English

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is a rice management practice that reduces water use by up to 30% and can save farmers money on irrigation and pumping costs. AWD reduces methane emissions by 48% without reducing yield. Efficient nitrogen use and application of organic inputs to dry soil can further reduce emissions. Incentives for adoption of AWD are higher when farmers pay for pump irrigation.

Conservation agriculture is an approach to agricultural management based on three principles:

1. Minimum soil disturbance
Zero tillage is ideal, but the system may involve controlled tillage in

which no more than 20 to 25% of the soil surface is disturbed.

2. Retention of crop residues or other soil surface cover
Many de nitions of CA use 30% permanent organic soil cover as the

minimum, but the ideal level of soil cover is site-speci c.

3. Use of crop rotations

Crop rotation helps reduce build-up of weeds, pests and diseases. Where farmers do not have enough land to rotate crops, intercropping can be used. Legumes are recommended as rotational crops for theirnitrogen- xing functions.

Coffee-Banana Itercropping is a climate-smart agricultural practice based on indigenous knowledge. It increases farmer incomes, improves resilience to climatic impacts, and sequesters higher amounts of carbon as opposed to monocropping systems. The practice also has positive effects for rural women and household nutrition.

Presentation delivered at the AFAAS Conference

Drought is the single greatest climate risk faced by most farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa. In discussions of climate risk, it is crucial to distinguish between meteorological drought (lower-than-average annual or seasonal rainfall) and agricultural drought (insufficient water at critical stages of crop growth). Global climate change models do a poor job predicting either type of drought (or flooding), and there appears to be little relationship between drought and rising levels of greenhouse gases. Drought and flooding are more closely correlated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, which appear to predate global warming.

This information brief highlights key findings in the Vuna report “Agricultural Drought and Climate Smart Agriculture”

Agricultural production in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) is broadly characterised by high climate risks. Rainfall is variable in timing, amount, and intensity. Both drought and flooding are common. These challenges are magnified by the fact that the majority of farmers in this region face severe poverty, resource constraints, and food insecurity. More than 90% of these farmers are dependent on rainfed production. The rise in global greenhouse gases appears to be increasing these climate risks.

This paper briefly summarises available information on current climate risks in ESA, and then shows how these risks are expected to worsen by the middle and end of the century. It discusses the implications of these changing risks for agricultural investment and for prioritising the pursuit of more climate smart agricultural systems. A key theme underlying this discussion is that a better understanding of, and response to, current climate risks will provide a strong foundation for improving resilience to climate change in the future.

This information brief highlights key findings in the Vuna report “Climate Risks and Trends in Eastern and Southern Africa”

This study examines whether agribusiness firms are helping to improve the climate resilience of the smallholder farmers with whom they work. After reviewing the relevant literature, the study analyses case studies in three countries with relatively larger agribusiness sectors: Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Eastern and Southern Africa have been experiencing rising temperatures and high levels of rainfall variability. There is a significant amount of uncertainty in the literature on whether some of these climate risks, such as changes in precipitation, are caused by natural factors or by rising levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. What is clear, however, is that climate risks are profoundly affecting the agricultural sector. Small-scale farmers face food insecurity, price volatility, and reduced incentives to expand their production of high-value commercial crops. Similarly, the agribusinesses anchoring these value chains face higher investment and trading risks. Experts believe that the resilience of the sector needs to be strengthened.

This information brief highlights key findings in the Vuna report “Agribusiness Responses to Climate Risks: Implications for Improving Smallholder Resilience”