Journal Article

This is a brief report on the survey that Lesotho through its Department of Agricultural Research did as one of its activities under APPSA Project. The same survey was undertaken in countries that first took part in the APPSA Project. The data is currently being processed and the results will be published for consumption of different audiences. 

ABSTRACT

Micronutrient deficiencies caused by lack of Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn) and Vitamin A in the human body have negative effect with regard to health issues worldwide. Imbalances of these nutrients in the human body create a significant risk of illness and mortality among children under five years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Some of the food crops that thought to reduce micronutrients include rice, sweet potato, dry bean, sorghum, corn, barley, and finger millet have been biofortified through ways of agronomic practices, conventional breeding, or modern biotechnology. Despite the fact that dry beans address Fe and Zn deficiencies based on recommended dietary allowances (RDA),  they often take a long time to cook. Many communities have limited cooking resources which make them rely on burning wood, charcoal or other biofuels that require more time and money. This study identified dry bean cultivars with enhanced Fe and Zn concentration levels and fast cooking time from 200 cultivars. Experiments were conducted under a complete randomized block design with two replications, 200 cultivars, and two different agro-ecologies. Iron and Zinc concentration levels were determined from the harvested seed grains of each bean cultivar using X-Ray Fluorescence while cooking time of similar cultivars were determined using the Mattson cooker. The variation of Fe and Zn concentration was significantly different at (p<0.001) among the treatments and environments. The range was between 46.76 mg/kg to 107.25 mg/kg for Fe and 21.70 mg/kg to 42.35 mg/kg for Zn concentration. From two testing sites, the concentration of Fe was higher at Lyamungo than SARI and Zn showed inversely proportional to these tested sites which means that the environment and soils were not homogenous in terms of soil health. The highest water uptake was 61.54% and the lowest was 3.70% and the higher the water uptake the lower the cooking time. Fast cooking time was ~15 min and the longest was ~76 min. Small seed-sized cultivars showed fast cooking time than large-seeded. These two traits in identified cultivars will enhance dry bean consumption, which will contribute to alleviating micronutrient deficiencies in this global growing population.

Key words: Micronutrient deficiencies, Biofortification, Cultivars, Cooking time, Vulnerable group, Variation

This article is about a meeting that was converned for the Lesotho National Conservation Agriculture Task Force. It was a revival meeting that was last held about two years ago. The importance of such a meeting is to bring stakeholders in the agricultural sector in Lesotho to deliberate on the issues of Conservation Agriculture and how it can be supported and strenghened in order to address this "monster" called climate change.

A diagnostic survey was conducted in July 2017 in two northern districts of Zambia to investigate presence or absence of cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) and its causal viruses. In total, 29 cassava fields were surveyed and cassava leaf samples were collected from 116 plants (92 symptomatic and 24 non-symptomatic). CBSD prevalence was approximately 79% (23 of 29) across fields. Mean CBSD incidence varied across fields but averaged 32.3% while mean disease severity was 2.3 on a 1-to-5 rating scale. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction screening of all 116 samples with one generic and two species specific primer pairs yielded DNA bands of the expected sizes from all symptomatic plants with the generic (785 bp) and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV)-specific (440 bp) primers. All 24 non-symptomatic samples were negative for UCBSV and all samples tested negative with primers targeting Cassava brown streak virus. The complete genome of a representative isolate of UCBSV (WP282) was determined to be 9,050 nucleotides in length, minus the poly A tail. A comparative analysis of this isolate with global virus isolates revealed its nature as a sequence variant of UCBSV sharing 94 and 96% maximum complete polyprotein nucleotide and amino acid identities, respectively, with isolates from Malawi (MF379362) and Tanzania (FJ039520). This is the first report of CBSD and UCBSV in Zambia, thus expanding the geographical distribution of the disease and its causal virus and further reinforcing the need to strengthen national and regional phytosanitary programs in Africa.

Pesticides are essential for the control of infestation of disease, insect pests and weeds on different crops. Due to wide usage of synthetic pesticides which may lead to increased exposure and associated environmental and health risks among small-holder farmers in Zambia, a study was undertaken to understand how knowledgeable farmers are on pesticide use and practices. A total of 418 small scale farmers were randomly sampled from Mkushi, Mpongwe, Luangwa, Mbala, Solwezi, Chipata and Kalomo Districts of Zambia. Data pertaining to types of pesticides use, handling, storage and disposal was solicited using structured questionnaires. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS. Findings revealed that of the sampled farmers 43%, 30%, 25% and 17% used Glyphosate, Dicamba, Paraquat and Atrazine respectively as herbicides in Maize. 21% and 14% used Cypermethrine and Monocrotophos respectively as insecticides in both Maize and Soybean. 81% of the sampled farmers used empty containers for either storing drinking water or salt while only 15% wore protective clothing when applying pesticides. Pesticide mishandling occurred regardless of the amount of experience a farmer had using pesticides. 68% of the sampled farmers had never received any formal basic training in pestic ide use, hence a clear knowledge gap. The fact that receipt of basic training was the main predictor of a farmers’ level of knowledge on pesticide use, a farmer who had received basic training in appropriate chemical pesticides use, as opposed to one who had not, had a better chance of using chemical pesticides safely and in the right quantities.

BACKGROUND:Thispaperdocumentsfarmerperceptionsandmanagementpracticesforfallarmyworm(Spodopterafrugiderda J.E.Smith),providingabaselineforthedevelopmentofsustainablepestmanagementstrategies.
RESULTS:91%offarmerscorrectlyidentifiedfallarmyworm,andreporteditasthemostimportantmaizepestduring2016/2017 cropping season, affecting nearly half of cultivated area. Estimated maize yield loss during the season, attributed to fall armywormwas28%.Amajorityoffarmers(60%)usedpesticidesforfallarmywormcontrol,alongwithothercultural/physical practices – handpickingandcrushingeggmasses/caterpillars(36%),andapplicationofash/sandinthefunnel(19%).Farmers usedvariouspesticideactiveingredients,andprotectivemeasureswereinadequate;>50%offarmersdidnotuseanyprotective measures while spraying. Significantly more male than female farmers used pesticides (P=0.05), and the reverse was true for culturalpractices.Significantmaizeyielddifferences(P=0.001)wereobservedbygender,attributedtodifferencesinutilization of production inputs/practices. At least 77% of farmers received and shared agricultural advice, which can be optimized to spreadinformationonfallarmywormmanagementoptions.
CONCLUSION: Increased use of pesticides to manage fall armyworm poses health and environmental risks, besides the high cost for farmers and governments. Research into cultural and indigenous practices used by farmers will offer opportunities for alternative and sustainable management practices. Research efforts should pay attention to gender differences in access to resources and inputs. Tackling fall armyworm at the farm level, and averting yield losses will require integrated messaging addressingotherproductionrisks. 

Among the biotic stresses that affect cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L) productivity, infestation by cowpea bruchid beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) is a major problem, causing yield losses of up to 100 %. To alleviate this problem, use of resistant varieties is a feasible approach for small-scale farmers. In Zambia, there are no reported sources of resistance to C. maculatus. The objectives of this study were: i) to evaluate certain cowpea mutants, generated at the University of Zambia, for resistance to C. maculatus; ii) to cluster the tested genotypes based on height, number of pods per plant, 100-seed weight, yield ha-1, number of eggs laid and adult emergence; and iii) to evaluate the candidate mutants for protein content. Experiments were conducted at three locations in 2014/15. The mutants, LT 11-5-2-2, BB 7-9-7-5 and BB-14-16-22, were found to be resistant to C. maculatus across locations and they out-performed their respective parents (p< 0.05) in the degree of resistance to C. maculatus. Cluster analysis, using selected agronomic parameters, showed that the selected resistant mutants (cluster B) were more similar to each other (95 %) than to Namuseba and Msandile (included as susceptible genotypes), which clustered at a similarity level of 78 % (cluster A). The mutants, LT 11-5-2-2, BB 7-9-7-5 and BB-14-16-22, showed resistance to C. maculatus, but their protein content was similar to their parents, indicating that this crucial trait had been maintained in the mutants. 

Abstract — A survey was undertaken in three districts of Zambia namely; Monze, Mpongwe and Chipata which are hosting the Agriculture Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) Sub-project titled “Developing Conservation Agriculture (CA) in Maize-Legume Systems for Smallholder Farmers in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique”. The overall objective of this study was to get farmer perceptions of CA practices in the study districts for key information and research gaps that will contribute towards the development of CA based research agenda. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data from the respondents. Data generated was subjected to analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results revealed that the major hindrances to the application of CA practices lay in biophysical, technological, land, institutional and agro-climatic constraints.  Generally, farmers reported weeds as a major biophysical constraint to the implementation of CA technologies with Monze standing at 81.6% of the respondents followed by Mpongwe 58.1% and Chipata 52.1% respectively. This study recommends strengthening social networks of the community in order for them to have access to CA technologies information. Enhancing institutional linkages between Research, Extension and Meteorology departments is critical for dissemination of weather information which would aid in decision-making as to when farm operations would be carried out for improved agriculture productivity and production in the APPSA Project areas of Monze, Mpongwe and Chipata districts. 

This study evaluated water use efficiency (WUE) of selected hybrid maize (Zea Mays L.) varieties in Zambia under rain-fed conditions. A randomized complete block field experiment was carried out during the 2014/2015 rainy season at the University of Zambia Agricultural Demonstration Centre. Treatments were 30 maize varieties from the early, medium and late maturity classes. WUE was calculated as the ratio of yield to evapotranspiration (ET) and transpiration (T). Results showed significant differences in WUE dry matter (DM) for transpiration (T) of early maturing varieties. However, no significant differences were observed in WUEDM for evapotranspiration (ET), WUE grain yield (GY), T and WUEGY, ET. WUEDM, T, WUEDM, ET, WUEGY, T, and WUEGY, ET were statistically the same among medium maturing varieties. Results further showed that among the late maturing varieties, WUEDM, T, WUEDM, ET and WUEGY, T showed significant differences but no significant differences were observed in WUEGY, ET. It was concluded that maize varieties from the same maturity classes have different WUEs. The study thus provided options in variety selection based on which varieties performed better, particularly SC 525, SC 513 and PAN 4M 21 from the early maturity class; PHB 30G19, ZMS 606, MRI 634 and SC 637 from the medium maturity class; and PAN ZM 83, SC 709, PAN 8M 93 and SC 719 from the late maturity class. It was recommended however, that repeated experiments over time should be done to validate the findings given that the trial was only conducted in one season.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) in Lesotho held a one-day Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Second Malabo Declaration Biennial Review (BR) Report Validation Workshop for all stakeholders in the agricultural sector. CAADP is Africa's Policy Framework for Agriculture and Agriculture-led development. It is aimed at reducing poverty and increasing food security in the continent through at least 10% public budget allocation to the sector in order to achieve at least 6% agriculture annual growth rate.
The Principal Secretary (PS) of MAFS, Mr. Malefetsane Nchaka officially opened the Workshop and thanked the participants for their attendance. He encouraged them to own the CAADP process as a sector and should not only be the responsibility of MAFS as the leading Ministry. He also acknowledged the presence of Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) at the validation workshop The PS mentioned that the first BR report was presented in January 2018 at the AU Ordinary Session, and Lesotho’s score was 3.7 out of 10 which did not reflect well on the country. The PS further encouraged the sector to do more in whatever may be required by asking the participants to provide with data as required so that when this current BR report is presented, Lesotho should have a better score than the 2018 score. 
  
The Lesotho CAADP Focal Person, Mr. Khesa presented the report on the results of the first Biennial Review where among the seven commitments, Lesotho scored an overall of only 3.7/10. Based on this score, the following were the recommendations that the country needs to consider in order to achieve a far better score in the next biennial review reporting. The recommendations were:
•    Lesotho should increase public agriculture expenditure as share of total public expenditure in line with the Malabo Declaration commitments, and stem the decline in the area of irrigated land.
•    The country should do more to integrate the youth and women in agricultural value chains.
•    The country should strengthen agriculture data collection and management systems (monitoring and evaluation) to ensure that missing under and unreported indicators are reported in the next round of the Biennial Review. Data was not available on the following areas: 
I.    Post-Harvest Loss;
II.    Farm Pastoral and Fisher Households that are resilient to climate change and weather related risks; and
III.    Participation of women in agriculture with access to finance.

The next Biennial workshop will be held in 2021.