | Mahlathini Development Foundation

Climatesmartagriculture

Appropriate, well facilitated, site specific basket of options for water

management and climate change adaptation

Community

based

monitoring-

usingtraffic

lights!

SEDAWA,

Mmetja,

Oliphant's

Basin,

Limpopo, April

2017

Mulching,

mixed

cropping,

drip

irrigation

Banana

basins,

nurseries,

diversion

ditches,

swales

Local water

management

systems,

greywater

management

and use

Rainwater

harvestingand

storage options

Erosioncontrol –soil andwater

conservation techniques

Small livestock

integration-

fodder

production,

cut andcarry

systems,hay,

bedding….

Custombuilt

tunnelsfor

increased

productivity

–Climate

control,

water

productivity

Local

community

based

facilitation

withvisual

aids and

demonstrati

ons

Stakeholderinvolvement, planning,

dissemination, research agendas

Conservation

agriculture-

dryland

cropping;

grain-legume

intercropping,

rotations,

cover crops

CA optimisation

and awarenss

raising. SFIP

GrainSA; KZ, EC,

Limpopo 2013-..

•Partnership: MDF, KZN DARD, Lima RDF, Siyazisiza Trust,KwaNalu, StratAct,

Ubuhlebezweand Mtshezi Municipality

•Villages savings and loans assocations and organised farmers

organisations and cooperatives to work within the whole value chain;

inputs- production- storage- marketing.

•Horizontal scaling model starting with a nodal village in each area and

expanding within and between villages:

•2013: 3 Villages EC and 3 in Bergville (total trial participants: 50)

•2014: 7 villages EC, 9 villages Bergville (Total trial participants: 100)

•2015: 8 villages EC, 10 Bergville, 2 Nkandla (total trial participants: 210)

•2016: 8 Villages EC; 2 Midlands, 17 Bergville

•Local capacity - Farmer volunteers, local facilitators, farmer centres (for each

node surrounded by 3-5 villagesclose by for equipment and input provision

awa production advice)

Description of Model and Process

Farmer level experimentation

•Year 1: Predefined with the research team:

•Choice of planting method; hand hoes, hand planters,

animal drawn planters

•Year 2: Choices and options within the same overall design:

•Different varieties maize (white yellow, OPV, hybrid)

•Different varieties and types of legumes

•Early planting

•Manure and fertilizer combinations

•Targeted fertility regimes and pest control measures

•Year 3 +: Own design of experiments by participants :

•Intercropping vs crop rotation options

•Summer and winter cover crops

•Mulching

•Organic options

•Different herbicide and pesticide spray regimes

•Different planting times

•As well as options for year 2.

Incremental change in yr 1,2,3

•Minimal soil disturbance

•Soil cover

•Diversity

•Clockwise: Animal drawn no

till planter. ‘Weeding

wheel’.Matracca jab planter,

MBLI planter

•Below: Planters

Conservation Agriculture: All three principles

•Soil cover

•Below: A 3year old CA plot with developing cover Far right: A

ploughed plot with no soilcover

•Left: Assessing soil cover, Mulching…..

Conservation Agriculture: All three principles

Runoff muddy (195mm)

Runoff clear (42mm)

•Minimal soil disturbance

•Soil cover

•Diversity

•- Intercropping –close

spacing for canopy and

weed control

•- Cover crops; summer

and winter –relay

cropping and single block

plantings

•Right: Maize (PAN 6479)

and bean (Dolichos)

intercrop –Smephi

Hlatshwayo - Eqeleni

Conservation Agriculture: All three principles

•3-4 years: Reduced need for herbicide no spraying on

trial plots this season

•Increased organic matter, reduced fertilizer requirements

- No basal fertilizer applied- only top dressing

•Reduced runoff

•Increased yields and diversity

Bergville_Case studyMphumelele Hlongwane- Ezibomvini

t/ha

2016

2017

Maize (Control)

-CA

7,8

9,7

Maize Trial CA

- combined

6,93

8,3

Beans

0,25

1,81

Sunflower

0,3

0,8

•EXPERIMENTS: Inter- cropping, crop

rotation, legumes, scc, wcc

•Runoff plots: CA (1,1mm/event) vs

Conventional control (3,1mm/event)

•Infiltration: Ca (247mm/hr) vs

Control (50mm/hr)

•Soil health:

•SOLVITA; CA (68ppmC) vs CA Control

(63ppmC) moderate to high, limited need

for N, Ideal state of biological activity and

adequate organic matter

•AGGREGATE STABILITY: CA (55) CA Control

(33) -higher aggregate stability for the

plots with crop diversification-highest for

inclusion of scc mixes and Lab-Lab

•% OM: CA average (3 ,47%), Veld

Baseline (2,5%) –accumulation of organic

matter in CA plots-now higher than veld

baseline benchmark

•9-30kg/ha of immediate release N in the

soil in CA plots –valued at a saving of

R320-R530/ha of N now supplied through

cropping practices that build soil health.

(10)

M + B

(5)

Control plot

(8)

M + B

(6)

M +LL

(3) M + SCC

+WCC

Contro

l plot

(9)

M + CP

(7)

M + CP

(4)

M + B

(2)Sunn

hemp,

millet and

sunflower

(1)

M + B

Legend: M –Maize; B –Beans; CP –Cowpea; LL –Lab Lab; SCC –summer cover crop WCC –

winter cover crop

Bergville_Case study_cont

MEASURABLE CHANGES

PRACTICES:

•-Reduced tillage (linked to time.. 1yr,2yrs, 3yrs etc),

•-Increased soil cover (5-10%, 10-15%, 15-25%)

•Increased diversity (1crop, 2 crops, 3 crops, >3 crops -intercropping or

crop rotation),

•Improved social organisation (learning groups y/n, collective work

groups y/n, , Cooperative y/n)

•Increased access to finances (savings groups y/n, savings and loans for

inputs y/n)

LEADING TO:

•Increased production/yield (compared to controls)

•Improved livelihoods (increased food supply y/n, increased income

y/n)

•Increased carbon (tricky to prove; tests variable depending on

weather, timing, depth of tests- …)

•Reduced erosion/run-off/increased infiltration (Quite a mission to test

but benchmarks possible)

•Improved soilstructure (also not easy to measure or show –but

definitely positive over time)

•Improved soil health (overallshowing positive trends but a lot of

variability between years)……

PES options

Use opportunity costs

to determine level of

payment,

Funding period; long

term funding instruments

–avoid R&D and pilot

project design

•Average Maize price 2017:

R2 500/ton

•Break even yield:

3,9 t/ha

•Average yield:

1,4 - 4,2t/ha

•Average price sugar beans;

R8 000/ton

•Average yield 0,8-1t/ha

Costs of inputs

CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE PLOTS, KZN 2016

-2017

0.1= Ha PLOTS

Events

CostCosts (1ha)-2015

Costs (1ha)

–

2016

INPUTS

lit / kg

( R / kg,l)

Seeds

maize (PAN 6479)

0,075

104

R 195,00

R 216,45

Seeds

- drybeans (PAN

148 or

Gadra)

0,05

42,6

R 159,75

R 177,32

Fertilizer MAP

0,1

250

9,2

R 230,00

R 255,30

Fertilizer LAN

0,1

150

R 75,00

R 83,25

Lime

0,1

1000

R 100,00

R 111,00

Pesticides (

Decis Forte)

0,1

875

R 26,25

R 29,14

Herbicides: Roundup

0,1

109

R 65,40

R 72,59

Herbicides: Dual Gold

0,1

1,2

250

R 30,00

R 33,30

Summit/surfactant

0,1

0,2

296

R 5,92

R 6,57

Input costs per 0.1 ha

R 887,32

R 984,93

Input costs per 1 ha

R 8 873,20

R 9 849,25

We need more

than 4 tons/ha

maize to make a

profit

30% of input

costs in a semi-

commercial

foodsecurity

setting works!